traveling with baby
What a whirlwind weekend!
5 of the 6 sisters, my mom, and some friends convened in Chicago this weekend to celebrate my sister Liz's last few weeks as a single lady.
The bachelorette weekend almost didn't happen for a few of us, as our Saturday flight was cancelled on Friday evening due to wintery weather. Disappointed, but not to be defeated, we worked with the wonderful customer service representatives from Southwest Airlines to get on an earlier flight, and all was well with the world again.
Besides the U.S. I have traveled to 9 countries (10 if you count a layover in Iceland), so I have plenty of experience flying. I am one of those people who adores airports and everything they represent. I have a deep reverence for them, and whenever I drive past one, I have a moment of silence to reflect on all the possible destinations I could choose, should I need to flee the country on short notice.
But this was my very first time flying with Baby Pip. One could not ask for a better travel companion (besides my wonderful sister Maggie who helped haul diaper bags and bottles and the like). I wore the baby in the Moby wrap, which made traipsing across the airport and going through security an absolute breeze. Not to mention that every worker we came in contact with at the airport was so helpful and many of them even made Pip laugh!
My #1 recommendation for next time you fly is to get a baby to bring along. If you don't have one of your own, perhaps you could borrow a friend's. I have never gotten such royal treatment as I did when traveling with a baby. Skipping lines, extra help through security, smiles, attention, helping hands, etc. God must have heard my prayers, because Pip was on her best behavior, too! I made sure to bring bottles on the plane to avoid her ears popping during takeoff and landing - although she didn't even seem to mind the descent sans bottle or pacifier! I didn't experience any screaming baby horror stories this time around…although who knows what our next flight will bring!
Honestly, I didn't even bring toys along for her to play with (minimalist packer right here…), which turned out fine because there was so much for her to take in. People watching is a favorite of hers, along with looking out the window at the scenery and watching a colonial woman churn butter on the wing of the plane. I'm sure as she gets older, more distractions will be necessary to keep her occupied, but at 6 months old she seems perfectly content to creep on other passengers and rake her nails across my face as hard as she can. Also, her newest hobby is shrieking with joy as loud as she can, so she made sure to share that with the fellow passengers as we disembarked the plane.
And now, a few snapshots of our brief time in the windy city.
Ultimately it was a fantastic first time flying with baby. I think it was such a success because I had an extra set of hands with me to help lug the extra equipment that accompanies a baby, and because the people at both airports were so incredibly kind and helpful. Pip and I can't wait to travel together many more times in the future, but for now we both look like this:
5 of the 6 sisters, my mom, and some friends convened in Chicago this weekend to celebrate my sister Liz's last few weeks as a single lady.
The bachelorette weekend almost didn't happen for a few of us, as our Saturday flight was cancelled on Friday evening due to wintery weather. Disappointed, but not to be defeated, we worked with the wonderful customer service representatives from Southwest Airlines to get on an earlier flight, and all was well with the world again.
Besides the U.S. I have traveled to 9 countries (10 if you count a layover in Iceland), so I have plenty of experience flying. I am one of those people who adores airports and everything they represent. I have a deep reverence for them, and whenever I drive past one, I have a moment of silence to reflect on all the possible destinations I could choose, should I need to flee the country on short notice.
But this was my very first time flying with Baby Pip. One could not ask for a better travel companion (besides my wonderful sister Maggie who helped haul diaper bags and bottles and the like). I wore the baby in the Moby wrap, which made traipsing across the airport and going through security an absolute breeze. Not to mention that every worker we came in contact with at the airport was so helpful and many of them even made Pip laugh!
Honestly, I didn't even bring toys along for her to play with (minimalist packer right here…), which turned out fine because there was so much for her to take in. People watching is a favorite of hers, along with looking out the window at the scenery and watching a colonial woman churn butter on the wing of the plane. I'm sure as she gets older, more distractions will be necessary to keep her occupied, but at 6 months old she seems perfectly content to creep on other passengers and rake her nails across my face as hard as she can. Also, her newest hobby is shrieking with joy as loud as she can, so she made sure to share that with the fellow passengers as we disembarked the plane.
And now, a few snapshots of our brief time in the windy city.
 |
| with auntie molly in the moby |
 |
| karaoke |