traveling with a bo bear

plane watching

We hadn't flown with Bo since my trip to Idaho/Oklahoma this summer, when he was just 3 months old.  Now that he is a solid 8 months, I was much more relaxed about his ability to travel.  My only worry about the plane was that he would be too wiggly to sit in our laps for hours, and that he would want to get down and play.  He did really well on all of our flights, but he was wiggly!  Our travel days to Nashville and then on to Oklahoma were all very full flights so he had to sit on our laps and even though it was time for him to sleep, he would just be raring to PLAY.  

Sheikh aBoBear

Our trip from OK to Long Island was mid-week and a very light travel day so we he had his own seat on both of those flights.  That makes all the difference for him- he's much more comfortable sleeping in his carseat than in our laps.  

waiting for flights with Uncle Ry and Dad

At one point I took Bo to the empty row behind Matt so Matt could grab a little snooze . . . and Bo was loving all his space to stomp around and hit stuff.   

After a bit it was time for me to catch some zzz's so I passed the baby godzilla up to his dad and settled in for a nap.  After a few blissful minutes of solitude, Matt's insistent whispering jerked me from my reverie.  Apparently our child had pooped again, for the second time on this 2 hour flight!  Impossible?!  This time, Matt was starting to flip out because Bo's diaper had come unfastened in all of his wiggling and this was a situation Dad was not prepared to deal with.  To his credit, Matt followed me up to the tiny plane restroom and hovered outside the door to assist as needed.  Look away if you're easily grossed out - Bo's diaper had indeed come undone and the offending nugget was slipping out the bottom of his pants!  Ugh.  Thankfully I'd packed an extra set of clothes for Buddy, but I had not grabbed an extra pair of socks.  When he emerged from the bathroom he was wearing a one piece sweater outfit . . . with little bare feet sticking out the bottom.  Oh well, that's what you get, Mr. Poopy Pants.

My other concerns about our Christmas travel were Bo's extreme stranger anxiety and that he had finally started teething just days before we left.  The stranger danger was a moot point after a few hours around family - thankfully!  He did so well!!!! The teeth . . . well, turns out it hurts when you're getting a new tooth.  Bo's naps were off, but his night sleep wasn't affected until the day after Christmas.  That was the day I went to bed at midnight and Bo woke me up at 2:00, right as Matt was getting home from hanging out with his pals . . . and we were up for good!  This was the first time we had ever been up with him at night, unable to get him to sleep.  It made us appreciate how good we normally have it!!  But it was a long night, and it led to some tired days after that.  And we only got one tooth for the trouble.  Ugh.  How many more times are we going to have to do this?!  

 

By the time we go to Oklahoma, Bo had settled into Central time and his parents had settled into vacation time.  I got to sleep in for the first time since he was born!  Bo slipped into this wonderful habit of falling back asleep after his morning feeding (around 6 or 7) and I got the hang of falling back asleep too.  I think one day I woke up as Bo was going down for his first nap after a morning of playing with Daddy.  So that was awesome.  Made up for those teething experiences, for sure.  I need to plan a two week vacation every time a new tooth comes in.  I wish . . .