For those of you who know me.. I am not normally an argumentative or rebellious person, but traveling with 2 small children sometimes makes a person do crazy things. On our way back to Maryland we flew first to Pheonix and then on to Washington DC. The first leg of the trip was pretty bad. Andrew has an ear infection and he cried much of the time. He was whiny and kicking other 
seats. (It was worse than it should have been since we were sitting right behind a woman who 'had back troubles and couldn't bear the slightest jarring of her seat'.) Anyway Andrew finally fell asleep just as we were going on the second plane for our 4 hour flight. I laid him on the seat and was very happy until a stewardess walked past and told me that he needed to be in an upright position for take-off.
seats. (It was worse than it should have been since we were sitting right behind a woman who 'had back troubles and couldn't bear the slightest jarring of her seat'.) Anyway Andrew finally fell asleep just as we were going on the second plane for our 4 hour flight. I laid him on the seat and was very happy until a stewardess walked past and told me that he needed to be in an upright position for take-off. 
Me: Your kidding?!?
Her: no
Me: I promise I won't sue if he rolls off and bumps his head.
Her: It's company policy.
Me: Please... really you have no idea what kind of day we've had. He'll cry the rest of the flight.
Her: It could cause internal bleeding.
Me: I'm willing to assume the risk.
I mean seriously ... if he was 3 weeks younger he would have been a lap child and no one would have asked... but now that he's 2 years and 3 weeks old....it could cause internal bleeding.
Anyway... I don't know what came over me, but I just decided I couldn't wake him up. So the next time a stewardess came to talk to me.. I pretended I was asleep. (Lizzy was asleep too... thankfully in an upright position.) She asked me to at least buckle his seatbelt, which I gladly did. Soon the plane took off and Andrew slept 2 more hours.
Here was my last conversation with a stewardess.
Her: Can I get you a drink?
Me: Water please.
Her: By the way... we were talking about it and I thought I should tell you that if you refuse to follow a guideline... they can actually take your ticket away and refuse to let you fly.
Me: Okay. Sorry.
So what would you have done??
8 comments:
I COMPLETELY would have done the same thing. If I was your stewardess, I would have let you leave him there too. Having a sick and cranky child isn't fun to deal with in an airplane. She obviously doesn't have kids...because we all know the rule that you don't wake them when they are sleeping!!! I am sure you were glad to get off that flight (not to mention that he slept another 2 hours!)You rebellious one you! ;)
Oh, flying with kids is so hard- why did she have to make it more stressful? When we flew to Israel, Lexi kept kicking the seat in front of her all the time! She was in her car seat and it just brought her all the closer to giving it a good whack. She was only 17 months, so we were trying our best to get her to stop, but beside tying down her legs there wasn't too much we could do but distract her as much as we could. I was so glad when she finally fell asleep! I'm sorry it was a rough flight back, but glad you made it safe!
girl...i don't know what I would have done, but I think it's hilarious that you pretended to be asleep. I think that if she would have warned you before the flight took off that you could get kicked off the plane, than obviously you would have woken him up...so who knows what could have happened...but I'm glad that your second flight was less stressful...and I'm glad you're back. love you!
One of the hardest things I have ever done is travel with kids. We flew many times from Boston, and let me tell you, it was NOT an easy thing, especially without your hubby, you are drained from leaving 'home', and airplanes are not child friendly locations!!
Glad you made it home safe! Hope Andrew is feeling better!!!
Rachelle!! That is so funny. I was dying that you pretended to be asleep! At least its over now!! Oh and my least favorite thing about flying with kids is changing a diaper on the plane! AAHHHH!
Wow! What an adventure, I think I would have done the same thing. I'm glad you're back safely. We had a great time seeing you!!
Chelle, I think you did the right thing. Do these people not have kids or something? And did the lady in front of you really say that? Wow, I'm glad you made it home!
Rachelle
You are so very brave and someday Andrew will thank you for jumping hurdles for him so he could sleep two more hours. On the "devil's advocate" side, I do agree that there is strict policy when flying and for good reason, however the way the stewardess handled it was completely unprofessional and immature. What is this "by the way, we were talking.." business?! She should have known the procedures and policies from the beginning and then presented them in a more tactful fashion. If I am ever your airline stewardess I will make sure to let Andrew sleep and will even offer him a softer pillow!...PS- You know you are a mother when you read other mothers' experiences and feel your blood boiling as you place yourself in the very same position! Way to step up!
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