Papa vs. Dada : Travel edition
Travelling with Z is one of our favourite things to do, and she’s already seen more of the world than I had seen by the age of 25 years old. Will she remember it? No, but we absolutely will. This time is so precious to us; making memories together as a family. It has its layers of stress, but if you are well prepared and stay positive it’s easy! Well, easier.
People’s first question normally is “how is she with the flight?” – well being half antipodean she doesn’t have a choice in the matter. I believe, flying is something that you learn, we are just giving her a head start. Dada and I are very different types of flyers. Dada liked to be last on the plane, Papa likes to be first in line; Dada likes the window seat, Papa likes the aisle; Dada likes to sleep, Papa enjoys activities – some would say opposites attract, but when your sandwiched in to Airbus A380, you need to get the recipe right.
Last on the plane just doesn’t cut it anymore, when you’re wheeling a bag for you, Dada, a baby change bag, your foldable cabin approved pram, baby carrier and a blanket – first on the plane, means first dibs of the overhead. It plans to be prepared! Having everything at arms reach is a big help for bottles, nappy changes, and extra layers — also great if you’ve stashed some twirl bites and pringles for when the bebe is asleep. Sour Cream & Chive is my pringle of choice, were Dada always goes Prawn Cocktail — vom.
Window seat, no thank you – that shit feels like prison, without option for parole. Why limit your options of movement especially on a long haul flight. You have to be forward thinking especially having a little person with you, so when booking we usually select window and the aisle seat. Its a stratergy you see as solo travels that select seats would avoid this and gives you a greater chance of an empty space. If that plan backfires you kindly ask to switch with whoever the airline plonk in between you.
Always book a seat! Being separated just makes things a bit more difficult, it’s happened once as we had assumed the airline would seat us together with our “infant” – never assume. After take off we were lucky the person next to me agreed to switch, but take off is just a little easier together. In the early stages you read articles and watch reels for advice which mostly consists of making sure your baby is on a bottle or has a pacifier for takeoff so their ears pop. Having this in reach and being prepared will minimise the stress – we want minimal stressing people! Having two stressed out parents and a stressed out baby in a seat smaller than one of Kim K’s booty cheeks is not a fun time. After all it’s a new environment, loads of people and things to look at — a sensory overload, so try not to overwhelm them with your own worry.
One of our initial stresses was having over 100ml, but you are allowed to carry water and juice for your children up until the age of 12 years old. I found this out yesterday and thought I would share my learnings — you’re welcome. Unless you are flying regularly, its things like this you don’t even realise. Take the stress out of it, do your research!
If you are solo travelling with your little one, you got this! Just plan for all eventualities, but don’t over complicate it — sometimes you just need to go with the flow. We are yet to encounter a bad experience while flying and we have had Z screaming, crying and tantruming on the plane, but it’s bound to happen. Don’t feel like you need to keep your little one quiet, all you can do is keep them as entertained as you possibly can.
We have travelled with Z at 3, 4, 5, 6, and now 9 months old and the challenges are always different. Most recently, we flew to Spain for a few days, checkout my attempts of documenting our journey on TT. Z was more restless than usual as she wanted to move, crawl and climb on everything — that’s just her current life stage. We minimised this on the flight home by booking an evening flight so we knew she would sleep on the plane and give us some respite. It gave me time to eat haribo, ponder life choices, journal a little and listen to the lady next to me eat 1500 pistachios. The noise fully consumed me enough to count 6.5 seconds between each crunch of the shells. Across the isle we had two young ladies watching ‘The Devil wears Prada’ which was mounted with one of those TikTok shop gadgets — I was enjoying the freeview. I might need to invest in one of those gadgets for my next short-haul.
I hope one day that all short-haul planes will have inflight entertainment, as currently it leaves me to people watch — not nosey, just observant. Flying home from Barcelona last night I was watching the drama unfold like an argument between Chrishell and Christine on Selling Sunset — unlike Netflix I am not dramatising this for your enjoyment. We had someone faint, one lady 2 rows away living in the toilets being sick, a small child 5 rows up coughing up a lung, a bridal party who had to pay £58 per person for additional baggage, who then proceeded to discuss it for a good 30 minutes, but their was 10 of them — Easyjet made a killing. Old mate next to me attempting to eat her weight in pistachios — what a nut. All in all it was a busy people watching flight, while Dada napped with Z on his lap.
Activities vs Sleep; as a new-ish parent I should really opt for sleeping, but I really enjoy flying and the adrenalin of adventuring to another country. I get wrapped up in the excitement of the journey, but equally when returning home it’s great to zen out listening to music and watching mindless TV — even if it is Bluey. I love Bluey. I hope Z inherits my excitement towards flying — so far so good, she is a good flyer, but it’s all in the training. The first time was stressful, but you learn as you go, just make your life as easy as possible and stay calm.
I created a playlist this week — THE NAPPY ALBUMS — Loch — look at me delivering on my promises. The song this week that I’ve had on repeat and embodies NAW of the week: Sabrina Carpenter — Espresso — Get into it!
If you have any travel questions, or need some advice, reach out to me on TikTok or Instagram — always happy to help.
From now until next time, take care.
x
Papa
