daniel’s first long flight
September 29, 2014Bismillah. Bismillah. Bismillah…Β
…was all I said as the plane took off.
It was Daniel’s first ever long haul flight. 13 hours of him, me and Dean in a confined space…. with hundreds other people who paid good money to expect 13 hours of rested journey. I really wanted to put a post-it on all the seats saying “Sorry, don’t count on it!”Β
Daniel is 14 months now and very restless. He found his legs so he wants to walk/run/jump everywhere and he throws tantrums if you don’t give him what he wants. That’s bad mood. For good mood, he’ll babble and talk and go “Ba!” or “Ma!” or “Mamamamamamama!” really loudly. So let’s face it, those hundreds of people would really tick the “Asleep” box in my How Would You Like Your Daniel? survey.
I was well prepared though for the plane ride. Got his books, his snacks, his videos on the iPod, his milk, his bottles, his comfortable sleeping clothes, everything I could think of and that could fit in my big MISCHA duffel bag. Even thought of bringing his Lego set, but decided against it after I had visions of him throwing the pieces at innocent passengers. I. Would. Die.
13 hours passed.
Verdict? Not so bad actually! It was a bit difficult to put him to sleep, so he did cry for a bit and wanted to touch everything. A bit jakun, this boy. I guess he’s not used to the environment and it was weird for him to see so many strangers and… headphones (he was sooo intrigued with headphones, kudos to the inventor). His eyes were wide open as he was curious to watch everyone passing by, so my repetition of the Twinkle Twinkle Star song into his ear was just a waste of my saliva.
Β Mommy’s not going to get any sleep, am I, Daniel?
Once he did sleep though, it was all good. He would toss and turn at times and let out a soft cry, but I would just tap his butt softly and he fell back to sleep. When he woke up for real, that was a bit of a problem. This time, he was well-rested, battery fully charged and all geared up to play. Walked the aisle a couple of times, and when I got tired, my friends Stevie, Casey, Lauren, Mary and Tim came to the rescue. You guys know them right?
I’ve always been so scared to take Daniel on a long flight. But the best advice I got was from Shentel who said “Just take it as it comes and deal with it when you’re there.” So so true. Because with toddlers, everything is unpredictable and you can plan all the ABCs of events, but it’s all up to them. So as parents, we should just keep calm, wing it and apologise like crazy to everyone after.
Oh, but you, dear parent, can kiss your 2-hour movies on plane goodbye.
Lucky you! I didnt get any sleep as my daughter was asleep for only 2 hours and the rest, hmmm..walking, crying, wailing, screaming..ohh..it was a nightmare for me.
Glad the experience wasn’t so bad. My Europe trip is in November and my baby girl will be 1 year by then. My husband and I are pretty anxious on how she will behave on the long flight. I totally understand your feelings as I am anticipating the event. Maybe I’ll place a brown paper bag on my head as she start wandering around the aisle grabbing everything or wail or scream. Maybe I will be dead by the end of the flight killed by those annoyed passengers. I remembered those past long flight journeys when I couldn’t sleep because of some Middle East babies /kids crying for the entire flight. It was terrible and I always pray that there will be no crying babies on my flight. Now I am praying that my baby let me save face hahahahaha. That is the circle of life:)
1,2,3,4 hi5!! Fly in the air let’s do it together…. HI 5!!
Hi V. I’m travelling to London at the end of the week. I’m wondering how you handle Daniel’s jetlag issues. The last time I had a long flight with my daughter was when she was 6 months old and easily persuable. But at 13 months? I am rather worried. Please advice!
haha so true.. goodbye movie time on flight.. so glad it turns out good
My young kids have been on long-haul flights many times already. My advice is to take night flight because they are on sleep-mode. At least out of 13 hours, 8 hours is good rest. I only have to deal with 5 hours more, which is filled with A380 tour, up and down the aisles to the pantry for juices and in-flight entertainment.
i brought my baby for his first long haul when he was 6 months old (kuala lumpur to istanbul). i let him crawl at the lounge while we were waiting for our flight, fed him when the aircraft about to take off and i got to enjoy my gcc seat π .
How do you deal with turbulence??
2 toddles 14hrs in flight.. i’d say very challenging and had to deal with annoyed passenger.. terrible. Just have faith and be strong.. as long as the kids are ok.. everything’s ok