Traveling with an Infant

Confession time: I am a slight germaphobe. Nothing outlandish or too crazy- I'm not going outside wearing face masks or scrubbing my hands with scolding hot water every 15 minutes, but I refused to take my son into crowded public places for the first 8 weeks of his life. To this day, at 10 1/2 months old, my son has had one case of the sniffles, and that's it. So when I decided to take my son to visit family in San Diego at 4 months old the idea of taking him on a plane was a little nerve wracking. To date he has flown to San Diego and back 3 times.

4 months old:

This was the most daunting of all the flying experiences with him. The flight is less than 2 hours long, so I couldn't really have asked for a better flight time (an hour long flight, maybe, but I knew 2 hours wasn't going to be too rough). Since before he was born I had this fear of being 'that mom' or the woman with 'that kid' that screams in public. (My husband kind of fed this fear a lot since he was a firm believer that kids should not make noise in public... Ya, he's grown more accustomed to the new reality that babies make noise, no matter where they are- but I still will not and have never let my son scream or cry in public if I can help help it.)

We live in what I feel is a small town (I was born and raised in Tucson and lived for 7 years in San Diego- so most places feel 'small') and this airport is tiny: There are 15 gates total... My husband dropped me off at the outdoor check in kiosk, helped me unload my bag, I strapped Nathan to my front in his Ergo carrier and off we went. Luckily the flight was pretty empty, and I was quick to whip my boob out to start nursing as soon as I boarded so I got the whole row to myself.

I have noticed in my life that when one thing goes great, the universe needs to balance itself out with something not going right... Lo and behold, we board the plane, taxi to the runway, and a light or something (I am not a pliot in the slightest) goes off. We end up sitting on the tarmac for an hour before going back to the gate to sit for another 45 minutes with no air...

By this point I am thinking Nathan will be in hysterics by the time we take off. But I was smart- I pre-boarded the plane and mozied on down toward the back (but not too far back as I've learned my lesson to not sit too close to the lavatories!). Apparently the other people with children took note and sat in nearby seats. Nathan was entertained by the other children and the sack full of toys I brought with us. Thankfully with the open seats next to me I was able to spread out a blanket, put Nathan down and he was content.

As soon as we started taxing again I put him back on the breast and with the hum of the engines he was out for the whole flight. He woke up just before landing, where I put him on the breast again to help his ears to pop and voila! we had made our first flight.

I would like to add that when we were exiting the plane NUMEROUS people complimented Nathan and myself- one woman said 'He is such a great baby' to which her son replied 'That's cause he has such a great Momma!'. My heart was happy and my flying fears were over.

Our flight home there was little to report. The only issue I had was that at San Diego International Airport you have to arrive 2 hours (minimum) before your flight and Nathan was not enjoying the wait so I was forced to walk with him in circles until our flight boarded.

8 months old:

My sister was getting married so we all had to fly back out to San Diego. My husband came with for these flights which made me less anxious- in the very least there was guaranteed to not be a stranger sitting next to me while feeding my son. To be honest I hardly remember this trip- which I suppose is a good thing. All I remember is the flight home wherein we were able to check in, check our bags AND go through security and not a single airport employee gave us a boarding pass for Nathan. It wasn't until we tried to board the plane that they wouldn't let us on without it.

10 months:

I bought a car in San Diego and my husband and I had to go pick it up (and use it as an excuse to visit family!). So back on the plane we went!

This trip was tricky as my husband had just received back surgery a couple weeks earlier and wasn't in the position to help me with Nathan. This did come with one advantage though- we boarded FIRST with the handicap boarding. Score!

Waiting to board has become my nemesis though. Since Nathan has become a lot more active he wants to ALWAYS be moving. While waiting for this flight he was flinging water from his water bottle onto anyone and every one near us, and then proceeded to yell at anyone who was not paying attention to him. It could have been much worse though- I just have a child who- like his father- craves attention.

Like every other time flying Nathan was OUT as soon as the engines started humming and we were in the air. Also like every other flight prior we were blessed to have the row to ourselves.

Flying home was less glamorous. My husband was driving new car home, so it was just Nathan and myself on the plane again. We arrived two hours early, thusly had two hours to kill in the terminal. Nathan would not sit tight, but the place was SO crowded (worse than I've ever seen) that I had no choice but to let him pout on my lap while I tried to pin him down. I had been spoiled by boarding first with my husband prior and now that he wasn't here I had to wait my turn to board after the "A's". Nathan lost it by the time we were allowed to board- he was the 'in-public-crier' I had been dreading. Thankfully they let us board quickly, we took our seats near the back and hoped that the flight attendant that told me there were going to be 12 empty seats was right.

Some chick decided to sit in my row- despite there being an entirely empty row behind us! I was frustrated that now I was going to have to hold Nathan the whole flight, but at least the middle seat was empty so I could let his feet hang over a bit. (I can only get so angry though, as he was flying for free.) Nathan passed out quickly, and slept so soundly that when we landed and I tried to wake him up so we could exit the plane, he would NOT wake up.

Flying with Nathan had proven to be a lot less traumatic than I would have assumed flying with an infant would be. I don't know if I got lucky with a good 'flier' or if this is typical behavior for small children, but I am beyond thankful for the positive experiences we have had. Incidentally, every flight we have been on we have been complimented either by flight attendants or other patrons. I've been tempted to tell them it's purely luck that he didn't spend the flight screaming, but perhaps I should take a little credit for knowing what my child needs, and providing that ASAP.

So my 3 tips to flying with an infant:
1. Whip out a boob as soon as you board- people are a lot less inclined to sit with you, and since they start pressurizing the cabin as soon as the doors shut this will help your babies ears to pop.
2. Don't pass up pre-boarding, and sit near the back of the plane!
3. Bring toys, snacks and be prepared to nurse with people staring at you! Heck, I even looked up the civil codes and laws for where I am traveling to (or from) so if anyone says anything I can recite the law and put them in their place.

 *I learned recently that Southwest has done away with the direct flight to San Diego. This upsets me as I would hate to have to make a connection and do more waiting in the airports with Nathan, especially now that he is super mobile and a typical fidgety little boy. I suppose my trips back to San Diego will happen less frequently now. Sigh.