Air traveling with kids. We’ve all heard nightmare stories about the incessant crying, the constant kicking on the seat, the trying to keep the little ones from disrupting other passengers on the plane. When we had just one child it seemed so much easier to travel, not only financially easier, but logistically as well. We have avoided it for some time. Even when the kids and I moved back to NYC, I decided on driving overnight just to avoid having to take a plane with all the kids.
However, we weren’t going to be able to avoid it forever. And the time had come. With the oldest son having a week off from school, we had an opportunity to visit family and return to the Midwest.
The day of travel, everything was incredibly organized, despite my procrastination in the packing area. I have never mastered the ability to pack early. I always waits till the night before…and even then it is primarily my husband who gets everything together. But the next day was perfection. We got out early, got to the airport with without hassle and checked it with plenty of time to spare.
Going through security was a pain. Taking all their shoes off, their jackets, the diaper bags, the carrying ons…torture. The worst was taking the 2.5 year old out of his stroller to go through the detector and trying to convince him to get back in it. Or telling the 3.5 year old that the little bag of popcorn he had been eating from had to be taken away, just for a minute, while he went through the detector. By the time they got to the other side of the detector complete chaos had ensued. Babies were crying, popcorn was flying all over the place, tantrums had taken a life of their own. Stupid security checks and their stupid anti-baby, parent torturing rules!
The plane we were boarding was a tiny one. One that had one aisle with one seat, and another aisle with two seats. Which meant someone (me) was stuck with both little boys for the next two hours.
However, earlier that week, I had gotten some activity books from a Kumon Publishing. Tracing, coloring, learning numbers, cut and paste, and stickers, both in English and Spanish, and perfect for keeping her boys busy on such an occasion. So after the boys got tired of playing with our iPhones, I was able to keep both boys busy with some activities. Their favorite: the “Let’s Sticker & Paste!” book. It was a good 40 minutes of fun.
My husband and I traded places a few times, with him sitting with the boys, and me sitting solo, though the boys always always sought me out. All in all, it was a easy flight. Yes I was exhausted, but we were lucky to have been surrounded by really nice people, and the Continental Airlines flight attendant was really helpful and friendly. The seats weren’t the best, they were all the way to the back of the plane, near the bathroom, which was gross, the boys needed constant distraction and attention to be kept on their seats for two hours, but no one had a tantrum, no one got sick, and everyone was smiling, which in my book makes for a great trip.
With our air adventure conquered, we were ready to take on Madison, WI.
NEXT: Midwestern Easter, Family Style, Madison, WI
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Evelyn
So glad that everything went good on the plane… oh and sitting next to the plane bathroom for 2 hours does stink. I did that. terrible.