Our Trip to Denver - Part 1: The Plane Rides

Jordyn and I got home from our trip to Denver at a few minutes after 3:00 this morning. That wasn't exactly the plan, but we're home safe and sound!

The trip went very well. Jordyn was really good on the plane rides, with a few little blips, of course, but I really can't complain. I didn't buy her a seat, but we lucked out and got an extra seat on both flights. She slept for about two hours on each of the ~4 hour flights. On the first one, I started out with her bucket carseat in the extra seat, but quickly decided to change my mind and gate check it at the last minute. It had to be by the window (so it wouldn't be in the way in case of an emergency), and it took up a lot of space, and my mom and I decided she could sleep on the seat in between us if/when she fell asleep. It was a good move, and I highly recommend NOT taking a carseat on the plane. Jordyn was awake for the first hour, slept the middle 2 hours, and was awake the last hour. The long nap was helped by benadryl, which was recommended by the doctor she saw the day before we left, as she had a cold.

Here are some pics from Jordyn's first plane ride ever:

 We got to visit the cockpit before the plane took off. Too bad Jordyn's looking down (at the container of puffs!) in this one, because it's a great pic otherwise.

 Here's one where you can see her face.

During her nap, sleeping on the middle seat between my mom and I.

This was after we had landed in Denver. Notice she's wearing a different outfit... We had a small wardrobe malfunction... I was changing her diaper in the bathroom, and there was even a little changing station thing in there. She was lying on it, with the old diaper off, and the new one under her but not pulled up and fastened yet, and I was talking to her and kissing her belly (I do this a lot during diaper changes). She decided that would be a good moment to pee! Most of it got on the diaper, but some of it got on the changing pad and on her shirt, so that was the end of that outfit. It's a good thing I'd taken someone's advice and put the changing pad with diapers and wipes in a plastic bag with a change of clothes - because I needed that change of clothes!

I didn't give her benadryl on the way home, as she wasn't sick anymore, but she still slept for 2 hours since it was a really late flight. It was supposed to take off at 6pm Denver time, arriving at 11:50 Boston time, but it was delayed two hours, plus we were routed around a big storm in the midwest, which added a little flight time. My dad and brother picked us up at the airport, and by the time they dropped us off at our house, it was about 3:10am. We were in the bulkhead for this trip (the second row on the way there), which meant we had a lot of leg room, and I could actually stand up in front of our seats to try to rock Jordyn to sleep. Boy, can she fight it! She seriously fights sleep with every fiber of her being - pretty much every nap and every night! It also seemed like eventually she was trying to sleep, but couldn't - maybe she couldn't get comfortable? It was hard to tell. But once she finally fell asleep, I was able to lay her down next to me and get a little bit of sleep myself (with my hand on her in case she started to roll - I'm a very light sleeper, and was totally awake if she moved a centimeter!).

On this flight, she slept for the last two hours, and I had to pick her up and hold her for the landing. I thought she was going to wake up when I picked her up, but she didn't. Then I thought she was going to wake up as we landed, but she didn't. She did wake up, though, when they turned the lights on and started making announcements. She was kind of in a daze as we went to baggage claim, got our luggage, and said hi to my dad and brother, but she fell asleep again in the car.

See part 2 for the rest of the story about our trip!