Ophélie

Part 57

"Va être en retard! Allons-y Ophélie!" Arthur yells up the stairs at me. (We're going to be late! Let's go, Ophelia!)

I take another look around the room making sure I haven't forgotten anything, and then pick Julie up and rush downstairs with her.

Charles left for Canada on Saturday, and Arthur and I decided that we should fly out and surprise him. I'm so anxious about leaving anything behind that we'll need for Julie. I have arranged with the hotel to have a bassinet set up in Arthur's room, we'll move it when we get there, but I have to make sure I remember everything else.

When I get downstairs I strap Julie into her car seat and then head out of the door, Arthur ushering me out.

Lorenzo helps me get the car seat into the back and then I run around the car and climb into the back seat.

When we arrive at the airport Lorenzo helps us with all our bags, I'm certain that Charles is going to want us to stay with him for the next five races before summer break, so I've packed a lot. Once we've checked in, we say goodbye to Lorenzo and then make our way to the gate, making it just in time for first-class boarding.

Once we're on the plane a flight attendant brings a bassinet into my compartment and Arthur and I ask her if she can join our two compartments into one, seeing as we're right next to each other. She happily obliges and when she's done she gushes over how adorable Julie is. She tells me that she heard from a friend that feeding a baby during takeoff helps with the pressure on their ears. I thank her and then make myself comfortable, laying Julie down in the bassinet, her stroller and car seat are in the luggage compartments under the plane.

We're about to take off so I lift Julie out of her bassinet, pulling a blanket over us and unclipping myself to feed her.

She drinks happily, not knowing anything about what we're doing. I smile down at her under the blanket, when I look up Arthur is taking pictures of me. I roll my eyes at him and stick out my tongue.

Once we're in the air I settle down with Julie, laying her in my lap and talking quietly to her. She stares at me with her beautiful green eyes. I take a picture of her.

Halfway through the flight, Julie won't settle. She's crying and people around us are giving us dirty looks. I grab her diaper bag and rush to the bathroom. I change her diaper and change her into a new set of clothes. I bounce her up and down trying to calm her but she won't settle. She's screaming so much her little face is red. I sit on the toilet and I'm about to pull out my breast to feed her when there's a knock on the door. I sigh, opening the door slightly, and I'm met with the smiling face of the flight attendant who helped us when we got onto the plane.

"I'm so sorry." I sigh, defeated, "She never cries like this."

She smiles warmly at me, holding out a bottle of baby saline and a nasal aspirator. "She's probably a bit congested. There's no need to be sorry, she's a tiny little thing, and she can't help it."

I smile at her. "Thank you so much."

She squeezes into the bathroom. "Let me help you."

She holds Julie while I use the aspirator to clear her nose and then put some of the saline into her nose.

She passes her back to me and Julie immediately starts settling.

I take a deep breath. "Thank you so much."

"She's not the first little human we've had on our flights. You've got this." she rubs my arm.

I smile at her, a little embarrassed. "Would you mind holding her while I use the bathroom? I was going to ask my brother-in-law, but now that we're here."