Another Little Scare

On Tuesday we flew to from San Francisco to Durango, with a stop in Denver. We'd been advised by just about every reliable source that the best trick for flying with a baby is to nurse them on the ascent and descent, as that keeps their ears from feeling the effects of the pressure changes. We started off the morning with a not so great omen -- Mr. Baby, who had spit up maybe 4 times ever, had a massive spit up before even leaving for the airport. Uh-oh. Remarkably, though, he did great on the two flights. He was awake and hungry as we flew across California, then mama and baby napped across Nevada, and then he nursed again as we worked our way down to Denver. Perfect! Everyone's baby-on-plane nightmare averted!

We were warned that the flight to Durango would be even nastier than usual as a weather system was rolling in, guaranteeing that the little shuttle plane would be bounced vigorously over the mountains for the duration of the flight. Fortunately, it's such a short trip that by the time the plane hits cruising altitude, it's time to start the descent. I decided that the best thing would keep the baby on the boob for the whole flight. As it happened, this was our best flight yet! Fausto loved the bumps, and what baby would complain about being latched on to a breast or two for 45 minutes. And then we landed, and the effects of the turbulence and comfort eating came right back up. Yuck! He did fine for the rest of the day, but then at 4:00 and 5:00 in the morning, everything once again came back up.

Papa assured me that for many babies, this is status quo, but given what happened last time Fausto got dehydrated, I was starting to panic. I called both our pediatrician and midwife and asked for advice, while reassuring them and myself that things couldn't be too bad, as the verb "projectile" did not apply, and his diapers suggested no dehydration. The word from both parties: "your baby is overeating." Wow! We've come along way from day 3. Now we're following their advice, burping with greater frequency, and avoiding the 45-minute boob fests. And once again, Fausto-Baby is doing great.