Baby on a plane (yes its worse then snakes on a plane)

Traveling on planes is just a part of everyday life for our family. Our family is divided between two different parts of the country, California and Massachusetts. Ryan has made so many plane flights in his short life that I have lost count. His picture in his passport was taken when he was 10 days old. Just days after leaving the hospital. Even though Ryan is a world class traveler, one of the most stressful experiences for me was bringing Ryan on the plane when he was younger. I would get physically sick about a week beforehand and would spend weeks planning what to take on my all important carry-on bag. Hoping that maybe bringing the right things for the plane would somehow make the trek easier.
It was never a matter of if Ryan would cry it was a matter of how long Ryan would cry for and when. All of my plane trips were rough but the hardest plane ride was when I flew back for my sister's wedding. Ryan was a few months away from turning two and trying to save money I put him on my lap instead of buying him a ticket. That was my first mistake. My plane flight was booked solid with no extra seats anywhere. I sat in the back of the plane because I figured that is where most people would expect the crying baby to be seated. That was mistake number two. Ryan was right in the middle of his door obsession. And what is in the back of the plane?...the bathroom. With, of course, a bathroom door. Well all Ryan saw was the door and he started screaming and trying to get away from my arms. As I was trying to keep him under control he was hitting and kicking the poor people sitting next to me. He even wiggled out of my arms twice while we were taxing to the runway. I had to unbuckle my seatbelt, get out of my seat, smile at the flight attendants (who were all glaring at me), retrieve him from the door, and carry him back to my seat. Later on in the flight during one of Ryan's tantrums a person actually turned around and started mouthing cuss words at me from across the aisles. I couldn't blame the other passengers for being upset, it just did not make my job any easier.
As Ryan got use to the plane flights, things got easier. I would feel guilty putting him through the flights in the beginning because it was obviously a hard thing for him. Now Ryan loves going on the plane and asks me at least once a week if we are going on a plane soon. Our last trip, just at Christmas time, Ryan even helped calm his little sister when she got mad because she had to sit in her seat for so long. He told her it was okay and she could walk around in a minute, just not right now. Ryan usually takes a while to get use to different situations but once he does he is all on board.