*I am going to give a little warning here as this blog post is not for those with sensitive stomachs who cannot stand to read about bodily fluids. If that is you, skipping this blog post is probably in your best interest.
The direct flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta is the current "world's longest flight" and I can vouch for that. Having taken the flight 3 times with 3 different experiences each time, I am looking forward to not taking it again for quite some time.
The first time we boarded the 17 hour direct flight was to move our family to South Africa. Mark's company paid for us to travel first class, I was not pregnant and had Mark to help me so that flight went smoothly with Adalyn sleeping almost 11 hours and I am sure being able to lay flat on the plane helped that.
The second time I took the flight Adalyn and I went together back to KC in December. I was 18 weeks pregnant, we were able to get family seating with Delta which is a row with two seats instead of three. Adalyn slept 9 hours, watched a little tv, walked around the plane with me, ate well, and it was uneventful.
The third time I took the flight was to travel back to South Africa in January. I was 22 weeks pregnant, Delta messed up and did not give us family seating but luckily we were seated in a row with a nice, young gentleman. After the 2 hour flight to Atlanta followed by a 2.5 hour layover, we were ready for our last leg of the trip. But the plane had to wait an additional 45 mins while we were all seated to finish loading the luggage. Adalyn and I played and I tried to entertain her best as I could in our little section. Once we were at cruising altitude Adalyn enjoyed watching "The Little Mermaid", and once it was over dinner had arrived. Adalyn was not interested in eating but for a girl who gets very little tv I am sure the allure of it right in front of you is hard to pass up so I let her watch another show and tried my best to get some food in her.
Now we are about 3 hours past her normal bedtime so I made her turn the tv off which upset her greatly and she refused to sit in her seat or lay down to sleep. Instead she stood in her seat and watched the various screens of those passengers in front of us despite not being able to hear what they were watching (I am thankful they were at least watching PG movies). Another 30 minutes pass and I get her to lay down but she only managed to sleep about 5 hours. Most of that was tossing and turning as we had a little less room than we did in the family seating section. So with her head on my legs she kept pushing her head into my pregnant belly which made it hard for me to sleep, resulting in about 2 hours of restless sleep.
Once she woke up I tried to get her to walk around the plane but she would not have it. I wanted to stand to stretch my legs but she would not let me be more than a foot away from her, so we ended up seated most of the time. With the tv right in front of her again and me being too tired to come up with new activities in our seats, I let her watch another program. In the middle of this she kept dropping things on the floor which is hard enough to retrieve in those tiny spaces, let alone with a pregnant belly making it difficult for you to bend over.
With 4 hours left until we arrive in Johannesburg I took Adalyn to the bathroom only for her to point out, "Mommy, you peed your pants". Only it was not pee, I was leaking fluid from somewhere. Sheer panic set in as I tried to figure out what is going on with my body while the two of us are squeezed into the airplane bathroom. I was racking my brain and trying to stay calm amid the tears while figuring out what to do. My pants were more dry than my underwear so I knew I had not sat in anything wet which is what I had hoped for. We returned to our seats where I sat on my neck cushion as there is a perfect hole in the center that I was hoping would provide some air to dry out my pants. I turned the tv back on for Adalyn while I sat and prayed.
At 22 weeks I knew the baby would have no chance of survival being born on an airplane and probably would not in an African hospital so I did not alert any flight attendants. I figured there was nothing on board that would help and the closest decent hospital is likely in Johannesburg anyway since we are currently in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I decided to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes which I am sure amused the young man next to me but I did not care. I got Adalyn engrossed enough in a movie that I went without her only to return finding her crying in the seat because her head phones had come unplugged. Luckily there was no additional fluid. Another 15 minutes passed and I attempted to go to the bathroom again but of course Adalyn would not let me out of her sight this time so we went together. Another good sign as things had stayed the same, so we sat back down and I prayed.
The next 4 hours were probably the longest of my life not knowing what was going on or what to do. Adalyn was also not enjoying her time as when the flight attendants would come over the speaker it would mute her program which would inevitably upset her to no end. She pretty much refused her breakfast, I could not eat, and she was so over tired that multiple meltdowns happened over anything. As we started to descend the nausea and sweating set in. It felt as if we were going extremely fast and I hurried to find something to throw up in only to realize that Delta no longer provides the little paper bags in the seat back pocket. So I waded up one of the airplane blankets and held it in front of me in hopes that it would at least catch what was about to come up. During the decent the televisions turn off, so guess who was quite upset again, poor Adalyn, but I could not even talk as I was trying to swallow what was now in my throat. She started crying and pretty much threw herself on the floor in front of her seat. I tried to get in her in her seat and put her seat belt on, but it was no use as I could not physically pick her up from that position and she was going to be of no help. Luckily no flight attendant came around so I let it go and hoped for the best.
The landing was quick and no throw up emerged from my body but we could not get off that plane fast enough. Adalyn, I assume, could sense that I was in a hurry which is why she refused to get off the plane. I had a backpack, a duffel bag and 2 carry on suitcases so carrying her was not an option. The flight attendants would only help carry one bag from section to section so I was on my own. I got her out of the row and pleaded with her to walk which she only did if I let her hold onto my leg. There is not much room in those aisles even to fit a 3 year old beside you but we managed, with lots of tears from Adalyn, and got off the flight. It is a bit of a walk to the customs area and luckily an airport worker saw that I was about to have a breakdown and offered to carry our bags. With Adalyn still refusing to walk and after attempting to carry her which would only last about 20 feet at a time, I again had a crying child.
Customs went quickly as we got to go through the disabled line but our baggage was slow to come out. I sat in a wheelchair and the nice airport worker gathered all of our 5 suitcases, the stroller and the car seat. The Johannesburg airport does not allow non passengers to come to baggage claim so we met Mark at the car and I don't think he was expecting the disaster of a mess he was picking up. Adalyn was calm but started in on her million question mode which I told Mark he had to answer from now on. I blurted out about everything I could from the flight and was thankful to be back home.
I went and saw my OB/GYN, we had an ultrasound and there is plenty of amniotic fluid remaining, what a relief. She thought the pressure from the flight might have caused me to leak some and luckily no additional fluid came out after the first occurrence. After lots of "Thank you Jesus" I was just relieved that the whole ordeal was over. I learned a lot and it is definitely one experience burned into my memory which I hope to never repeat again. Needless to say, I will not be taking the "longest flight in the world" again alone and pregnant with a child.
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