Our first flight with Takeshi went pretty well; he did better on the plane than Jay did. The pressure only bothered his ears when we landed the first time (we had four flights total). After that, he was a champ and kept on trying to look out the window to see what was going on. We ended up ditching the car seat in favor of an FAA-approved child restraint to make traveling a bit easier for all of us — we knew he’d hate the car seat and we’d hate having to lug it through the airport and then installing it on the plane. We only had a problem with it on the first flight but I chalk it up to the flight attendant being a Certified Bitch. As we were landing (and Takeshi was screaming), she told us that it had to be installed by the window. We later realized she was following car seat rules because a car seat between two people would be a safety hazard for the person by the window. The shoulder restraint releases with the click of the waist buckle and slides over the head in the case of an emergency. We didn’t change our seating arrangements for the remaining 3 flights (I sat in the aisle seat, Jay sat by the window and Takeshi sat in the middle) and no one said anything to us. In fact, on the last flight, two flight attendants were talking about how they were thinking about getting them for their own children.
The wedding itself (the whole reason we flew to CA) was a blur of trying to eat and mingle while keeping an eye on our speed-demon monster. At one point, we turned our heads and when we looked back he was gone. He managed to make his way all the way to the other side of the room and Jay caught him right before he walked out the doors. But he did exceptionally well meeting all my family and was able to keep them entertained with his antics. He also gave my mom (and Jay) quite a workout — every mealtime was an adventure.
When we got back to Maryland, I had my first visit scheduled with the midwife. She did a brief physical exam and told me that my cervix had softened (although it was still long) and that since Takeshi was self-weaning, I’d probably do well to wean him altogether. I was hoping that I’d be able to keep nursing but I guess that’s just not possible. So now Takeshi is officially weaned. He still comes up to me and says “bah-BEEEE” and tries to pull up my shirt or reach down the front to unclasp my bra but I let him know that he doesn’t need it and that he’s a big boy. He just nods his head and continues to say “bah-BEEEE” until I distract him with some other activity.
So the countdown to the birth of Baby #2 is down to 5 weeks and 5 days (if s/he is born at the same time as Takeshi). Or it’s 9 weeks if the baby is “on time.” I just don’t see this kid holding out until April. As it is, I am about a week away from losing sight of my vagina. *sigh* The joys of pregnancy.
