A Fear of Flying

Tomorrow we are going on our first family vacation. This includes Hannah's first plane ride. We are headed to Hawaii.

I am not afraid of planes. But I am somewhat claustrophobic and this will be the furthest I've ever flown.

A part of me thinks I'm a huge idiot for making Hannah's first plane ride also my longest.

Before I became a mother, I HATED flying with babies. About five years ago I took the red eye to London to visit a friend. There were like 10 babies on that flight! I angrily texted my friends as I waited to board the plane. How would I get any sleep if babies were crying all night?

Image: http://www.herdaily.com

While pregnant I flew twice - once to Orlando and once to NYC. I had a lot more sympathy for the parents with babies on those flights. There was even one family who had three kids under 5, who were the best behaved kids I ever saw. I never heard the baby cry once! Those parents became my new heroes. I should have asked them for their tips, but never thought to at the time.

Now instead of worrying about babies being on my flight, I am worried about how my baby will do on the flight.

Hannah is a very relaxed and easygoing baby (I thank my lucky stars each and every day). She usually only cries when she's hungry or tired. But she's cries when she's teething. She's started to cry if she's playing with a toy and we've decided it's time to do something else. And she pretty much always cries when I change her diaper in public.

However, my Mom is coming with us. So there will be three adults for one baby. We have packed lots of books and toys that don't make any noise. Hopefully it will be OK. If we receive under five death stares, I'll consider it a success.

And if not, I know there is a nice umbrella drink waiting for me under a palm tree once we land. Vacations are supposed to be fun, after all.

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.