Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Freaking out and nearly tinkling.

I am flying into New Hampshire in about a day and a half. I did a ton more packing today but because of my lack of housekeeping skills ever since I got pregnant, it still doesn't look like it. Stuff is everywhere. I am coming to terms with the fact that I need to let go of things. That I need to stop collecting things, or as Gabe would like you to believe, hoarding things. I think that because I'm a middle child in a family that was never very, um, moneyful, I purchase and gather things and have a hard time letting go because I had so many hand-me-downs as a kid. Sometimes I didn't feel like those things were mine, and now I own things. So now I hoarde. I mean, collect.

In case you were looking for a little glimpse into Nora's psyche.

Not only should I be way more packed than I am right now but I am also freaking out about flying with Liam. We have flown with Liam before, when we went to my sister's wedding when he was 3 1/2 months old. We had a diaper fiasco and the air pressure bothered his ears on our last flight. The thing that's different now is that Gabe will not be flying with us. He's driving the moving truck and towing my car northward. I am flying alone with my 9 1/2 month old baby who is far more vocal, impatient, interested in the world and mobile than he was six months ago. I break into a sweat when I think of how unpleasant this flight could be for us. And for fellow passengers shooting eye daggers at me, because whenever a baby or child is louder than a whisper in public that obviously means their mom is a bad mom and doesn't know what she's doing.

Honestly I have another weighty and worrisome concern: my bladder. If you're reading this, and you're a mom, and you have also maybe lapsed a little on your Kegels (as in you've neglected them completely, as I have), you know what I mean. I have only had one baby but I also had a catheter in for a long time for labor and delivery because I had an epidural, and the catheter stayed in for what felt like days afterward because of the, you know, swelling I had, you know, down there, because of the, uh, tearing to the fourth degree. It was probably just 24 hours total that I had the catheter. But I just can't hold it as long as I used to. And how do I pee on a plane if I am the sole caretaker of my infant?

In case you were looking for a little glimpse into Nora's nether-regional health.

2 comments:

AndreAnna said...

You take him in there with you and sit him on your lap as you pee. Wear pants with elastic that are easy to pull down with one hand. I've done it - it's doable.

Or wear him in a wrap for the flight so your hands are free.

I'd be freaking out about such a move too!

caley said...

On your lap- pants with elastic- good idea, AndreAnna! I've always wondered this, too. But where do you put him when you wash your hands?

Another option is to hold it for as long as possible, to give you enough time to get to know whomever you are seated next to or the flight attendants just enough to judge if they have the capacity to hold Liam for you for 36 seconds while you run to the bathroom.

Good luck! I'm sure it'll turn out fine, and he'll sleep the whole flight or something, and you will have done all that worrying for nothing!