First flight ..of many with baby

When I told people we were going to travel  to London and India with our nearly 2 month old, I got two reactions 1) That’s fantastic, they are so easy to travel with at that age and what better time ! 2) Oh geez. You sure? That’s going to be hard.

I thought  I was taking things in stride as we prepped for our  month long  vacation… until I  was diagnosed with Shingles ON MY FACE the day before our flight! Apparently stress is one cause of  the shingles. Geez! I planned two destination weddings and it was travelling with a newbie that brought it on?  GO FIGURE!

We did wait till the last minute to pack but I think we  got all the important pieces. As our trip progresses  I’ll be sure to post my favourite travel items. But for now let me say that travelling from Toronto to London and then  London to Mumbai (with a stint in Bahrain)  was relatively easy. The little one slept for the most part, especially on the 1st leg with Air Transat.  Which  we were thankful for because they didn’t have a bassinet and we weren’t thrilled about having  her on our lap for the 7 hour journey. The travel gods shone on us and we had an empty seat between the two of us!  While I had two bottles of pumped  milk (sitting on  ice during the flight), I made sure I didn’t have more than two sips of wine during this flight as I wasn’t sure what to  expect.  We were fully prepared to offer ear plugs to our neighbours if the monkey started wailing. Luckily she did not.

On arrival in  London, we had time to kill from 9 a.m to 2:30 p.m when we could check in…what  else to do but link up with the fam at a pub? The babe slept through the whole thing.  She did this quite often – just plop a small blanky on a seat and voila! Quick note here  – Boutique London  Lets is an awesome company to rent  short term accommodations from. Be sure to check out my  Trip Advisor review. We had her in the Bjorn for the three days as we did not bring the pram or car seat  with us.  She seems to love sleeping in Bjorn and while I was never the one to carry her (coz of the shingles), we had a 4 people who would take turns. One thing to note – babies aren’t allowed in pubs after 5 p.m.  Also I’m not  sure why, but I was fully expecting to go watch a play with a 2 month old! Obviously that’s a no go. We will have to wait until she’s 3 years before we can  get her cultured!

Our flight from London to Bahrain, despite being on  Business class was a bit rough as the Little Monkey decided she was going to be cranky. Despite the comfort, great food, nanny on board and booze, we weren’t able to enjoy it as much. Neither could our fellow passengers. Just when she went to sleep and we decided to sleep ourselves, it  was time for breakie and to prep for landing! GRRR!! Though this time around I did enjoy a glass of Tia Maria and a good Tawny port. After all  I had three bottles of pumped  milk for the thirteen hour journey (6 hours to Bahrain, 4 hours layover and 3 hours to Mumbai). Let me tell you, adding a two hour car ride, I  was well engorged by the end of it. OUCH!

No jet lag so far either! She sleeps the longest when we swaddle her during the night. I did rely on the pacifier during take-off and landing. I got the Little Monkey sucking on it like a fiend. No blocked ears during any of the three flights. I  also highly recommend travelling with two blankets, one to lay on and one to cover with. We didn’t need any change of clothes for her or ourselves (but we had them! After all, the one time you don’t is most  likely when you’ll have a disaster on your hands!).

All in all…I think it’s fairly easy traveling with a newborn as long as you take things in stride and accept the generosity of family and strangers.