Flying With an Infant

At the age of approximately three and a half months, my child took his first flight last week. Here are some notes from our adventure:

- I learned that car seats must face down when going through the security X-ray machines, otherwise, they will get stuck in the machine causing a delay for all of the people behind you.

- This is one of the many reasons why I think that all airports should have a special security line for families with strollers. (Yes, I’m looking at you Washington National.)

- US Airways was adamant that we needed to bring an original birth certificate for my child. However, at the airport, no one asked to see the birth certificate or even a copy of the birth certificate.

- At the gate prior to the flight, as soon as I started reading Dr. Seuss’ ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book to my child, the gentleman sitting next to me left. Sure, he went to the gate to ask the airline personnel a question, but I don’t think the timing was a coincidence. Perhaps he already knew the answer to the question Big A, Little A, what begins to A? (The answer, of course, is Aunt Annie’s Alligator A...A...A.)

- Overheard at the airport:

Intercom: This is the last call for flight #1459 (I made up this number) to Houston.
Approximately 7 year-old kid to his father: I want to go to Houston.
Dad (not really paying attention): What?
Kid: I want to go to Houston.
Dad: Oh, okay. Your mom will take you.

- A guy on my flight wore a button that stated “I lost 40 pounds. Ask me how.” He also wore a fancy Herbalife shirt, so I’m guessing that might be part of the reason why he lost 40 pounds. I wonder if Herbalife sponsored him to wear the shirt and button. If so, I need to start a campaign where people wear a button that states “I read a mediocre to above-average blog. Ask me how.” along with a special Sean’s Ramblings T-shirt. I'll give someone $2 to do this, though you'll have to create your own T-shirt. Perhaps, you can contact Get Fresh Designs to make you one.

- Since we travelled with a small child and needed extra time, we were able to board the flight before anyone else. What an excellent feeling! I felt like I was boarding my own private jet. I could put my carry-on bag in an overhead compartment of my choice. Take that first-class people (even though there was no first class section on the plane)!

- We were extremely worried about how our child would react to the sudden change in altitude. Although we had a pacifier ready and were prepared to feed him at the first sign of discomfort, would he freak out and start screaming disrupting everyone on the flight? Well, he slept through take off and ate during the descent only crying when we tried to burp him. Please note that he always cries when we burp him (how dare we take the bottle away when he’s not finished eating!), so this was nothing new.

Overall, good flight. People were generally nicer to us realizing that we were traveling with a (very cute) infant who was on excellent behavior. I also have new respect and patience for anyone traveling with young kids.

Feel free to share your own stories or experiences, positive or negative, traveling with an infant whether as a parent or just a regular passenger sitting next to a young child.