Leaving On A Jet Plane June 21, 2012 By Lime Tree Kids Family comments Leaving on a Jet Plane: How I Travelled Across Continents With Baby in Tow I've only travelled on a plane with child in tow once. My baby was 4 and half months old when my husband and I boarded the plane with her and made the journey from the UK to Australia. The weeks preceding were a mixture of excitement and pure fear. Were we crazy to even think of going on a 24 hour flight with a baby? But we went ahead, the plans were made and soon we were at Gatwick, waiting to board. I remember eyes, burning holes into us, people silently hoping that they would not be seated anywhere within our vicinity. We sat with our smiley baby, trying to show everyone that she really was a happy little girl and not to worry. Or maybe we were trying to convince ourselves. The announcement came that parents with young children could board. This didn't go down too well with the previously mentioned passengers. Not only would we be disturbing their whole flight but we got to board the plane before they did too. We found our seats and settled in. Other parents walking past would exchange terrified but knowing smiles, almost saying a silent "Good luck". Baby’s On Board Just then, my baby began to cry. Just in time for the passengers that were made to wait for us to board, began to venture onto the plane. The smiles now turned to grimaces, as people looked for their seats and relief if they were a fair distance away from us. I remember looking at my husband and saying that if we were quick, we could get off the plane, there was still time. Just at that point the engines started, so I guess that was no longer an option. But oh, thank the good Lord for white noise. Within a minute, my girl was sound asleep. She stayed like that right through take off and settled happily into the bassinet. I suddenly became aware of how accessible my baby was. If I went to sleep, anybody could just walk past and touch her or worse...take her. Ok, I was getting tired at this point and my mind was definitely in over drive but there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. So I sat and watched. Waiting for the slightest movement that might indicate she would cry so I could intercept. Hours later, we landed in Dubai. The airport was "Under Construction" at the time so we were herded onto buses for a long drive to the airport. The buses were standing room only and it was hot. We were both trying to hold onto the baby, as the driver was on a mission and not concerned about the precious cargo on board. We arrived at customs where two ladies were giggling and pointing at us. I realised that my girl had puked all down Daddy’s shirt. That was going to smell nice by the time we got to Brisbane. Note to other parents: always take a spare shirt on flights with little ones Onwards and Ahead with Baby in Tow History repeated itself on boarding here and Singapore. She cried. I’m never doing this again, I thought. Singapore was different though, she didn’t stop crying until we started to descend into Brisbane. I remember standing, holding her and swaying, singing, shushing for much of the flight, feeling every person on that plane, staring, wishing I would get her to stop. Keeping Your Sense of Humor Intact Hours later came the announcement that we were starting our descent. The crying stopped and my happy baby returned. Making all the previously grumpy passengers laugh and pull faces at her to make her laugh. As we got up to leave I held her facing everyone and told her to say sorry to for keeping them awake. This was met with smiles and “aww isn't she cute”. All was forgiven. I was home and finally after a long few days, I slept like a baby. Products We Recommend to Make Traveling with Baby Fun and Fuss-Free: Suitcase Sets for Kids to Feel Responsible and Independent https://www.limetreekids.com.au/category-suitcase-sets-314.aspx Sleeping Bags to Help Baby Sleep Well When Traveling https://www.limetreekids.com.au/category-sleeping-bags-239.aspx Swaddles to Soothe Baby https://www.limetreekids.com.au/category-swaddles-240.aspx Nappy Change Box to Make Changing Nappies Easy-Peasy https://www.limetreekids.com.au/Product-the-essential-baby-box-cherry-delight-1138.aspx About Renay Broad I am a Musician and Mummy to two beautiful girls, offering parenting tips and advice through my own website and blog, Mummy’s Miracles. I decided to join the mother’s blogging army to have some fun, share stories and to chat about my life as a mum with Crohn’s Disease. You can read more about my tales of parenthood at http://www.mummysmiracles.com.