Success!

We're back!

We had a successful trip Back East, and a successful first plane trip for the Critter. She did surprising well, especially the first leg. She was all smiles for everyone she saw, and happily drank her bottle for takeoff, played a bit then fell asleep til after we landed. Perfect. A flight attendant remarked as we got off the plane, "I didn't even realize there was a baby on this flight!" Best compliment ever.

The way back was a bit more dicey, because the Critter was not very well rested going into it. My dad only has a port-a-crib for her, which I don't think is very comfy and is not large enough for quality rolling around (as the Critter is wont to do these days), so she did not sleep very well there. She was still pretty good on the flight, ate her bottle and played a bit, but was fussy for the last 30 minutes. Of course the second we hit the tarmac, she fell asleep for the whole baggage claim, ride home part of the trip.

I was exhausted by the whole logistical feat that is traveling with a baby. The infrastructure is just huge, and it was a lot to keep track of. Bottles, bottle washing stuff, spoons, food, cereal, chew toys, regular toys, books, clothes, sleep sacks, white noise machine, ipod and travel speakers, diapers and all that comes with butt care, pacifiers...it is a lot. Whew.

But we survived. And my family behaved themselves pretty well, so at least I had minimal stress from them. Mr. P totally rose to the challenge of traveling with Critter, he was really awesome. We felt like a tag-team, ready to jump in when the other needed it. It really felt good to be on top of things like we were.

So all in all, successful first plane trip. Not that we are eager to jump back on a plane, but it is nice to know we could if we had to. Just not too soon, ok? I need a nap (or 20) first.