Flying During the Holidays with a Baby: Fun and Exhausting but Worth It
My husband, his daughter and I flew with my 10 month-old baby to Louisiana the day before Thanksgiving. The busiest travel day of the year or so I am told.
If that isn’t daunting enough, we didn’t check any bags and we didn’t pack a stroller. We got up at 4:00 a.m., left the house at 4:15 a.m. and somehow navigated the insanity that was the BWI airport and safely boarded our 5:50 a.m. flight without a hitch. It was still dark outside when the plane took off.
If this sounds crazy to you, I get it. It’s not exactly a relaxing way to kick off the holiday weekend. I wanted to smack my husband for picking such an ungodly flight time. It was so cold outside, my face hurt. I am pretty sure I was sleepwalking when I poured my coffee and I have no recollection of even driving to the airport. It was all a blur. For me, anyway. My son, however, was delighted to be awake and devouring a box of graham crackers before the sun came up. He smiled from the minute he woke up until we got on the plane. He flirted with people on the airport shuttle. He giggled at the flight attendants.
Who is this little charming man? And how the hell did I of all people end up with a child who is a morning person?
Will testing out a seat
Admittedly, I was anxious about many things for this trip, but my biggest worry was that he would poop on the plane. Literally, I laid awake thinking about this most of the night. Where would I change him on a plane? What if it was a blow out? Suppose it got on his clothes or he touched it and then touched me? The entire plane would hate us and there would be an emergency landing. I have flown with him twice before and I often joke that he and I made an agreement that he will not poop until we reach our destination. So far he’s done well on all the flights, but this was a long trip and I was worried my luck would run out.
But like the little rule follower he is, the kid held up his end of the bargain and there was no code brown. He actually was kind enough to take a nap for most of the flight. In between naps, we rewarded him with Cheerios and he was content so long as we placed them directly into his little mouth for him. Oh, and he needed to hold my cell phone at the same time or he would cry. What a little diva! But he was a happy little passenger and most importantly, he was quiet.
If you had asked me a year ago if I could imagine flying with a baby I would have told you HELL NO. I could never have pictured myself carrying a giant car seat (in a giant zip up bag) on my back looking like I was going on a European backpacking trip. But there I was at 5:15 a.m. lugging my twenty-three pound baby like a sack of potatoes through the airport while rolling my overstuffed suitcase. Sweating. At least he flies for free!
I have to admit as awful as it was to get up to an alarm in the middle of the night, it was actually quite lovely to be at our destination by 9:00 a.m. We avoided so much airport chaos and according to my husband, we substantially decreased our likelihood of being delayed. We did this same crack-of-dawn flight on the way home and it was kind of nice to be home early after a long holiday weekend. Don’t tell my husband but I think he may have converted me to being an early morning flyer. So long as I can take a nice long afternoon nap
One thing about traveling to visit family with a baby is you still need a lot of stuff once you get there. No one else we were visiting had baby stuff, so we had to improvise. Who would have thought that my mother in law would have saved the high chair that my husband and his older sister used as babies? It’s almost 50 years old. It was in perfect shape and came in quite handy. My son is totally mobile now and he is crawling and sliding all over the place. Short of tethering him to the dining room table, I needed somewhere to sit him while he ate. And by ate, I mean hurled food across the floor. So every house we went to, the ol’ wooden high chair came along.
At home he sleeps in his crib, but my in-laws had a pack and play that we tried to use as a bed. Turns out, he is not a fan. I guess he felt caged. He reminded me of a wild animal trying to break free when he would stand up and push on the sides. He ended up curled up in our bed or on the floor in a pile of blankets and pillows to protect him from hitting his head on furniture. I missed my own bed very much, but he seemed content with passing out wherever. In that regard, he is exactly like me. As anyone who knows me can attest, I can and do fall asleep almost anywhere if it’s after 8 or 9 at night. I get comfy on the couch, curl up under the blanket and that’s the end of me. I usually only see the first 15-20 minutes of most movies.
I know that around this age, some kids start experiencing stranger danger and they don’t want unfamiliar people touching or holding them. I was concerned he might be overstimulated with all the cheek pinching, but nope. Not my kid. He wanted to be held in the arms of anyone and everyone. We went to someone’s house and a person I have never met before (but was lovely!) held him in her arms and he literally took a nap as she rocked him. I looked over from across the room and there he was with his little head on her chest. He makes friends everywhere I guess. All these parties and social events have shown me how much people like babies. And given how much this kid weighs, I am happy to let other people hold him.
Four days and 54 pouches of apple sauce later, we arrived back to Maryland bright and early. I can’t say that the trip wasn’t exhausting, but I am glad we took him and that he got to experience family and friends that we rarely get to see. I know babies are supposed to follow schedules and routines, but I didn’t (and frankly don’t) follow any of that with him and somehow we had a great time and it all worked out.
My husband and I are both worriers by nature (in totally different ways) but we are pretty relaxed parents. Maybe it’s because we’re both older and he already has a child. Maybe it’s because we just want to live life and not feel as though having a baby keeps us on 24/7 lockdown.
Some people told me I was crazy to take him on an airplane at such a young age. I was told it would be too much. Yes, it was a lot. But it was worth it. My hope is that the less we treat him like a porcelain doll, the more likely he is to be become resilient and brave. Of course, I want to protect him, but I also want him to experience life. I want him to get on airplanes, see new cities, meet new people and become curious about the world. There is only so much he can learn and grow at day care and while watching Coco melon.
He will be one in January and I hope that he remains such a good travel companion because we have two whole years where he flies for free and so long as he agrees to never Code Brown me, he can still sit on my lap and I will gladly feed him Cheerios.