Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My! Or Traveling with an infant can be scarier than a trip to see the wizard!

My son will be two this week and he is already a seasoned traveler. His foray into the world of traveling began when he was still growing inside of me. He was a mere 14 weeks old when we attended my cousins wedding in the Dominican Republic. We were adventurous then, I galloped down a white sandy beach enjoying the dialogue our bodies shared with the strong bodied steed that I rode that day. I decided the risk was worth the reward because I had the foresight to believe that my next trip to a foreign country would be in the distant future. I was correct of course, over two and half years later my husband and I have yet to take another romantic vacation like that one.

My son however has become my road dog. My husband’s refusal to allow anyone other than family members care for our child means that my mother travels to Atlanta to care for my son when I am out of town. Alternatively, I take him to New York before I travel. The first time my son and I we traveled together he was 8 months old and I had the pre-travel jitters. Would he suffer from an earache when the pressure in the cabin changed? Should I take a stroller? A car seat? A baby carrier? Would I be delayed when I tried to transport the bottles of expressed breast milk ? Did I have enough clothes for him? If I nursed on the plane would I be asked to “cover up” like Catherine?

Prior to my travel all of these questions swirled around in my head and to say I was anxious is to put it mildly. I asked for advice from friends that traveled with wee ones, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I decided against purchasing a ticket for him and at the last minute left the stroller at home. I did take the car seat but checking it at the curb enabled me to avoid wrangling it through the airport while carrying my young child and my diaper bag filled with amenities to keep him busy during the flight.

I used my handy mei tai baby carrier and was grateful when I did not have to remove him when we went through security. I made sure to time my travel around his nap time and nursed him when the flight began, to prevent the air pressure from disturbing him. My son behaved famously, during the brief time that he was awake he was all smiles and coos, I received numerous compliments from other passengers regarding his behavior. On our return flight we ran into numerous delays but my son remained happy and was content playing with the toys and “reading” the books that I brought along to entertain him.

After that first trip I became more comfortable traveling with my son. I felt like a seasoned vet and expected his behavior to continue to be admirable. And it was. Until the one day when he turned into “that” child. You know the one? The child that screams incessantly for the duration of the flight and you wonder why it isn’t against the law to fly with young children? At least that is how I used to feel. When I was childless and did not understand that sometimes children are unhappy and that they express themselves the only way that they know how, by crying.

That day I was thoroughly embarrassed because nothing that I did could assuage the bouts of crying. Finally a self -described grandmother of seven came to the rescue with cookies and candy. Although my son had never tasted the sweet nectar of junk food I had reached the point of no return and accepted help in the form of sugary sweets. With one taste of the cookie he was satiated and I was ecstatic that “granny” came to save the day.

My son and I continue to travel together. Most days are good but on the rare occasion that he “acts his age” mommy has a hidden treat that will do the trick when needed. I love traveling with my son and now that he knows going on the airplane means experiencing new and different adventures, he looks forward to our travels too.

For more adventures in motherhood check out:
Oh Amanda
Mama Law
Days Like These