The Frequent Flyer

I remember when we were getting Nikhil's first passport at the ripe old age of 3 weeks. We were in line at the post office waiting to submit his application.  There was a mother there with her 17-year old son.  She was telling the clerk that this was his first passport and first time he's ever flown. While I thought this was strange that he's flying for the first time at such a late age, I realized that there are a large group of people who have never flown their entire lives and some are well into middle-age or elderly.  Flying is a privelege that some people could either not afford, were too afraid to do, or just simply never cared or had a need for.

Then there's Nikhil...our little frequent flyer. In his 13 months of age, he has been to the Bay Area three times (and once more in a couple of days), Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Hawaii (I'm sure I'm skipping a few dozen places in there).  I remember how nervous we were the first time we flew with him at 2.5 months. His first trip was to California and we weren't sure if we were prepared.  We had so many questions running through our heads:

Did we have the right stroller? No. I got stroller envy when I saw other parents with their fancy smancy strollers and us with our cheap umbrella stroller (our other stroller was too big to travel with) so of course, I bought a new one when we got back. Do we really need 3 strollers. Of course! (although Kunal may beg to differ).

Did we pack the right items in his diaper bag?  Yup! We got that right. We had plenty of change of clothes for Nikhil and ourselves.  And we even remembered his diapers, wipes, and bottles. Wow, we're awesome until...

What if he threw up or pooped?  Of course, he did both on our short 2 hour flight. Luckily we were smart about bringing extra clothes when he threw up.  But we weren't so smart about changing his poopy diaper. We had no idea how to change a diaper on a plane. So much so that Kunal, in all his parental glory, accidently tossed the poop-filled diaper into a bucket containing ice for the entire plane. Not the finest moment in parenting.

I was convinced that every flight henceforth was going to be a nightmare.  But, it got better and now I wouldn't call traveling a breeze but traveling with Nikhil isn't nearly as daunting as it once worth.  There's still a long list of items to pack and remember (We still forgot his diaper bag in the car on a recent flight and I forgot his passport on our last flight). But (please find a piece of wood and knock on it) overall he travels really well and sleeps for a good duration of the flight. Now I know I just cursed myself and I'm going to have the flight from hell in a few days. Keep your fingers crossed.

The frequent flyer