Flying with Baby

As you may recall from the post A Fear of Flying, I was really scared to take Hannah on the plane when we went to Hawaii.

Even once we were at the airport, waiting to board, I was still nervous.

But then I saw the other babies. And once we boarded, I heard the other babies.

That's when I realized, like everything else in life, there will always be better behaved babies than mine on a flight AND there will always be worse behaved babies too.

So really, I should have only been afraid that Hannah would be the worst behaved baby on the whole plane.

Not so. She was a dream. She slept, she wore Daddy's Beats by Dre headphones, she pressed the television screen in front of her, she ate, she talked to another baby across the aisle. It definitely helped that we were three adults taking care of one baby. Especially when it came to schlepping our stuff during the layovers. But in all fairness, Hannah flies very well. At least at this age.

To make things easier on us, we did board the plane early, and we usually waited to exit the plane last. WestJet usually sat us close to the back of the plane on all of our flights - right near the washroom where the change table is located. Chris was super Daddy and changed her on the plane, so I don't have experience to share about changing a diaper at a gazillion feet in the air.

Security let us go through will all her formula, solid foods and bottled water for her to drink (even when I forgot it was in there, and offered to throw it out, they said if it was for the baby it was fine). Getting the stroller through the x-ray machines was a bit of a challenge, but it's no worse for the wear. We took her umbrella stroller, which we took right to the gate and was always waiting for us right where we got off the plane. We also took her car seat and it travelled as checked luggage with no issues.

My best tip is to not bring noisy toys. We didn't. I think most people are understanding you can't control the noise your baby makes 100 per cent of the time - but toys you offer them? That's all you.

What are your travel tips when flying with children?

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

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.