"Red Bull gives me wiiiings!" August 2012.
We've traveled a few thousand miles to Alberta, Canada, to enjoy a holiday with my husband's family. It took getting up at 5AM to ready ourselves, a 6:30AM taxi to the airport, an 8:30AM flight followed by a two hour layover and then a 12PM flight, ending with a 45 minute drive to get us to where we needed to be. Looooooooong day. But it was worth every minute. And Alice did pretty well for the duration of our travels. In fact, compared to her first plane ride, she was a complete angel!
As long as our day was, I'd say that having a layover was key to keeping everyone happy. Even though Alice is still relatively little and isn't running around (yet), it was nice to have the ability to get out of the cramped quarters of the airplane to stretch our legs. To lay Alice down on a blanket for a kicking session. To use a normal sized bathroom. And to use a normal sized changing table. Have you seen how tiny the ones in an airplane bathroom are?! It's like playing a game of Tetris trying to coordinate getting a kid changed in there.
I used to despise having connections and layovers but now, traveling with a kid, I can see how they could become a necessity. As long as our day of travel sounds, another little family had us totally beat. As I was standing in the aisle rocking Alice to sleep, the dad of this family of 2-year-old twin boys and a 5-year-old little girl asked where we were headed. When I told him we had another four hour flight after the one we were on, he commiserated with me about traveling with kids and then I asked him where they were headed. Oh, just Tokyo. You know, in Japan. Like across the planet from where we currently were. And he and his wife were traveling with three kids under the age of 5.
After I walked away, I'm pretty sure he mumbled Suck it up, lady!
What age do you think is the most difficult to travel with? I'll admit. Traveling with a 4-month old is pretty easy, as long as you aren't flying during the witching hour. I'd imagine once this kid goes mobile, though, all hell will break loose!
Cute pic of Alice... Does red bull really give you wings?
ReplyDeleteI took you on a plane when you were young, but I can only remember that you slept most of the way, but when the plane was landing, you started to cry, so giving you a bottle to suck on helped relieve the ear pressure.
There have been several times when I've traveled by plane where children NOT mine, were having melt downs and causing everyone to stare and give the "get that baby under control look". I feel bad for them... cause I've been there... done that. AND know how hard it is to keep a little one quiet when they are not comfortable. Hope this trip was uneventful in that area. XO
15 - 18 months is by far the most difficult age to travel with. Short attention span + constantly aching to move and shake + no reasoning ability = disaster. Avoid airplanes if you can during this age! :)
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law once flew from Alice Springs, Australia to Calgary, Alberta (where her family live), with Nick when he was nearly 2, BY HERSELF!! I cannot imagine what it would have been like. A shared seat, a kid that is mobile. Agh. She said she packed so many activities for him that he wasn't too much trouble. The only time he slept though was during the stopover in Fiji, but that was in the days when they let you stay on the plane during the stopover so she didn't have to move him.
ReplyDeleteGlad your flights went well.