Michelle here - and by "here", I mean in Canada. How did I get here, you ask? I flew. I flew with a baby. And while you may not be incredibly impressed, I am immensely proud of myself and Teagan, who was dubbed by a fellow flyer "the best travelling baby I've ever seen". I did learn a few lessons on my adventure that I would like to share with you. More for your laughter and entertainment than education - pretty sure none of you can learn anything from me - I'm new! Nevertheless, here they are...
Lessons learned flying internationally with 2 layovers and a 3 month old:
1. Packing "Butt Paste" in your 3-1-1 Ziploc bag for X-ray may just make the TSA agent laugh and even treat you a little nicer - we could all use that, am I right? However, a word of caution: It will not inspire him to tell you ahead of time that you don't need to take your boots off. He'll probably tell you while you're struggling to balance yourself putting them back on whilst trying not to drop your 3 month old. Brilliant.
2. No matter how many extra outfits you pack (I had 3) and how many times you change her diaper while you're waiting at the airport (I don't want to talk about it) she will most likely sully her cutest outfit during the last 10 minutes of your final flight when the fasten seatbelt sign is on. Pooptastic. But even if your baby smells less-than-desirable at baggage claim meeting her Auntie and seeing her Grandma after almost 3 months, they will still love her to pieces. Stinky, stinky pieces.
3. When finding a secluded corner of the airport to discretely nurse a baby, be sure it isn't near an outlet or you may be forced to overhear one half of an incredibly awkward should-have-been-hashed-out-in-person relationship conversation. Would YOU sit down to charge your phone 3 seats down from someone who looked this uncomfortable? (I recruited Teagan to imitate my expression)
4. Not everyone hates 'flying babies', especially not female flight attendants with kids of their own! As I was checking in for our second flight, one of the gate agents heard a coo from a stroller she couldn't see and came around the desk. It was all over. Other gate agents were summoned to come and look at the baby, our seats on this flight AND the next were adjusted so I had an empty one next to me and hair was stroked and cheeks were poked. Teagan was loving it (you can see her beaming in the picture) ! At one point, two civilians came running over to see what was going on because 3 gate agents, a baggage handler and a skycap assistant were all huddled in a mass. Nope, no crisis, just a baby with big cheeks and a bigger ego.
On two of the flights, a stewardess kindly took me aside as soon as we landed and took me as far as she could in the direction of my next flight, which I greatly appreciated. Mostly because the last time I flew I ended up waiting in the wrong terminal and spending the night in the airport. And I thought sleeping across those seats was uncomfortable before I was 6 months pregnant!
5. I'll never again be lonely when I fly. Does anyone else feel as lonely as they'll ever feel when flying alone? Something about being between someone dropping you off and someone else picking you up and being surrounded by total strangers just makes me feel so alone. Good news: Babies solve that little problem! And while it may have been nice to occasionally have gone to the bathroom without company, it was wonderful to have my portable ray of sunshine with me wherever I went.
I had nightmares for weeks about her screaming for the entirety of the flight and being showered with peanuts and pretzels by mobs of angry passengers, running through a dark labyrinth masquerading as an airport terminal and missing every last one of my flights. Turns out it was all in vain, as we managed to arrive in Toronto with neither one of us in tears! And even if she hadn't been good as gold, strangers aren't as mean and scary when babies are involved as I thought they would be. I'll see if I can remember that on the way back!
I'm so excited for her to get to know grandparents, great-grandparents, aunties, an uncle, a great-auntie & great-uncle, second cousins and good friends. She's going to be one busy baby!
5. Her awesome taste in men!!
6. Her ability to jump higher than her husband.
