The first leg, things went pretty well. The flight was far from full, so we were able to bring the car seat on the plane, and Isaac conked out and slept the whole way (see photo above). We're doing great, we thought! Second leg, the long one, things were a little rockier. There was still room for the car seat, but Isaac was cranky and didn't seem to know what he wanted.

I busted out almost everything from the bag of tricks. Toddler-friendly Tonka truck! Yogurt melts! Crunchies! New book with flaps! Other new interactive book! Mini-MagnaDoodle! He was just not happy and kept crying. The only thing he ever wanted was bottle of milk, and even after a few sips, he'd be unhappy again. It finally became clear that he wasn't just unhappy, but that his stomach was hurting. We figured this out when he barfed all over us -- spectacularly and several times in quick succession. Sigh.

I felt so terrible -- for him because he'd clearly been not feeling well for quite a while and for those around us because it was gross, and probably quite alarming in our H1N1-fearing state of alert. I felt like standing up and making a statement: "Sorry about this, and by the way, he doesn't have swine flu." We got similar treatment as our last sickly flight and cleaned ourselves and him up as quickly and as best as we could. After that, he was in a fine mood, hanging out in the seat, reading books, chatting us up.

On the way back, we were worried but prepared. The Bag of Tricks was repacked. There were clean outfits for everyone in one of the carryons. I even had Lysol wipes in a zipper bag. But this time, he slept almost the whole way back. We spent more than six hours in the air, and he snoozed for easily close to three quarters of it, after a short stint of throwing things at the beginning of the second flight. The Bag of Tricks went mostly unused, but it was reassuring to be ready.

Things that did work: My husband took him on a walk up and down the aisle after takeoff on the second leg, which apparently tired him out. Yogurt melts were great for food and a distraction when we first took off. The toy truck got the most interest of the new things I'd packed, even after he'd played with it awhile during the vacation. And, as happened during the last pukey flight, his big muslin blankets were super absorbent and helped us contain and clean up the mess. (Gross but true.)