2 more days to go...

Today is Sunday and my boys are tucked away in bed having a nice nap. I have been busy all week packing suitcases and preparing meals for Andrew's lunches for when Rylen and I are on our little trip back to Vancouver Island. Our flight leaves Tuesday morning and like always I tend to worry about flying with a little one. Rylen and I have made this trip 2 other times and it seemed to work out great.

The first trip was a little harder since I had no idea what to expect when flying with a new born. I guess the hardest part of that trip was when we were in Vancouver airport waiting for our connecting flight. Breast feeding is not something that you feel totally comfortable about doing in public when you are a new mom. I looked everywhere for a secluded area to breast feed Rylen and just before I gave up I asked one of the ticket agents for some help. She just looked at me and said "no, sorry" and went about her business. You would have thought that she would have realized that I looked a little distressed with a crying baby in one arm and a carseat and diaper bag in the other. I felt completely helpless at that point and I almost broke down in tears.

The seats at the airport are not made for breastfeeding- not supportive or comfortable and the fact that not one seat has a little more privacy then the other. Do you really want to put on a breast feeding show for everyone? I dont think so!!
I ended up sitting on the floor in a corner. It sure would be nice if airports could have a mommy/daddy/baby room where you can feed, change and play with your little ones.

The 2nd time that we flew went well. Rylen was on the bottle so it was a little easier. A man had sat next to Rylen and I and I knew that we wasnt overly thrilled about having to sit next to a baby on an hour flight. Rylen ended up sleeping on that flight and the man and I chatted away the entire time. I even mentioned to him at the end of the flight that he was probably thinking "oh great, I have to sit next to a baby" and he admitted thats what he thought of at first. As the plane landed Rylen woke up and the man said that he was a beautiful baby and that he felt bad for not wanting to sit next to him.
The 2nd flight Rylen ended up playing with a man that sat behind us. On both flights people had commented that they had no idea that there was even a little baby on the plane. There was no crying or fussing!

The flight that we will be taking on Tuesday will be another adventure in itself. I will have snacks and bottles prepared and since I know that Rylen is not going to sleep on the plane, how am I going to occupy him??
One word.............DORA!!!
That's right, I'm bringing the portable DVD player and we are going to watch Dora for an hour straight! I'm not a big fan of him watching TV at all but he loves Dora and that's the only thing that keeps him entertained and distracted at the same time. As for being at the airport waiting for our connecting flight...I guess I will be spending most of the time chasing after him!

We will arrive at Nana and Papa's house just before dinner time and we will be greeted by Auntie Karen, Uncle Chuck, Elise(2yr) and Joseph(1yr) and of course Ripley the dog. What a house hold this is going to be!! We will be spending a few days with Karen and the kids before they leave to go back home to Yellow Knife. On Friday we will make our way down Vancouver Island to Pender Island to visit Auntie Andrea, Uncle Tye, Jake(15yr), Toryn(5), Jonah (6m) and Papa Bear. After spending the weekend there we will head back up island and have a nice quiet visit with the rest of the family for the next week.

The next 2 weeks are going to be busy but I will be sure to post pics along the way.