Travelling with Baby

My daughter has been on more flights in the first six months of her life than I was on in the first 20 years of mine! How crazy is that!

We live in Baltimore, Maryland, but call Ontario, Canada home. Before Lilah was born, my husband and I would drive the roughly 10 hours back and forth. Lilah was born in Ontario so we drove when we came back to Baltimore when she was just a month old, but at that time she was still sleeping more than she was awake and slept most of the way (we also stayed the night in a hotel and did the drive over two days). Since then, we have yet to brave the trip in the car because Lilah is older and more active and would need more frequent stops making the 10 hour drive significantly longer. Instead, we have been flying back and forth when we travel home.

Lilah and I flew alone for the first trip back when she was about 4.5 months old. I was a little stressed out about travelling alone with an infant. I was worried about whether or not she would sleep, if and when she would eat and where I was going to feed her, if she would have trouble with her ears on the plane, if she would cry on the plane...and the list went on. Looking back, I really didn't need to worry so much (which is the way it usually plays out).

It was an exhausting day...30 minute drive to the airport, 1.5 hours waiting for our flight, 1.5 hour flight, 30 minutes waiting for baggage, 2 hour drive home. Despite the fact that it was a long day for both of us, Lilah was FANTASTIC! She stuck fairly closely to her normal eating and sleeping schedule which was great. On our first flight, I was lucky enough to find a seat between two very nice women who were helpful and accommodating. I wanted to breastfeed as the plane was taking off to make sure Lilah didn't have any problems with her ears. The woman to my left was more than happy to have Lilah's feet dangling over her lap and the woman to my right was great about trying to shield me a little so I didn't expose myself to the other passengers.

I started to feed Lilah a little too early and she was actually finished nursing before the plane took off. Even though she has never had a pacifier before, I gave one to her just as added assurance. She sucked on it a little, but was soon fast asleep. She slept for just over half of the flight and when she woke up, she was perfectly content to play on my lap for the duration. She did start to get a little antsy toward the end of the flight because it is pretty tight quarters when you are travelling with a lap baby (as a side note, make sure you do a diaper change before you board because there is NO space to do it once you are on the plane unless you are travelling with another person that can help).

On the way back, I wasn't as lucky in my seat choice. I ended up sitting beside a rather antisocial man who seemed slightly annoyed that he was seated next to a baby. I attempted to nurse as the plane was taking off, but again, Lilah was finished before lift-off. She took the pacifier a little more eagerly the second time and again didn't seem to have any problems with her ears. She did cry more during this flight because she was a little overtired and was having trouble falling asleep. She did eventually sleep and the rest of the trip was a breeze.

We recently took the same trip as a family which was much more relaxing! Having a second pair of hands was great! I had the same game plan for this trip (to nurse during take-off, then offer a pacifier) which worked about the same as the last time. Lilah slept during both flights, but had a lot of trouble falling asleep during the flight back to Baltimore which was a little stressful for my husband and I. I was trying not to be stressed out and kept telling myself that it didn't matter what anyone else thought, but it was a challenge never the less (I am not sure which was more stressful for my husband...the crying or having to watch Lilah as she stood on my lap with her hands on either side of the window looking like she was going to jump out of the plane. It was really quite amusing to see my husband squirm in his seat as if she could actually fall out of the plane).

Funny story...

As we were sitting on the plane waiting to take off on our way to Detroit, we noticed a beeping noise. We didn't think much of it until other people on the plane started to ask "What is that beeping?" Everyone started checking their phones and other electronic devices. We don't have a cell phone so didn't think it could possibly be us, but my husband picked up his carry on bag just to check. Sure enough, the beeping was coming from our carry on bag! We had packed Lilah's baby monitor in our carry on bag so that it wouldn't get broken in our checked luggage. It is set to sense her movements when she is sleeping and alarm us when there is none. The switch had accidentally been flipped when we boarded the plane and because it was not hooked up to the sensor pad, the alarm was going off. It was quite funny, but a little alarming to the other passengers on the plane, especially because in the midst of the searching for the mysterious beeping noise, my husband blurts out "It sounds like it is coming from the wing!" Nice one dear!