30 Day Challenge- Day 9 Flying alone with Little L/Ft. Leonardwood again

Oh my goodness! If you have never flown with a toddler by yourself, I don't highly recommend it. It is one of the most stressful things I have ever done, and Little L was a good flier!

At the end of June I went with my mom back up to Michigan to visit family. We sat together so she could help with Little L. He would bounce between our laps and eventually fell asleep on her lap. :) Right after that trip (I think we were home for maybe 5 days) Little L and I left Florida for Missouri. That's right we were flying up to visit M at Ft. Leonardwood. I was a little nervous to be flying alone. We made it to the airport, got all checked in, went through security, which is no fun with a little one because you have to take almost everything out of the diaper bag to be separately screed (ok, maybe not everything, but it sure felt like it). We finally made it to our gate and then we wait. Trying to keep a toddler in one place is a hard thing to do. Let me tell you. I will have to say he was very well behaved.
Finally it was time to get on the plane. I prayed that no one would sit next to us, having that empty seat for him to play in would help save me. I wasn't that lucky. But a nice lady and her little girl sat next to us. Thank goodness it was someone who would understand flying with a little kid. Little L did a great job on the flight, until nap time. He fought nap time with everything he had. I was sweating like you wouldn't believe! Finally, yes finally sleep took over. Little L slept until the plane started to descend.
M met us at the airport, thank goodness. I don't think I would have been able to get us and our stuff on the shuttle that takes you to get to the rental cars. We got all set up in his truck and made the long journey back to Ft. Leonardwood, where we started our week long family vacation. We had our ups and downs, but there was family outings (to Bass Pro shop of course) and to the pool, plus lots of family time in his little room. We also went to the 4th of July Festivities while we were there. We listened to the music, ate some food and we were walking back to M's room when the fireworks went off. Little L just couldn't stay awake long enough to watch them.
It was a great little vacation. But even though Little L was a great flier, it's stressful flying with a little one by yourself. You have to make sure you have everything they might need on the flight, plus it's up to you to entertain them and corral them if needed. There is no one there to help you when you need a little break. Plus I was bound and determined to not having the screaming kid on the flight. I succeeded but not without a lot of work.
On our way back to Florida we were lucky to get an empty seat next to us, so Little L had some extra room to move around. He also played peek-a-boo with the guys behind us.
I wish we would have stayed longer. I was afraid all three of us in the small little room would be too much for M, but I had no real reason to rush home, and I wish we would've stayed a little longer. It was great seeing Little L and M together again. Little L sure does love his daddy.