NYD5 - Departing flight

Our flight was supposed to leave NY at 11 this morning but due to a mix up, Uwe was booked on the wrong flight (going home tomorrow instead of today). So with a lot of phone calls and scrambling once we realized the mistake, Uwe was able to get on another departing flight for today at 4:45 PM (but not the 11 AM flight I was booked on, which was full.)So here's the dilemma: a) 2 different departure times which meant we wouldn't be flying together, b) one of us would be traveling solo with the baby, and c) lots of luggage. Uwe was concerned that if Astrid went on the later flight she would get home past her bedtime and this would screw up her sleep schedule. I also didn't think I would be able to handle the luggage and the baby and stroller by myself.

The photo above is Uwe and Astrid leaving for JFK airport.

We made a game time decision that Uwe would fly with Astrid on the earlier flight and I would fly alone on the later flight with 4 bags. (Uwe had 3 bags and the diaper bag. My hero!) I prepared two bottles for Uwe to give Astrid during takeoff and landing, and another empty bottle just in case, and I convinced him to bring the can of powdered formula in the diaper bag just in case (which I'm glad I did because the flight was delayed and Uwe had to make another bottle on the plane).

The latest checkout time at the hotel was 1 PM so it wasn't like I could catch up on my sleep or go sightseeing and come back. In fact I tried to sleep a little but I found that I was so wound up and worried about Uwe and Astrid that I couldn't even sleep. So what I ended up doing was formatting my photos of our NY trip on my laptop. I found myself really missing Astrid. She's my little shadow. It felt so strange to be without her. I missed holding her in my arms. I missed stroking her head. I missed kissing her cheeks. I missed caring for her. It surprised me that I missed her so much when I was only apart from her for one day. I thought to myself that this is just a taste of what new moms feel when they go back to work.

The whole time I felt like something was missing, that I had forgotten something. Normally when I'm out I have the baby and the stroller and the diaper bag. Today I had none of those things. It was the weirdest feeling.

When I was on the plane I tried to sleep a little bit and I caught a whiff of something and immediately thought I needed to change Astrid's diaper, but there was no Astrid. Talk about having baby on the brain!

Speaking of bad smells...
It grosses me out that in New York they just put the garbage out on the sidewalk in full view/smell of everyone walking by. This garbage was piled high on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant. I don't think I'll ever get used to this.The taxicab driver took a shortcut through Central Park, so I was able to see it one last time before heading back to LA.At least the drivers don't have to change the Mayor's name on the stickers in their cabs. Michael Bloomberg was reelected Mayor of NY.

By the time I got home Astrid was sleeping. Uwe said she was the star of the plane. At least 10 people complimented Uwe on his beautiful/cute baby. He said it was almost embarrassing. And although flying alone with the baby was a lot of work, he really enjoyed being able to care for her and spend the whole day with her. He said she was "angelic". I forget sometimes that Uwe doesn't get to spend as much time with Astrid as I do and he misses her when he's at work.

So everything worked out in the end (as it always does). I'm glad to be home with my family again.