The biggest question from folks has been "Are you sure you can fly with a baby that young?!" All of the Internet searching and chatting with other adopting families yielded some confidence that we were okay to do so. Not until we heard from the pediatrician yesterday were our concerns put to rest.
The biggest issue is not the pressure in her tiny ears, though we'll try to make sure she's feeding during take off and landing to alleviate some of that pain. What concerns the doctors the most is the exposure to recycled air with all those potentially sick people for a couple of hours. She'll be particularly vulnerable to catching something at her young age, so we'll have to keep her close and covered as much as possible.
We considered driving back to Colorado from California, a drive we've made a few times already. The case was made that if we're up in the sky and there's an emergency, we would have to wait to land if we needed help. After enduring the drive through Nevada and Utah multiple times in my life, I would propose we'd be better off for two hours in the sky than for 10 hours through the desert, with only the desert rodents to help us.
A shot from our move to Colorado in 2008
There are some additional requirements, in the form of doctor's notes, that the airline will impose if she's younger than 14 days. That will just be added security knowing that she's carrying a clean bill of health. So, flying it is!
Our pediatrician has also adopted twice. We feel really lucky to have found her so close. She gave us additional tips on how to approach this uncertain phase. It was very comforting to speak with someone who has experience with what we're wading into. She's just another member of the colony welcoming our baby home.
