Plane ride to the sunny side.
Traveling with a small child, no matter how old has got to be nerve racking for every parent. I mean, there is no telling what will happen. I mean, I’m taking my tiny, non-verbal teething baby onto an aircraft 10,000+ feet up into the sky where we can’t just get up and leave for 3 hours with a bunch of other people that will most likely be rolling their eyes (after they smile because Savanah is so so adorable obviously) that there will be a small baby on the plane with them….for 3 hours.
Well, luckily for me, my little one year old gave me a freebie for our first plane ride together.
I’m not going to lie, (after circling Newark Airport about 3 or 4 times ) my husband dropped us off for our flight, I started to reel a bit:
did I pack everything we need?
What did I forget?
Did I forget something?
No, right?
Omg why did I pack so much?
Do I even need all of this?
I packed the baby right?
After successfully checking Savanah’s carseat/base and our checked bag at the entrance, we zipped through security without a hitch and made our way to the gate, found an empty seat by a garbage can (hear me out) and dropped our bags.
So let’s talk about this garbage can theory, shall we?
Being next to a garbage sounds super gross, but when you have a small child, being next to a garbage can is a blessing because most of what they eat is going to end up on the floor and the rest will casually end up smeared all over their hands and face and perhaps the floor. No need to shove a wipe full of half eaten food into your pocket (and possibly finding it weeks later), you can just throw that sucker out into the garbage can RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!
Of course, adding to my anxiety, our flight was delayed so I had to figure out how I was going to entertain this tiny human in a tiny airport with nothing for kids. When in doubt, take a tour! I held her tiny hands as we took a couple laps around the waiting area, looking at every snack, every drink and every person that we passed by. Just as I started to panic that I had run out of things to point out to her, I heard something mumbled over the loud speaker about our flight to Sarasota. You know that mumbling Im talking about : “ashfjaksldvhasdf shmmm FLIGHT ksjdhaua TO BOARD TO SARASOTA. PLEASE dhfsajkghsdf AND PASSPORT READY”. I mean, come on! You have enough money to build an airport and expand the parking lot but not enough money to replace a couple microphones so it doesn’t sound like the stewardess is stuck under water trying to deliver a message.
As we rushed to the gate, bags and stroller in tow, I couldn’t wait to just sit down with her and look out the window. Of course, after all of the trouble I went to, to make sure we had a window seat, she of course had little interest looking out the window. Oh well. That’s kids for you I suppose. (Wait, is this what I have to look forward to in her ten years?? Send help!) I booked the first window seat in the first row so we could be the first people off of the plane which wound up being just the perfect place to be. Savanah gave her best greeting to EVERY SING) My anxiety butterflies began to fly away as I felt a huge sigh of relief that maybe this plane ride was going to be awesome.
I had planned the flight so the takeoff time was during her nap time and I’d start breast feeding her as soon as the flight took off so that (hopefully) she would sleep most of the ride. Of course I also had my arsenal of toys as back up to avoid any unnecessary crying/whining while in the air. Im happy to report that my plan worked out swimmingly and she woke up with about 40 minutes to spare, most of which we spent pushing the buttons on the chairs that control the little tvs and playing with some of the toys I had brought. The stewardess was smitten with her (as she SHOULD be lol) and offered us a bunch of snacks throughout the flight which was super helpful. Between the waving, the extra room seats with a view and the special treatment, I felt like I was flying with a royal or something.
All in all it was a great first experience flying with Savanah and I can’t wait to plan the next adventure where we get to fly. Perhaps Africa? Or maybe the Galapagos Islands? What the hell, lets go to space as our second trip!
