First Flight

I flew for the first time when I was about 25.  I had moved to Montgomery with my husband from Norfolk, Virginia.  Rob had gotten out of the military and made the decision to move back to his home town.  The problem for me was my father had passed away only a year earlier and my mother was not doing emotionally well.  I worried about leaving her in Virginia with my two younger sisters.  My sisters were teenagers and very involved in their own activities as teenagers tend to be.  She was not taking care of herself and had been hospitalized a couple of times because of it.  Although we could not really afford it my dear husband came up with the money for Brent and me to fly to Norfolk for a week over the Thanksgiving holidays so that my mother would have me with her at the beginning of the holiday season. 
I flew out of Montgomery, through Atlanta and then into Norfolk airport.  Poor Rob tried to comfort me as I waited for my plane.  I am very afraid of small spaces so this was not going to be fun.  I was very stressed at the size of the cabin and experienced my phobia to the maximum.  Little did I know that poor babies do not do well flying because the air pressure in their ears.  Children and adults know to yawn, chew gum, swallow or something to release the pressure in their ears, infants have no clue and so just cry because they are in pain. 
The flight was a bumpy one as there were thunderstorms from Atlanta to Norfolk so we bounced all over the place which, I assure you was not fun.  Brent had ear issues which made him cry in pain.  I was nursing Brent and am not a person that EVER nursed in public so I couldn't feed him.  I had brought a bottle of water so I tried to have him drink that but he refused it so he found no relief for the entire trip.  Once we were coming in to the Norfolk airport the plane had to make a strong left bank over the ocean in order to line up with the landing strip.  I nearly threw up it was so sharp.  Because we were descending Brent was howling again. 
Finally we touched down and I was able to feed Brent and he was able to release the pressure in his ears.  My mother picked me up at the airport and took me to her house.  I had been so stressed with the small space compounded with a crying baby that I was sure I could never fly home.  When we got to the house I called my husband and told him exactly that.  He was going to get off work to come get me but after spending my vacation time I decided that I could in fact fly back to Alabama. 
Let me state here that I have never had a good flight, not even once, in all the flying I have done therefore I do not like to fly.  I since choose to drive most places I go!  It only takes 3 days or less to drive from my house to anywhere in the United States.