you’ve been traveling since you were of a miniscule size inside my uterus. conceived in Paris, then there was Russia and Philippines, both before you were born. but your first flesh&bone travel happened when you were just about 2 month old and it was a flight to Chicago.
I was quite nervous about the trip. i got booked for a 3 day shoot for a new client, so your papa went along to help me with taking care of you while I was working. I packed all your best summer clothes as well as diapers for a week, plus your little rocking bed to make you feel at home in a hotel.
at the airport i quickly realized how difficult it was to travel with a newborn, specially if i need to travel by myself. security check doesn’t make it easy with their requirements to remove shoes, laptops, etc.; simply placing your luggage on the security check conveyor turns into a huge task when you are holding a wriggling infant in your arms. I made a mental note to put you in a baby carry-on on our flight back, instead of a stroller.
on the plane we got lucky with an extra empty seat between us, which we decided to use as your bed. I fed you one more time before boarding the plane and your papa rocked you to sleep (as he always does) even before the plane took off. you slept all the flight until we landed, comfortably stretched with your arms and legs wide apart, like a little star.
then there were 3 long days when I barely saw you while shooting at evanston studio, and papa was spending all his time with you at the hotel, feeding you my milk from the bottle. I think for you it didn’t change anything, but for me it was a torture – not to see you for 8-10 hours, not to be able to inhale your sweet smell, being jealous (yes, that’s the word!) about the bottle that substituted my boobs for you, and then seeing you in the evening and noticing how much you changed and grew during the day. whoever decided that maternity leave should be only 3 months, and that mothers can/need to go back to work when their babies are only 2 months – this person has no heart, or he never felt what mothers do. I am blessed to be a freelancer and have my own business to decide when, how and where to work, and I will do my best to stay with you as long as I can, but for the first 6 month to one year it’s simply a necessity.
you were a real trooper though. you quickly learnt how to hold the bottle, and was sucking the milk away until you passed out in the middle of our hotel king size grown-up bed. it almost felt like you didn’t miss me during the day, except that couple times I came home from the shoot and you were crying restlessly, until you got a real nipple in your mouth. I was catching up on cuddles and kisses at night when your little chubby body sagged on top of me, all limbs down, waking up just for feedings and more sleepy kisses.
travel by car was rocking you to sleep unless we were getting in a bad traffic or too many traffic lights – that’s when the siren of your voice was going off. I am not sure yet how I will be driving with you by myself in NY. it feels like my body is programmed to react when I hear you cry, and I feel the urge to calm you down at any cost because you crying is like an unbearable pain to me.
flying back home went even smoother. having you in a carry-on on security check definitely did the trick. so did the breastfeeding before the flight. being your mama’s boy, you fell sleep before the takeoff, and peacefully snored on my lap until we landed in the concrete jungle of dreammaking. not bad for the first 2 hour flight of a 2 month old traveller!
0 Comments