Well, I think that face says it all, poor thing. The flight did not go exactly as hoped, but we made it through and to the other side! Thank goodness. I have to say, American Air was incredibly helpful here in London, getting us the best possible set up - the bulkhead, an additional seat AND a bassinet. But, alas, it didn't make any difference. Bowen was just too distracted by everything that was going on and could not settle down enough to drift off to sleep. Now, we all know what happens when that "overtired" phase sets in - NIGHTMARE! And in this scenario, not only nightmare for Mommy & Daddy, but for an entire plane full of strangers as well! All I can say is thank goodness for headphones! At one point, she screamed (and I do mean screamed) for over an hour straight. I was about to reach for MY headphones!
In all seriousness, though, the flight was much tougher than I anticipated it being. I was as prepared and organized as I could have been, but to no avail. I also thought I would be able to calm Bowen if she got worked up, but that credit goes to Stewart. Both times Bowen did settle off to sleep for a bit, Dada was the one to get her there! I couldn't have been more proud of how Stewart handled everything and how calm he stayed with her. It's exactly what she needed to relax and fall asleep. Well done, babe! But even with Daddy's great calming, I think Bowen only ended up sleeping about 1 hour of the 8 hour flight. Not even near enough, which is why she was pretty fussy the rest of the time.
I have to say, as much as I prepped myself for the flight, secretly, I thought she would do fine. Bowen has always been a pretty easy baby, so in my mind, that transferred to the flight. But in reality, it's much harder to ask a baby who's used to falling asleep in her room or in a moving pram to go to sleep in a bassinet in the middle of people she doesn't know, food and drink being distributed, general noise, talking, and TV. Not to mention the altitude ear issues. I mean, duh! Makes perfect sense now, but it was one of the harder experiences we've had to work through since Bowen was born. I guess if that's the hardest thing we've had to go through, we've been extremely lucky and very blessed!
My poor sweetie did not know what had hit her when we got off that flight, and I know Stewart and I felt like we'd been run over by a bus. Thank goodness we had great friends and family waiting for us on the other side!
More on that later...
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