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.

Snorkeling and Dolphin Watching in Oahu (#hnlbambina)

My favourite day in Hawaii included swimming with a wild sea turtle.

Chris and I did a tour with Hoku Nai'a that included dolphin watching in the morning, lunch on the boat, and snorkeling in the afternoon. We left Waikiki early in the morning, and boarded the brand new 149-passenger two-deck catamaran, custom built for eco-friendly dolphin watching around 9 a.m.

The dolphin watching was so cool. We saw a pod of at least 15 spinner dolphins, and they lived up to their names. As I remarked to Chris, I had to stay on the top deck of the boat or I would have been too tempted to jump in and swim with them.

Around lunch time, the boat got quite rocky and a lot of people started to get sick. The crew apologized for the rough ride and blamed the winds. I don't know if it was riding the subway while pregnant that made the boat ride a walk in the park for me, or just the fact that I was so excited to get in the water but thankfully I was fine.

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for arrived. I got to enter the water! As soon as we got in, one of the tour guides pointed out a sting ray swimming beneath us. Then a sea turtle was spotted. I tried to take photos with an underwater camera we purchased at the ABC Store, but it was so hard to see through the view finder. At one point Chris wanted to go back to the boat, so I swam back with him and then back out to the group. Those few moments when I was "alone" with the fish were amazing. I swam with a school of fish going the same direction as me and I felt a part of their pack.

When we got to the second snorkeling location, many folks decided to stay on the boat. I was the first tourist in the water and the last out. This time there was another turtle who was quite active. He swam by me, maybe five feet away. I think he was OK with getting closer to us because there were less people in the water. Our tour guide made sure we kept a good enough distance as not to startle him. Of course, by this point, I had no more film left in the underwater camera. A part of me was actually thankful for this - it made me truly experience the moment rather than attempting to capture it on film.

While it was mostly adults on the boat, and at least half only boarded to dolphin watch, one family who had a four-year-old daughter entered the water and she was quite happy to do so. I can't help but hope in a few years Hannah will be interested in joining me and seeing wild sea life up close. Being able to snorkel with my daughter would be the ultimate highlight of any vacation I could ever take.

YYZ Bambina is tagging all Hawaii-related posts #hnlbambina.

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

Honolulu Zoo (#hnlbambina)

I was in love with the Honolulu Zoo. And the animals at the Honolulu Zoo were in love with Chris' camera, he got lots of great shots (it was really hard to determine which ones to post).

Again, before we went my Mom warned us the Zoo hadn't gotten the best reviews online. I have no idea what these people expect for $14 admission, but our trio (and our free baby visitor) were quite impressed.

It's not as big as the Toronto Zoo, and there's no huge hill to check out the animals who are indigenous to the island (thank goodness). The exhibits are big and beautiful (although slightly odd when you can see a Waikiki hotel towering in the background), but they aren't so far apart you feel like you are walking for days until you reach one animal from leaving another. We saw everything the Zoo had to offer in about three hours.

There are more than 1,200 mammals, reptiles and birds that call the Honolulu Zoo home. There are elephants, lions and chimpanzees. Hippos, tigers and meerkats. If the animal showed up to Simba's introduction in the "Circle of Life" in the Lion King, you can most likely see them here. Like one of the dolphins at Sea Life Park, Hannah attracted many of the animals to come close so she could get a better look.

With all the controversy surrounding the elephants at the Toronto Zoo, I think their new home should be the Honolulu Zoo. And I think for coming up with that idea (although, not offering to foot the cost to fly them to Hawaii - perhaps Bob Barker could do that?), I should get a free trip every year to visit said elephants in their new paradise home.

Located quite close to the Waikiki Aquarium and across from Waikiki Beach, the Honolulu Zoo is a must for all visitors - with or without children.

YYZ Bambina is tagging all Hawaii-related posts #hnlbambina.

© 2012 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.