The first airplane ride!

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Oh Snap
A few weeks ago I had an idea. 

I had already booked a flight home for March, but I decided to travel home with my mom when she left on Sunday. I thought it would be helpful to have an extra set of hands for the very first flight.

*David pacifier clip was a gift made by Kacia at Coconut Robot
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about it.

While David is usually good, he definitely has his bad days as well (I know this is normal). And I just had a feeling that the day of travel would be a particularly fussy day.

I didn’t bring a stroller with, and only had the Ergo and my mom as alternatives to my arms. David definitely prefers to be held than to be in a contraption of any kind. 

He did absolutely fantastic while we were waiting to board the plane. My mom walked him up and down the halls, beaming with grandmother pride. 

Once we boarded the plane, we got settled into our seats and then my mom went and stood near the back of the plane just to keep him moving.

this poor child’s hair line.



A few other passengers motioned to my empty seats asking if they were available. I told them I was saving them and after an annoyed look, then would continue to work their way back in the plane.

If they only knew I was doing them the favor. 

“Trust me. You don’t want to sit here.”

As my mom emerged from the back of the plane and sat down next to me, baby in arms, I could hear the sighs of relief coming from the poor souls who inquired about my neighboring seat. 

During the ascent, I fed David a bottle. Shortly afterwards, the combination of the full belly, the white noise from the plane, and being in my arms made him fall fast asleep. He slept the entire flight, which was about an hour and a half. During the descent, I stuck a paci in his mouth to encourage him to suck in order to prevent his ears from popping. This was the same concept for the ascent as well.

We got off the plane and as we walked to get our bags, he was sleeping contently in the Ergo. 

My dad was waiting for us at baggage claim and swiftly scooped David up from the Ergo so he could hold him. 

Overall, the flight was an absolute breeze. It was hugely helpful to have my mom with me. Flying with just David will be a little bit of a different experience, but I’m feeling even more confident that I can do it!

One of the reasons why I didn’t mention this trip on my blog, nor on social media, was to keep it a secret from my aunt Vicki. My mom set up a lunch date with her on Monday and my aunt assumed it was just with her. After they had say down at the table, my sister and I snuck up from behind and I pushed the stroller right in front of their table.

As soon as she saw us she jumped up with excitement and gave me a big hug. She hugged my sister, and then got her hands on David, not letting go until she had to return to work. The surprise was a total success and it was great to see her!

I got to see Kacia, who was in town visiting her sister. I spent some time with my brother and saw a few friends too!

I don’t fly back until tomorrow. And I’m doing this flight by myself! If you see me wandering around the airport, looking a little frazzled, please come up and say hi. 

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Aerin Downs says · 02.26.14

Well done! David sounds like a gem 🙂

Berrie-Blogs |Beauty Blog

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Nilda Billig says · 02.26.14

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Nilda Billig says · 02.26.14

I’m glad you had a good flight. David is so cute and you are doing a great job being a new mom and working daily on your blog. I enjoy your baby posts, helps remember me when my kids where babies, now they are 8 and 7 years old… Maybe is a good idea bring the stroller when you flight back, I used to go with the stroller to the air plane door, and when we arrived, the airline personal bring it back to me. Have a good flight back home!

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Annie {annelliott.blogspot.com} says · 02.26.14

Congrats on the first flight, and good luck on the second! It sounds like you’ve got it down to a science. Also love the sweet surprise for your aunt – family love is the best. Hope you had a wonderful time. xo

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Shannon Yarborough says · 02.26.14

I’m glad everything went well on the flight. By the way, David is an absolute cutie-pie. I noticed in the picture of the back of his head that he has a stork bite…love! I have one too so he just joined the club! Take care!

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Jo says · 02.26.14

Oh cute! What a fun surprise for your aunt! Glad the first flight was a breeze!

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lyndsay says · 02.26.14

I always thought flying with a baby was the easiest. I would start nursing at takeoff and then they would sleep the rest of the way!

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R2P2 says · 02.26.14

This gives me encouragement! I asked my mom to fly to WA with me & my 5mo old to see our extended family. I figured better to go before he was mobile. Unfortunately, we have 2 flights of about 3 & 4 hours each to get out there. I have another 2 weeks before we fly, but I’ve already developed an eye twitch about it. lol

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Shasta says · 02.26.14

You are very brave taking him on an airplane while he’s still super young. I purposely avoided travel with Rylie because I just didn’t want to deal with anything like that (including people being annoyed from the slightest baby cry). I’m glad David slept the entire time, that is awesome!!!

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Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) says · 02.26.14

Yay, so glad the first flight went well! 🙂

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Sheri Pride says · 02.26.14

I took my 11 month old twins on a flight to Hawaii! (They are almost 11 now!) I too, took my mom and my hubby was there too. I think I took about 20 bottles with me just in case. They did awesome!

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Erin Ferraro says · 02.26.14

Oh I am so glad everything went smoothly! David, you’re a champ! Random story time, I was on a flight of similar length recently where a mother came on alone with her infant (he looked a bit older than David). I guessed that it was her first time flying with him because she was very anxious. She ended up getting into an argument with the flight attendant because she wanted a row completely to herself, which was not happening as our flight was completely full. They stood there and argued for a few awkward minutes until she finally sat down in defeat (I mean there seemed to be no other choice…I am still not sure how/why she thought this was even an option unless she bought out the entire row). Poor thing was so stressed out. Luckily the baby slept soundly the whole time, which I hoped calmed momma down too.

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Jane Doe says · 02.26.14

Well done! Sometimes you just have to jump in the deep end when it comes to taking babies on planes. I wrote a post recently about tips when flying with a baby. Not always an easy task. It seems to get more difficult as they get older surprisingly. Now, how to fly with a hyperactive, curious, mischievous toddler….?

Life+1
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Tamara says · 02.26.14

Our first flight with our son was when he was almost a year old. We flew Southwest. I had come prepared with bottles, pacis (even though he’s not much of a paci boy), and snacks. I’d also heard that Zarby’s All-Natural Cough Syrup was good for relaxing babies, so I had a bottle of that on hand just in case. The funny thing is that when the flight attendant came by with bags of mini pretzels, he became very interested in them. I handed him one, and that turned out to be the BEST pacifier for him. He would suck on it for a long time, so after that I made sure he had a pretzel at each takeoff and landing. Of course, I was monitoring him, making sure he didn’t choke. Might be a helpful tip to remember for when David is bigger and eating solid foods.

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Ashley says · 02.26.14

The only baby I have flown with was my oldest when she was about 10 months. She’s now 10. We were more nervous and anxious that she was. She was an angel the whole flight and it turns out she was more pleasant than most of the passengers that flight. I actually sat in front of a mom flying alone with three kids recently. I was thankful that she sat behind me because I didn’t mind the occasional seat kick or scream.

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Beth McFadden says · 02.26.14

Desmond slept thru an entire Blue Angels air show in Seattle when he was one month old. We have yet to fly on a commercial airline with him but we better get to it before he is 2!

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Andrea Worley says · 02.26.14

well done Mama! I’ve been flying with my kiddo since she was 3 months old. you’ll be great! just remember to take your time, don’t make others feel like you have to rush. that’s the worst.

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Theresa says · 02.26.14

Kate,
Your an inspiration! I’m so glad the flight went so well. Doing the first flight with grandma was a priceless idea. I’m a little worried, my son and I haven’t flown yet, but now he’s to the running around stage, so I think he’ll try to take over the plane when we fly this summer 🙂

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Jeremy Allen says · 02.26.14

Do you let David’s legs hang out the ergo yet? I have a 12 week old and I haven’t tried our ergo yet because we don’t have an insert and I wasn’t sure if it was okay to have her legs out at this age (pediatrician didn’t know!). She’s 12 lbs already.

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Megan Karabon says · 02.26.14

What did you do about a car seat for David? I want to fly to visit my sister in TN, but I really don’t want to haul her car seat with. Any advice?

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misshotmessexpress says · 02.26.14 Reply
ryanneoconnor says · 02.26.14

Depending on which airline you are flying with, if there are no assigned seating, board first with children, find your seat and save it with your bags. If you can, request to depart plane and just walk up and down hall until the doors are about to close. Keeping him moving until the last possible moment and you should be okay. Good Luck 🙂

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Kimberly T. says · 02.26.14

Wow what a great surprise! David is beautiful and what a great baby to sleep the whole flight! 🙂

http://lifeontaylorhill.blogspot.com

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Pam Stallings says · 02.26.14

When my daughter was 6 weeks old I flew alone, she was great but the only problem was that my plane was late getting to Atlanta which made me almost miss my connecting flight. The Delta agent actually ran before me to the gate to let them know I was coming with baby in tow! Btw, Kate, where in Illinois are you from? I was born and raised in Springfield!

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Katie Derrenbacher says · 02.27.14

Great job girl, small victories! 🙂

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Cate says · 02.27.14

We live across the country from both of our families so unfortunately we have done a lot of flying! Actually, I find that the younger the baby is, the easier it is (but it’s still totally stressful). You’re doing all of the right things to keep him content! Because we fly so much my daughter is actually a REALLY good traveler, but it’s SO exhausting as a parent to keep them entertained. Boredom = Disaster!

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Vanessa says · 02.27.14

Yay for a successful first flight! I know those feelings of anxiety – we flew with our daughter to her first Shriner’s appointment (cleft related) when she wasn’t even 4 weeks old, and I had to do it alone a month later. We flew to a family funeral a couple months ago with our three kids (ages 3, 2, and 1.) Believe me, it only gets worse as they get older! Our one year-old had just started walking full-time and wanted nothing more than to follow the flight attendants down the aisle.

As others have suggested, I highly recommend taking a stroller of some kind when you are on your own, if only for the fact that you can pile your purse, carry-on, diaper bag, etc on top of it all the way to the gate. As he gets older he won’t be all cooperative and cute sitting on your lap like he is now, and you’ll be thankful to be able to strap him in and just push your mess of belongings. 🙂

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khawk says · 02.27.14

Oh goodness, travel more now when he is young! After several flights with our two year old starting when she was 6 months old, it’s actually easier then! Any reason why you fed him a bottle rather than breastfeed? Just curious.

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alang says · 02.27.14

My youngest didn’t like the stroller either, he preferred me to hold him all the time when we were out and about. I invested in a sling. https://www.hotslings.com/ it was a huge lifesaver. They even come in cute patterns. David is a doll by the way!

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Jennifer says · 03.01.14

Practice makes perfect! I have 4 kids under 8 and flew coast-to-coast with all of them on my own when the oldest was just 6 and the youngest was just 5 weeks old. Fun times… I do think the worst age is the 1-2 years when they can move and want to but aren’t entertained easily.

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Elizabeth says · 09.19.16

I have been a long time follower and am now planning to fly with my husband, 6yo, 4yo, and 6 month old next month. This is the first time any of them have flown and my third time. I’m sure you and your children are pros; I’ve read your posts about flying with an infant, how about now that you have two and they are older? Any suggestions??

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