The girls and I are getting ready for our next airplane adventure. My girls are no strangers to air travel; Sugarplum’s first flight was at 5 weeks. Honeybun took her first flight at 4 ½ months and since has been on over 90 airplanes (see “Oh, The Places We’ve Been!” for info on all our travels).
Honeybun has always been a great flyer. Her first flight even though we didn’t buy her a seat they were undersold and she got to sit in her car seat anyways and she slept the entire way from Ft. Lauderdale to Denver. Whenever possible we would put her in her own car seat and she got used to it very quickly and has never really argued or fussed. When deplaning with Honeybun I often got compliments about how quiet she was and how people didn’t even know she was there.
I returned to Florida from Dublin to deliver Sugarplum and traveled alone with Honeybun for the first time. At 36 weeks pregnant we boarded a 10-hour flight from London to Denver and Honeybun only got out of her car seat twice to get a diaper change. The rest of the time she spent watching movies, napping, reading books and coloring (even though I was in the bathroom at least once an hour–the cabin steward was fantastic and came by every 15 minutes to refill my water glass!)
Sugarplum on the other hand has never been a good traveler, specifically when we tried to put her in her own seat as an infant. She was not used to the car seat since we didn’t have a car in Dublin and much preferred being in my arms, though on long international or cross-country flights this was not ideal for me. I often got irritated looks from other passengers and the flight crew but I tried to not let it bother me. I’ve realized most travelers are business people who either don’t have children or rarely see the ones they do have. Babies cry and it’s not always simple to get them to stop and sometimes trying to get them to stop can be worse.
I learned this lesson the hard way. When Sugarplum was about a year and a half we returned to the states for Christmas. We started our journey with a stop in Massachusetts to see hubby’s family then ventured on to Colorado to spend Christmas with my family. The flight over the ocean must not have been so bad because I don’t remember it at all but the flight to Colorado was horrendous. Sugarplum was exhausted but we missed the opportunity to get her to sleep during boarding so she was really fussy by the time we took our seats. No matter what I did she just cried and cried (and screamed….see “The Scream Heard Around the Neighborhood”). A nearly 4 hour flight and nearly 4 hours of screaming. By the time we landed everyone was ready to get away from her, including me.
I learned from that experience that it doesn’t matter what other people think. I was so caught up in trying to look like I was doing something about it so people wouldn’t be mad at us that it just made Sugarplum more and more upset and the situation was actually much worse. The next flight I put her in her seat, gave her her comfort items and ignored her completely. 12 minutes of crying/screaming and she was asleep.
Our family travelling has slowed down drastically since returning to the states. We have only been on one airplane trip since moving back over 8 months ago but Sugarplum did so well on those flights. She has gotten used to being in the car seat now that we drive more regularly (and the multi-hour car trips to Disney don’t hurt either!) and so being in it on the airplane is no big thing for her. I find the car seats are so helpful for both girls when flying because I can tell them that their seatbelt must be buckled all the time and they don’t question it because it’s not a choice in the car. It helps keep them in their seats (I am not the type to EVER let my kids go up and down the aisles unless going to or from the lavatory which I avoid at all costs) and they are way more comfy for sleeping which is what really makes any airplane trip with kids easier!
And my advice to those travelling without kids: Get over yourself. Chances are that mommy is doing her best and is just as irritated as you (often because of you). It’s a few hours out of your life and it’s not like you can be on a conference call anyways. We all have places to go and it will be over soon enough!
