We're back from Maui! It was completely bittersweet coming home. I so love my Maui but I was ready for my own bed, to get Isla on a schedule and to welcome Fall.
We went to Maui totally last minute because B had a business trip pop up and you better believe I wasn't going to let him leave me at home with our crazy Daughter while he sauntered off to Hawaii with mai-tais in hand- no sir-eeee!
I was terrified to fly with Isla (who is a brand-new 8.months) but I got lots of advice from other mamas and thankfully Isla did awesome! She definitely did better on our flight TO Maui because it left at 11am. She was able to get in her morning nap (about 30 minutes) and then was a happy camper the rest of the flight.
Truth is.... it was exhausting for us entertaining a baby for almost 6 hours but she did great and other passengers complimented her fabulous flying skills.
2 mais-tais and a bottle please :)
I was going to do a separate email about my tips on flying with a baby but I'll just do them here- why not?!
1. Wear Baby through the airport.
You can go through security with your "little one" in their baby carrier. You will just have to get your hands swabbed (to check for explosive residue). If you don't want to do the full body scan you will need to do a pat down which isn't bad at all. Bringing the Ergo was one of the best pieces of advice I got. It worked great and when Isla wouldn't sleep easily on the way home it helped me rock her as I stood for almost an hour- ug! Next time- I'll download a book and bring my headphones so I can multi-task as I double as her mommy-rocker.
2. Feed baby on take-off and landing to help with ear issues.
I fed Isla too early when we landed but thankfully she seemed to have no issues with her ears. She stood up and made friends with all the other passengers. She was like the welcoming committee. I would wait until the pilot asks the flight attendants to cross check before preparing. I also suggest taking a back-up bottle and asking the flight attendant to fill it with water. They were happy to accommodate this request. If your baby will take a paci this could help too!
3. Skip the nursing cover.
If you're packing light or going carry-on I suggest you skip the nursing cover (which can be just a lot of fabric to fight with) and wear an Aritzia sweater (I blogged about these previously- they're magic) or bring a blanket to double as a nursing cover and blanket for baby if they get cold. Our plane home was really chilly and I was really glad I did this in lieu of bringing my cover.
passed.out. thank.God.
4. Make Friends with the Flight Attendants
The flight crew is much more willing to help you out and allow you to be places you're not supposed to be (like loitering in the breezeways rocking a fussy baby) if you're nice and try to do your best to stay out of their way. If you ask for water for that bottle (as suggested above) it makes for a nice "icebreaker" to start a new in-flight-friendship.
We introduced Puffs and 2 new toys and they kept Isla busy for a bit. One of the toys (the Oball ) doubled as a swim toy in the pool! (If you get this toy- grab it at Target- it's only $5!) On the way home we brought the two books we usually read to her before bed. Even though we were in the air it helped cue her that it was sleepy time (even if she only got the memo for an hour :)
There is nothing grosser than your little one with bare feet in the airport. (And remember your socks to get through security- I failed on this! ewww!)
7. Bring more diapers and wipes than you think you'll need.
My Brother&Sister-in-law were just on a flight where some poor mama forgot to bring extra diapers and she had to bum one off another parent. She apparently forgot an extra outfit too because her kiddo ran around in a diaper the rest of the flight (I can only imagine the blow-out that occurred).
Remember those extra diapers and wipes- you will need them and even if you don't you'll be glad you had them. I ended up using my wipes to clean Isla's hands/face/and any suspect surfaces that scared me.
Remember to pack an extra outfit and PJ's if you have an evening flight as well. I changed Isla into PJ's right before our evening flight and it was seamless. The baby changing tables on the plane aren't bad at all- I was shocked! Isla loved looking in the mirror while I washed my hands.
8. Download the Iphone app: Talking ABC
Now I'm not one to let Isla get on electonics but this was my back-up if all else failed and I needed a break. It will seriously save you. get it! It's a cool claymation presentation of the alphabet that lasts like 30 seconds and seriously chills out kiddos. It gives you a much needed break if you need it. I've also heard episodes of Sesame Street on Netflix are key for older kiddos.
9. Bring Baby's Birth Certificate
One of my mama friends mentioned this but said they never asked for it. I brought it out of precaution and Hawaiian Airlines checked it- which actually made me feel safer. Remember to bring a copy!
10. If your baby has a schedule book your flight around it (if you can)
For future vacations, I will try and book our flights around Isla's morning nap and early afternoon hours. I would be hesitant to recommend booking an evening or red-eye and assuming your child will sleep. There were a lot of restless kiddos on our flight of all ages and I would assume all blew through their bed time.
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At the end of the day....don't stress out too much. It's not as bad as you think it's going to be. Isla's kind of high-maintenance right now between her crazy sleep schedule (she's been up 3 times screaming just since I started this post- more on that later) and she's just started crawling and being really mobile so I was terrified. Thankfully, she did great!
and also....don't beat yourself up when all the rules go out the window because at some point they will. You can only wipe the dirty arm rest with a sanitizing wipe so many times or keep baby away from the mini TVs for so long. At some point you realize it's just a couple hours and in the framework of the total time that 5 minutes watching Toy Story 2 isn't going to damage her forever. Look, even I needed a serious break from the baby madness!
and Isla.....flew like a Champ! :)
Hope these help- Happy Flying!
xo-S
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