Making Memories: Our Adoption Story: Let's blow this joint!

With a 7a flight, including returning the rental car and getting shuttled from there to the airport, we had a 4a wake up call.

While Mitchell slept we packed. We decided to get him dressed and in his car seat at his 2am (or was it 3am?) feeding. We had to have time to break down the rock and play he had been sleeping in, and make sure we could fit it in our luggage. We were the proud parents of a newborn, severely lacking in sleep anyway, what's a little engineering project at that time of day!?

Thankfully Mitchell was fine, and slept perfectly, in his car seat. We were able to get everything done and packed and get out the door on time, as planned.

Once at the airport, we were in line to be checked in. Everything was great, until we made our way to the security check point. They would not let us through because our tickets didn't say "with lap child". So I sat down with all our junk (I looked like a bag lady) while Rich took Mitchell ALL THE WAY back to the ticket counter and had him added to our tickets. We weren't sure if they would need to see him, since they already had, to add him to our tickets or not. So poor Rich had quite the arm workout carrying him to and from the ticket counter, for the second time.

I used my schmooze powers and finagled us a new row of seats where the gate agent blocked off the third seat in the row so that we were able to have Mitchell in his car seat for take off and landing, and anytime he wasn't eating. It was great, we didn't have to worry about our wee one bothering anyone or anyone bothering our wee one.

As soon as we start taxiing to the runway for take off, we smell what could only be the innards of a little ones belly exploding and polluting our air supply. After we take off, I hand Mitchell to Rich. the fasten seatbelt sign is still lit up, and my husband being the rule follower that he is stays seated. Rich is now turning green. He is holding his breath and trying to breathe through his mouth as much as possible. Now, if you know my husband you know he is not capable of his "inside voice" when he is excited or passionate or worked up about something. This would be one of those times...he is making all kinds of noise about the smell. I couldn't smell it like he could. But then, he handed me Mitchell. OH MY WORD. HOW can something so small smell so so bad????

Finally the seatbelt sign is turned off and Rich collects all he needs for a diaper change and heads to the airplane cubby hole of a bathroom. He was gone a long time. I almost sent out a search party. Finally I saw him walking back up the center aisle. I notice he has the baggie with the dirty diaper in his hand, WHY?! I asked, he said he didn't know why. I also notice that my son is missing his sock, and is naked (in only his diaper). The outfit could not be saved. It had suffered a death from an EPIC blowout, one that would never be matched. Luckily I was smart enough, no rookie mistake here, to pack a couple extra changes of clothes into the bag we were using as our temporary "diaper bag".

Fortunately the remainder of the flight was much less exciting than the beginning. Mitchell did splendidly. He was a trooper, at 3 weeks old he was already a pro!