I was pretty nervous about taking on a flight with a connection and two little ones, but it ended up being so much better than I expected. Hazel has a notorious history of making sure everyone wishes they were on a different flight than her, like 90% of the time, not kidding. I travelled several times with her when she was pretty young and she just screamed and screamed and screamed...and then once I was crying with her after I nearly missed the plane, it was horrible. I was quite the spectacle. The attendant came back a few times asking if I was okay, she was okay, etc.
It's always a little embarrassing when all sorts of strangers are trying to find some sort of item they can give your kid to keep them quiet, I mean happy.
Person in seat 13A thinking: Great, out of all the seats on the plane, I get this one, trapped in the row with a screaming baby. And she's probably sick. "Oh no, I don't mind at all...lets see what I have in my purse that she can play with...no really, it's FINE." Anything to make the kid happy, chew on a dollar bill? No problem, have a $20!
I have a rocky flying history with Hazel to say the least, so adding one more kid to the mix was daunting, but Hazel amazed me and did remarkably well. Many prayers of thanks. I would like to thank you all if you have ever helped another mom with her children during any of the following events that took place during my recent trip:
1. Security screening: It takes like 7 minutes to get all my liquids from my diaper bag for a toddler and baby out--including any lip gloss or lotion on hand, toddler out, shoes off, moms shoes off, baby out, fold stroller down, heave it up, keep holding baby or get it back from whatever nice person looked trustworthy, walk through ahead of screaming toddler who left her snuggly in the screening bin and make her wait on the other side of the scary alarm tunnel while you go through, coax her through, and then go back through the process reversed.
2. Loading the plane: Finding tickets in diaper bag, folding down stroller while your toddler is clinging to your leg because all the big people are closing in on her (and getting to all the good seats if you're flying Southwest), get baby back from trusting person #2, accepting help from nice man who ends up carrying the baby to your seat while you carry your overstuffed diaper bag that should really be a duffel to carry any emergency distraction and food for your long trip and toddler that panics when she sees the crack between the plane and the walkway (poor girl has serious anxiety I'm learning--where'd she get that from?), pick up kids and smile at all the people that are smiling at you with probably mostly nice thoughts, while trying to look like a competent mom just in case there are skeptical thoughts (I'd fall into the skeptical category myself).
3. Helping the mom get situated: Choosing where to sit in the row, what essentials you should get out of the diaper bag before stowing it for who knows how long and what if the baby falls asleep, then what do I do if I need stuff?
4. Sharing toys, books, lip gloss, baby dolls...with tired kid: Yes, all of it, just thank you if you've done this.
5. Holding baby during flight: What to do with two tired kids when you get a bloody nose and you're supposed to stay in your seat? Looked all around me in surrounding areas for trusting person #3, but all trusting ones asleep. Stuff toilet paper up nose, put baby in carrier, get toddler, walk to nearest bathroom at front despite seat belt signs, hoping too many people don't see the tissue hanging out, stuff all three into little bathroom until it stops bleeding. Great, what about going to the bathroom? Could I go with the baby carrier on? Hm, don't think it would quite work...shoot. Walk to the back of the plane, slowly (clinging toddler to leg), find stewardess to hold baby, bring toddler in, go, and get back.
6. Not saying anything during stressful or stinky times: Crying bouts, screaming, fussy, etc., thank for not rolling your eyes or saying anything during this or when the only place to change your kid is in your row (thankfully I had the front row with lots of floor room on one flight).
7. Helping mom off plane: By the end of one flight so many people were into our little caravan that they actually seemed excited to help and be part of it. My very last and very tiring leg coming home consisted of a nice woman to carry the baby and car seat off (oh yeah, that was a little bulky to carry with the jumbo bag and toddler on one flight where unfortunately fell short of the usual offers of help), another to carry Hazel's little backpack that seemed to grow after grandma's, and her daughter to carry my diaper bag so all I had was Hazel.
8. Making sure mom has it all together and in the stroller before leaving her: This is where I'm pretty good, but by this point I think people feel good about showing their involvement and assistance in the adventure that unfortunately many times people are quite aware of.
9. Smiling yet again at baggage claim when you see mom reunited with super husband: I love it when I arrive and have my adoring husband there to greet me with a big hug and kiss and loving arms for the tired girls, I'm so full of pride at that moment for making it and showing everyone that may be watching that I'm okay now, I have a supportive husband and a good life to go back to.
I wish she could sleep on planes, doesn't she look happy?
Thank you if any of you have ever helped another mom travelling alone with kids, even if it's just an understanding smile. The flight to Ohio went very well, but the flight back was very tired, and very loud when everyone else was trying to sleep. Poor Hazel kept screaming through tears, "NIGHT NIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!" I felt terrible--a little for everyone else, but most just my poor tired girl and then my baby who would continuously wake up in tears from Hazel's screaming (I mean that literally).
If you read this, I would love to know your best survival story. I love hearing how other moms have done travelling alone and who helped them. Although it's a tough thing to travel alone, I'm almost always in love with humanity after flying because of how kind of helpful people are to me. Josh pointed out that all I have to do is look like I'm trying and then people will almost always be understanding, seems to work.
Q: So what's your travel survival story?
Q: What/who was the biggest help?
10 comments:
oh afton, i love this. hilarious. and so true! check out my blog for our awesome travel story. but i wasn't alone, i had josh. thank goodness. i don't know how you did it!
it's great getting help from everyone around. we had all the stewardesses helping us with the carseats, telling people to be quiet so our kids could sleep, and then at the end, all the stewardesses and even the pilot was helping us get all our stuff to baggage claim. people like us must just look so desperate.
I think I have you beat, try all of that one day before a hurricane hits... the line just to get our luggage checked took three hours, luckily Craig was able to stand in the security line so it didn't take quite as long, but then we had to wait for two more hours after our flight was supposed to take off (all buckled in) just to get cleared to take off. By the time we actually took off and were allowed to go to the restroom both of my children were literally soaked completely through their outfits, then I had to do the bathroom struggle to change both of them. Thank goodness for kind flight attendants, it was the longest day of my life!
Wow.. I have had my fair share of traveling with toddlers since Ellie and I have been commuting back and forth between Switzerland and Cincinnati for the past year. Now that Ellie is 4 1/2 and quite capable of holding her own bag, etc, people are less willing to help. For example, when we left Cincinnati last month she fell asleep just before we got on the flight to Geneva, leaving me to carry the stroller, my carry-on, her carry-on, and my sleeping 4 1/2 year old onto the plane! You wouldn't believe how many people walked by me and watched me struggle. Finally, this older lady who had two bags of her own, asked one of the flight attendants (who are doing nothing when we are boarding) to please carry her bag so she could carry my stroller and Ellie's bag. It was so sweet.
I think my funniest travel stories involve my best friend that lives in Geneva. She has a 2 1/2 year old, and has absolutely no discretion when it comes to traveling. She lets him run all over the plane and has even changed his poopy diaper on my lap during an extremely crowded flight to London! When people gave her dirty looks and started moaning and groaning, she looked at me and said, "It's too bad some people forget what it's like to have a dirty butt!" I almost died of a mixture of embarrassment and shock. I love that she has a "who cares?" attitude when it comes to being a parent. Sometimes I get wrapped up with what everyone else thinks of my child and try to please everyone. In the end, all that really matters to me is that Ellie grows up healthy, safe, and happy.
You did great traveling with your girls. After surviving all of that chaos and juggling, you must feel like you can take over the world!
Hey Afton, I'm so glad you started a blog! It's been fun to see your cute family. I've been so bad about commenting lately but I do enjoy reading your blog!
Anyways, what a story! I flew a year ago with Natalia when she wasn't quite 2. She had been crabby all morning, threw up in my sister's car on the way to the airport, and then had a high fever on the plane. What were the odds that she got sick THAT day when I was traveling? The gruffiest looking man sat next to us and I thought I was in for it but he ended up being the sweetest grandpa and put up with us. I had no idea we had a layover (where we sat on on the hot plane for 30 minutes) and she cried and cried and the whole next flight. It didn't help that the man across from us was diligently trying to read his Harry Potter book and kept sighing loudly and looking at us. Ugh. I told my husband I'm never flying alone without him again!! I'm glad you survived!
Wow! What a story! Something you'll always remember. I'm so glad you survived and got lots of help.
I think my worst trip with the kids alone was when we moved to Houston. Billy drove the moving truck with all of our stuff and car in tow, and I flew down with the kids. Emily had just turned 3 two days prior and Jacob was 9.5 months. We ended up way in the very blast row on the plane, with this super-tall guy in the aisle seat. I swear, he must have played basketball and been really good. Emily was pretty good, but didn't want to share with Jacob or really have much to do with him. Jacob was hungry, tired, wanted to move around, fussy, whiny, crying like crazy. I felt so bad for the guy next to me, who just tried to tune it all out. The flight attendant came over one time with extra snacks (great for Emily) and then offered crayons for Jacob! By then I was near my breaking point and just looked at her and said, "No thanks. He'll just try to eat them." It was the longest 3 hours of my life. I was so happy to get off that plane.
I'm impressed with all the help you get. I've only gotten help one time in the many I've flown alone with the kids. I remember once (in January) being pregnant with a double stroller, my backpack, the two kids and their carry-ons and having a family of 3 cut in front of me in line. I didn't say a word, but I wanted to. :)
Oh my goodness, Afton, you are superwoman! I can't believe the bloody nose part!! Unreal!!
I don't really have any crazy stories with Sheldon. Somehow we've hit things pretty well with him everytime, and we travel a LOT. However, I do have a memory of when I was the difficult child for my mom! =) We were on a terribly turbulent flight (people were letting out screams) and my sister and I (4 and 2) started pretending it was a roller coaster - we thought it was soo fun! I still remember my mixture of surprise when I suddenly threw up at that moment all over my ladybud sweater. All over my mom in fact. Then my sister threw up all over me, my mom, and her. My mom couldn't get up because the turbulence was so bad, and the stewards couldn't come to help because they had to stay seatbelted, so they passed napkins up to her. She then had to RUN to catch her next connecting flight with all of us smelling absolutely horrible. They were holding the flight for us so there was no time for changing. She said the entire airplane stunk because of us. Wow. Let's hear it for moms!
haha! Sorry Afton, someone else was logged into my computer, this is actually Alicia. =)
Oh I love that pic of Hazelnut. She's such a beauty queen. She does look like a mini Afton. Good grief I'm glad our commute was only an hour, not a plane ride. I've never had to travel on the plane without Jake-thank goodness!!! So glad that people are nice and offer to help!
Oh I love that pic of Hazelnut. She's such a beauty queen. She does look like a mini Afton. Good grief I'm glad our commute was only an hour, not a plane ride. I've never had to travel on the plane without Jake-thank goodness!!! So glad that people are nice and offer to help!
Once on a JetBlue flight home from Colorado a stewardess came up to me right after we were seated and Lexi was strapped in, and told me her carseat was not legal to be on an airplane. Excuse me? I'd flown with it before. We had a little face off, and then 5 more flight attendants came to talk to me. One finally said she would take the seat and give it back to me after takeoff. So I gave it to her, and then she informed me she actually wouldn't be giving it back to me, it was just her way of getting me to give it to her. Then the manager came up to me (mind you this was a full flight already) and said, "The attendants are worried that you don't like them and will make this a hostile environment to fly in, so they want to ask you to take the next flight out." I was sooo mad! I started crying and refused to get off. She left, and then the first flight attendant that had ever talked to me came back and said with some major attitude, "don't you be mad at me girl, uh uh, don't you be mad at me." Lexi was in the repeat phase at the time and I said to her, "Say JetBlue SUCKS!" and she said it really loud. It was ridiculous.
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