His second flight was to come with me to Victoria for a conference. My mom was meeting us there to hang out with Sam while I attended sessions. The flight to Victoria was great. I have not had a series of flights so happy to have a baby on board. People cooed over him and wanted to smile and play with him. I sat beside a man on my flight to Edmonton that was ecstatic to sit beside a baby as he was flying home to his baby. Turns out we know lots of mutual people - the Mennonite game has a small deck of playing cards to be sure. My mom and I were actually on the same flight from Edmonton and when she asked the lady beside me if she wanted to switch seats she reluctantly agreed but said she would have been happy to sit with the baby. People were excited about the baby as we passed them in the airplane aisle. I have never been so relaxed with a baby on a flight. We arrived on the island and Sam had lots of fun hanging out with Tante Betty, Kelly and Omi in Sooke.
We had fun at the conference and he spent time hanging out and exploring downtown Victoria with Omi. We traveled home on Friday to meet up with the other kiddos on their last day of school before we head out for our summer adventures.
The flight home started in Victoria at 0820. Sam nursed on ascent and then finally settled into his morning nap. I started a movie and 6 minutes in the captain informed us that we were starting our descent into Calgary. I had another 25 minutes of movie to enjoy before I arrived in Calgary with a napping baby on my chest. Despite my best efforts he woke up with all the motion trying to get our carry on luggage off the plane. He was happy enough though and we set off to explore the Calgary airport. I got a coffee and snack from Starbucks and we went to our gate. We went to sit down and I tried to let Sam kick around on the ground but he was not interested in that. A woman came up to me and asked if she could hold the baby while I enjoyed my snack and coffee - sure! Her two kids played with Sam, she enjoyed a cuddle and Sam was in heaven cause people were paying attention to him.
I changed Sam's diaper just before we boarded our last plane from Calgary to Winnipeg. It was a very full flight with 8 babies on it and many other children - Winnipeg must be the new kiddo destination. My row was full with a young man who was probably a bit younger than me sitting beside me. Sam was restless because he was hungry and I was trying to hold him off until we started our ascent. He was not having it so eventually I caved and started to nurse him as everyone settled into the flight and the airplane became quiet before takeoff.
Sam has this less than endearing habit that he needs to be breastfeeding in order to poop. I do not appreciate being the stick he metaphorically "bites down on" to create enough intraabdominal pressure to unload but it has happened for months now and is just his way. He doesn't fill his diaper every time he pushes his feet down but its a fearful Russian roulette when it happens as he is not quiet about his endeavours.
Sam hadn't pooped in several days which is normal for breastfed babies but it had seemed over the last day that he was gearing up for something. There was also about a 10-20 minute window within the last week - the window that I was currently in on the quiet airplane pre-takeoff - that would be massively inconvenient to decide to use to empty out. Babies are funny and they know just the right way to mortify you. This was a master class in mortal embarrassment. Sam decides this is his time to shine. Massive explosion into his diaper with no airplane noise to soften the din. Multiple episodes just in case there was any confusion who was loading their diaper on the plane - all while he was under the nursing blanket incognito and I got to be the fresh face of this smelly and loud escapade. Then, feeling infinitely better, he promptly fell asleep on takeoff.
I was then left with the ultimate parenting decision. Do I leave the baby alone, currently sleeping soundly in his own shit that has leaked through his diaper, sleeper and blanket or do I wake him up to save my seatmates from the knowledge they are sitting beside a poop-covered baby? I debated for several minutes before deciding that I would change him. I left my window seat and changed his diaper with shit up to his shoulders. He was his usual happy self ever so pleased with himself. I changed all his clothes and his blanket and sat back down. My seat mates who had been silently stalwart through this whole endeavour were lovely to Sam despite his massive social faux pas. Sam was then awake for the remainder of the flight until the very end when I put on my headphones and restarted my movie. Six minutes in the captain said we were starting our descent into Winnipeg. Maybe I will get to finish that movie someday. We arrived in Winnipeg with our favourite people waiting for us on the Hug Rug. Parenting is humbling....but awesome.
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