Baby's First Delayed Flight

I remember the first time I took my baby girl on an airplane. My husband was away on business, and I had to meet him there halfway through his trip. My daughter, who was only about eight months old at the time, was generally very well-behaved. I had also gotten to the point in motherhood where I felt like I knew my child. I knew which cry meant she was hungry and which meant she needed a diaper change. I knew what would make her happy.

The plane trip did not make her happy.

I really, truly think it would have been okay if the flight hadn't been delayed by two hours. We were supposed to take off a little before her naptime, and she would have slept most of the way. Alas, it was not to be. Delay after delay kept us sitting around the airport. I tried to keep her awake, but I couldn't. She fell asleep in her stroller. At that stage in her life, she would immediately wake up if I tried to move her, and I knew that I would have to take her out of the stroller to get on the plane. I was now hoping for more delays so she could finish her nap.

Of course not!

I waited as long as I could, but I had to take her out of the stroller. She woke up and started howling. Fortunately, I knew that she would calm down in a few minutes and either go back to sleep or be ready to play. Unfortunately, we were now the embodiment of an air traveler's worst nightmare: the screaming baby. A well-meaning older lady suggested I read her a book. I wanted to show my good intentions, so I tried reading a book. My daughter screamed louder.

Thank goodness, she did calm down after a few minutes, and went back to sleep for the rest of the flight. I'm sure I didn't make any friends on that airplane, but after that, I felt like I could tackle anything!