THOSE People

    Our little family is scheduled to visit some VIPs in Washington state in August, and in preparation, Adrian and I are researching travel tips for flying with an infant. My biggest fear is becoming THOSE  people on the plane with the screaming baby that everyone wishes they could incinerate with laser beams shooting out of their eyes. I always hated that when I would travel from DC to Texas and want to avoid that at all costs now.
    Amidst researching the airline, TSA, searching the internet and conferring with friends who have successfully travelled with their children, we've managed to figure out a few things. 

     1. Maybe most important for me to remind myself, those people are the ones that do nothing and act like people should just get over it. It's true that there's not much that can be done about a screaming, crying baby. But I do think there is a big difference between parents that try and those that could care less about the others around them. I'm obviously not that person, so I think we're covered in that respect.

     2. The number one suggestion has been to feed Ayla a bottle at take off and landing to help her equalize her ears and keep her calm. This actually works out perfectly because the flight takes about 4 1/2 hours and takes off about an hour before her bedtime, which will work out nicely if she can manage to fall asleep and stay asleep on the plane.

     3. Apparently, checking the stroller and the carseat shouldn't be a problem, but the one concern I have is definitely what to do when/if we have to keep her in her carseat, for instance during take off and landing. Plus, she's so squirmy now and I just know she's going to give me those big, brown puppy dog eyes to beg me to take her out. My plan of attack is to bring a few interesting toys and, the guaranteed distraction, my phone! 

     4. We've started Ayla on solids, beginning with rice cereal and we're going to slowly work in a variety of fruits and vegetables. That's handy since that gives us more of a variety of options while we travel but milk was a concern since it's a liquid. Apparently frozen breastmilk should be ok and we can buy pre-bottled formula that won't freak TSA out too much. If all else fails, I'm a walking baby buffet, which may come in handy, so I think we'll be ok for food.

     5. Even though we're traveling with an extra person (who oddly enough requires two times the clothing & luggage as us), we only get the standard carry on allowance for the ticketed seats. Considering that the flight is a critical part of the trip, this presents a particular problem. Adrian and I have decided that we would prefer to attempt to travel light. I'm leaving my purse at home or will pack it in my suitcase. The diaper bag is big enough to double for my carry on for purposes of the flight and Adrian will bring a backpack that will contain the iPad, travel documents, adult snacks, etc... Hopefully this limits the amount we'll have to juggle at the gate.

     6. DIAPERS! We have to use disposables while we're traveling but we still need to use the cloth diapers at night. Still haven't figured this one out except that we're going to pack one package of disposables and wing it with the cloth diapers. We can always purchase more diapers but we may not be able to wash the cloth diapers. We may have to figure something out.

    All in all, we're looking forward to the visit and now we feel more confident about the trip! We've done our homework so I think we'll manage at least as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Now all that's left to do is go and buy Ayla her very own luggage from Sam Moon!