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flying {with a screaming baby}

We took a little vacation to Florida with my family.
It was actually for my cousin’s wedding,
but we snuck in a little beach time while we were there too.
This meant Levi got to experience his first plane ride.
The rest of my family was already in Florida,
so it was just the three of us.
I was glad Joel could come along.
I love being together for Levi’s “firsts”.
I tend to be sentimental like that.
Levi did awesome.
In fact several different people commented on how 
well behaved and happy he was.
Maybe it was the TV in front of his seat??
I thought we had a good little traveler on our hands.
When we got to Tampa he was grinning and squealing 
all the way through the airport.
And it was way past his bedtime.
Silly boy.

Joel had to come home a little early because of work.
So, on the way home we had some new traveling buddies.
Levi and I tagged along with my sister and brother-in-law 
and my niece Ellie (who is actually my brother’s daughter).

These are our “before flight” pictures.
Look how happy we all are!
We had no idea what the next hours would hold…
We boarded our plane and were waiting to take off.
The captain announced that there were thunderstorms in Atlanta.
Our flight would be delayed thirty minutes before we could take off.
Thirty minutes went by and the captain came on again.
We were being delayed another fifty minutes.
By this time Levi was getting very grouchy.
And Ellie was getting pretty squirmy.
And all the adults on the plane were pretty grouchy too.
We did finally take off…two hours after boarding.
But by this time my baby was screaming…really screaming.
In fact I am pretty sure that I have never heard him scream like that before.
And he screamed for close to an hour before FINALLY falling asleep.
I was THAT mom. 
Stuck on a plane with a screaming baby.
At one point Ellie looked at my sister and told her that 
if Levi didn’t stop crying she was going to cry too.
I knew exactly how she was feeling.
I felt like crying too.
An experience like that will keep a mama humble.
And I’m pretty sure my sister will never have kids.
(Anne, you should really reconsider.
Levi needs another cousin!)
We made it to Atlanta only to find out we had 
missed our connecting flight by ten minutes.
Seriously.
We were stuck again.
At least it wasn’t in a plane this time.
And at least the screaming baby was still asleep.
We were given hotel and meal vouches and pointed towards the shuttles.
They told us it would take two hours if we wanted to pull our luggage.
So we decided we could live without our stuff for one night.
We walked out to find the shuttle and instead found 
tons of other people who had also missed their flights.
We waited over an hour before we finally got on.
By this time Ellie started crying…
“I want my mama. I don’t want to get on a white bus. 
I want my mama to pick me up.”
She didn’t understand why her mama couldn’t pick her up at this airport.
And we were starting to worry that someone was going 
to wonder why this crying little girl wasn’t with her mama.
Poor girl.
Thankfully Levi slept through this part too.
I don’t know if we could have handled two crying kiddos.
We finally got to the hotel about 12:30 that night.

This little guy slept from thirty minutes into our flight 
(after he finished screaming of course) until eight o’clock the next morning. 
I didn’t even take him out of his car seat. 
When he woke up he was so happy. 
I just couldn’t stay too made at him!
And Miss Ellie woke up pretty happy too. 
She really was so good considering all we went through.
We got to the airport extra early the next morning 
to make sure we could actually get home.
After getting our tickets all figured out, 
we passed the time by taking walks through the airport…
…and feeding the baby Starbucks…
…and playing games on Aunt Anne’s iPhone.

And besides the thirty minute delay on this flight
and not being able to find our luggage when we got back to Wichita,
we all made it home safe and sound.
(Yes, we did get stuck on the plane AGAIN for forty five minutes.
This time because they had to go back to the gate
and replace a part on the plane.
And we did eventually find our luggage, it just took awhile.)

Let’s just say we were glad to be home!

**********************

On a different note…

I shipped all the Cora’s orders today.

AND

If you are the Karina who left me a comment about not being able to get a dress the day I posted them, will you please e-mail me??

Have a good weekend!

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  • meg duerksen - oh i get to be first?!
    🙂

    that sounds AWFUL.
    glad you made it home safe and sound.
    and whenever i hear another baby on a plane….i will picture the mama to be sweet jess…and cut her some slack!
    unless it is an international super long flight and i fell like i am going to shoot myself if the woman with her twin babies and toddler don’t stop crying!
    just kidding.
    i will be kind to her too.ReplyCancel

  • justme - great story. We flew in & out of Tampa last week as well. There was a screamer on our flight but it was to Memphis . . .
    Your photos are really great. The lighting . . . is it an SLR or a point and shoot??ReplyCancel

  • Christina - Oh my. Your pictures are great, in spite of the crazy experience.
    It is sooo hard traveling with such little ones. You never know which way they will go! When my youngest was one (I think that’s right) she did great on the way to Florida (sound familiar? 🙂 ) and then on the trip home there were two flights. The first, fine. The second was just too much, and there were no delays that I remember. About the last hour of the flight she screamed, loud, loud, loudly, and all I could do was hold her out on my outstretched arms, she was on her back PITCHING A FIT. For an hour. The lady in front of me kept glancing over her shoulder. Well. I was having so much fun, why should I stop my child from screaming? haha It isn’t fun, but it’s one of life’s little necessities. Especially when people are spread out and we have to go visit!
    Take heart. You weren’t the first, you won’t be the last! 🙂
    I bet you are glad to be home.ReplyCancel

  • Christina - And I agree with “justme”…you must have an awesome camera! You should share your photography secrets sometime. Your pictures are always fantastic. The ones you put on your blog anyway. 😉ReplyCancel

  • Marvin & Erica - Oh Jess. I know the feeling only I have actually cried with the crying baby. It’s aweful being THAT mom with the SCREAMING child, especially if it’s on the last leg of an international trip.

    Now we love it when Calvin cries as we are waiting in customs lines and passport control lines. It moves us along very quickly.ReplyCancel

  • The Mumaw's - the same thing happened to us , but on our wedding. we were a day late getting to our destination!
    AmyReplyCancel

  • Allen and Debby Graber - They still give out hotel vouchers? I didn’t think they did that any more.ReplyCancel

  • Kat - Wow, that sounds terrible, all of those delays and being stuck on the plane with no where to go, ugh.
    I was traveling by myself on a plane with my two girls, both under the age of two at the time and my youngest screamed and cried for all but 45 minutes of the flight when she finally fell asleep. I was mortified, exhausted and felt helpless. Luckily, most people were sympathetic except for one total loser who complained when the flight landed that he had never been on such a miserable flight in all his life. He said all the babies were crying, and then pointed at Lauren and said, but that one was the worst. I just cringed, I wanted to say to him, “Of all the babies on this plane, you are the biggest one of them all.”ReplyCancel

  • k and c's mom - Oh, we have ALL been “That Mother”. Bless your heart! Loved the shot of Levi “drinking” Starbucks. You do what you have to do. I’ve always thought if we can survive those squeezing tight times and still laugh (or at least smile) about it, the rest is a piece of cake. Glad you’re home with a great story.ReplyCancel

  • Leslie - Goodness gracious! I feel so bad for those babies being stuck on the plane {and in a hotel and in an airport}… I’m glad you guys made it home safe and sound.ReplyCancel

  • Anonymous - I know how you feel my daughter and I have been that baby and mom many times before and I am sure many times to come since kids are kids :o) ….I actually live in Tampa was the wedding here? There are some beautiful locations for weddings here! Glad you enjoyed your mini vacation.

    -CassieReplyCancel

  • Aaron and Shannon - Oh Jess…we are flying in a week and I’m so nervous about Cole!! After hearing this, it confirms that it definetly could happen! Ugh!!! Glad things went well and you made it back safe! It was good seeing you today too!ReplyCancel

  • Sarah - I totally feel for you. We recently traveled to Savannah and our daughter was PERFECT except for the last flight home from atlanta. At that point, I didn’t care what people thought…she had been good the entire trip until then! People just have to understand. Except for that it sounds like you had a great time.ReplyCancel

  • Anonymous - Oh Moma..awe so sorry for you! hopefully all on the plane were understanding…the pictures are fantastic though! how did Mr.Levi like the beach?

    KimReplyCancel

  • Anonymous - Wish you could have seen me LITERALLY running from gate to gate in Atlanta after visiting my sister in Wichita. I had a 2 year old in the front of a double stroller and my 9 month old in the back. The 2 year old was yelling beep beep out of the way and the 9 month old was crying. Everyone was staring and laughing. I was SOOOO that mom. :O) But I did make it-barely! DebiReplyCancel

  • Michaela - Aren’t you glad you had two other adults with you on this trip?! It would have been so much harder alone! Sounds like you did great, and we have all been “that family” with the screaming baby at one time or another! Levi is getting more and more precious by the day!ReplyCancel

  • Melissa - Wow, what a nightmare!! I think I would have been crying as well and stressed to the max. And the reason you were delayed the last time to replace a part of your plane??!! Oh nice. Glad your home!ReplyCancel

  • Tami - oh, my goodness! we’ll try to encourage anne for you 😉

    bringing my anna home from china stretched me BIG time! i actually think her eardrum burst about 15 minutes into a 15 hour flight. she screamed *most* of the OVERNIGHT flight to LA. then screamed on the overnight flight from LA to chicago. i boarded that last flight to wichita and warned the passengers that she hadn’t slept in over 30 hours and we were both likely to cry the whole flight. the girl fell asleep before take off and it was the BEST flight ever! *sigh* kids. go figure.

    (making a mental note NOT to fly internationally with meg ;-))ReplyCancel

  • Carrie - What beach did you visit while in FL? We live in the St. Pete area and go the beach all the time – my daughter LOVES it and will spend hours playing.
    Sorry you had such a time with Levi on the flight. Just think – you will probably not see any of those people again that were on your flight! HA!
    He is getting so big and is such a cutie!ReplyCancel

  • Alex and Jill - Bless your heart! He is so stinkin’ cute though!! Alex and I keep talking about taking a trip with Amelia, but that’s my fear of taking her on a plane. That and I can’t imagine all of the stuff that I will have to pack for her…it barely fits in my car for a roadtrip! I need a seasoned-Mama to do a post on packing for a baby for 1st plane ride!ReplyCancel

  • laney - ..oh i wish i had known you were going to be stuck in atlanta…i would have come and gotten you and taken you home with me…i love screaming babies and wiggly little girls…ReplyCancel

  • Lexie Loo & Dylan Too - That sounds like an awful flying experience.
    I loved the cute pictures, though!ReplyCancel

  • Lauren Kelly - WOW, what an adventure. I don’t live to far from Tampa. What beach were you visiting???ReplyCancel

  • Michelle - He is the cutest little chunk! I love the picture he is trying to grab the starbucks cup.

    And the nice thing about the people on the plane….they have no idea who you are and you never have to see them again.ReplyCancel

  • the breedens - I’ve never seen a baby with rolls on his ankles! I love it!ReplyCancel

  • the breedens - I am in the same boat as Karina and my daughter is just turning 2. but a couple months ago I finally had my mom make us a couple dresses that we call “in memory of Cora” dresses. she did a pretty good job replicating them. 🙂 i’ll have to send you a picture sometime.ReplyCancel

  • Kelly - Oh gosh. I unfortunately know exactly how you feel. Ugh. Last year we got stuck traveling home from the other side of the country. The only reason we ended up making it home was because I had three crying boys and I started crying when the ticket agent told us there was no way for us to get home. Somehow it magically made an open flight appear. 🙂
    Glad you finally made it home safe & sound!ReplyCancel

  • Disney Freak - I’m glad you had a good trip, minus the screaming baby part.

    I HAVE to gush…..Levi is SOOOO cute and chunky…I LOVE IT! His little rolls are sooo cute! My oldest son was a chunky monkey and it was awesome. Chunky babies are the best!!ReplyCancel

  • Andy and Katie - oh, jess!! i feel your pain. there have been many times when we’ve flown back home when i’ve been “that lady” with “that baby”. when we came back for jed’s graduation and grammy and papa’s 60th, drew was on the tail end of croup and was not having flying. he screamed and screamed on the way into omaha. i was beside myself. i know it was his ears and he was just so crazy he we couldn’t get him to drink anything to easy the pain. it was awful. when he finally got quite, i burst into tears and sobbed and sobbed! flying with small children is not for the weak at heart! we’ve been stuck in airports and on planes, i don’t know how many times. i’ve sent a million prayers to JESUS asking him to keep my baby sound asleep while we were stuck in atlanta waiting for hours to take off. atlanta is by far the least infant friend airport in the WORLD!!!! even before i had drew or was even married, i had bad atlanta experiences. coming back for leah’s wedding, i got stuck overnight there. girl, i feel your pain and send you my “you are amazing” for flying with a baby! but, oh how we love them and would do it again, right:-) it was so good to see you and joel! tell him i said hello and give levi a squeeze.ReplyCancel

  • Rachel - We’ve all been there! 2 years ago, we were flying with our then 18-month-old daughter from Des Moines to Dallas. Our flight was during naptime, so we thought we had it made. Our sweet girl actually fell asleep during the pre-flight instructions. Thirty minutes later, she woke up screaming and screaming and screaming. I tried everything I could to calm her down. I even sat with her in the bathroom and prayed that she would stop. The flight attendant told us to return to our seats since we were getting ready to land. Once we got buckled in, our sweet girl threw up all of me and her. I looked at my husband and just started to cry. Amazingly, none of the passengers complained, and a few of them smiled with sympathy as they deplaned. I’ll never forget flight attendant Betty for her patience and being so helpful!
    Above all, I’m so glad you made it home safe! God is good and He prepares us in ways we never thought possible!ReplyCancel