For those of you who have flown to Asia, you know how difficult a flight it is for an adult, let alone a child, and let alone an adult with a child. On every flight to Asia, there’s always at least one child if not more, and it’s always a very young child. It’s my opinion that there will always be young children on these transatlantic flights because (1) the Asian family culture is so strong that many new parents bring their kids to visit their older relatives to pay respects and (2) who wants to pay a full fare for a child when you can pay 20% if they are under the age of two? I have just entered these ranks. I’m that parent that you dread when you’re flying – the one with not one, but two kids under the age of two – and you’re hoping that I’m seated as far away from you as possible. If only non-parents knew how stressful it is to fly with young children, I think there would be so much more sympathy out there for parents traveling with children. Since becoming a parent, I’ve made it a point to always offer kind words to such parents as I can relate and know that every little bit helps to ease the stress.
Let’s talk about stress. Our flight departed JFK at Monday at midnight. Not Tuesday at midnight. Can I tell you that I thought up until Friday night or so that we were leaving Monday night for the airport (to catch the early Tuesday flight)? Then when I went to check my confirmation, I completely freaked out and thought I had purchased the wrong flight and went from 6 adults on the plane to just Laurent and I. I kid you not when I say I had a panic attack and called my uncle and my sister to reconfirm their flights. Mind you, Laurent is cracking up the entire time as if he were watching some reality television show. Luckily I wasn’t the only one who was confused and thankfully we were still all on the same flight. First crisis averted.
So I tried to be very pro-active about packing for this trip because I knew it was going to be a pain in the @$$. About three weeks prior, I had already put together my list. Don’t laugh. I don’t make a list when it’s just me I’m packing for but can you imagine packing for three? It’s out of control. And what makes it so much worse is that I’m using everything every day that I need to pack. So there’s no packing in advance. So to keep some sort of sanity, here’s my list.
You think I’m crazy but really that’s what I’m trying to avoid. I do laundry Thursday night so that I can pack the kids clothes on Friday after I get off work. Can I tell you that despite my best efforts, the next 48 hours is probably the most stressed out I have EVER been? It’s a nightmare. I can’t seem to pack anything quickly and I find myself doubling back to pack and re-pack. And it takes Chloé all of five minutes after she wakes up the next morning to unpack a suitcase I packed while she was asleep. AH. In total, we end up with two suitcases to check and five carry ons (yes five). We’ve got a duffle bag with diapers, blankets and extra changes of clothes, the cooler of milk, the purple rolling suitcase with things to keep Chloé entertained and emergency toiletries, a bag for my pump and Chloé’s solid baby food and oatmeal, and Laurent’s carryon with the tablets and passports. And two kids and a stroller. It’s really crazy. Thankfully we have an army of support with us between Mom, Dad, Queenie and Uncle Savio, I don’t know what we would have done without them!
Since we decided to go on this trip, my concern has always been about how Chloé will react. Sébastien is not really my concern because all he does is eat, sleep and poop. As long as I have enough milk for him, he’s manageable. Don’t even get me started about his milk. Can I tell you that I specifically sought out a store to purchase dry ice for this trip to carry his milk aboard? And we totally went over the 5 pound TSA mandate. And we packed Chloé’s whole milk into the same breast milk bags as Sebastien so that she would have milk for the trip as well. HA. How’s that for clever thinking? Meanwhile, with all that milk and approximately 10-12 pounds of dry ice, the cooler we brought was SUPER heavy. Thankfully Laurent has got strong arms. And we made Chloé walk while the stroller wheeled the cooler.
So back to Chloé. Our flight was at midnight on Monday and we planned on leaving the house at 8:30pm on Sunday. So my plan was to let her nap in the morning as she usually does but to not put her down for her usual 3pm nap so that I could put her for a nap around 6pm and she’d last until we boarded the flight. I don’t know what was in Chloé’s system but she was out and about the gate having a good ol’ time and not showing any sign of tiredness. She specifically had lots of fun rolling around her purple carryon suitcase.
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Meanwhile what am I doing? I’m roaming Terminal 1 at JFK for a family restroom only to find out they don’t have one. So what do I do? I find a gate that they’ve roped off and I sit there so I can pump in public semi-privately. What’s my secret you ask? Two clothespins and a pillowcase. That is how you pump in public.
So we board the plane. You know that when they announce for parents with small kids that we all get up to go board. We get lucky and the flight is not full so Laurent and I have the two aisle seats and an empty seat between us. Same for my parents. Queenie absolutely lucks out and gets a row of three to herself. The flight leaves on time and the takeoff is smooth; neither of the kids seem to be bothered. Chloé is completely absorbed by the buttons on the seat console. And what button does she absolutely have to push? The call attendant button. Not the volume or the channel or the light. No, it has to be the attendant button and I don’t even realize it until they come over and tell us that the light is lit – SO embarrassing! Once we’ve climbed to cruising altitude, the attendants install the baby bassinet on the wall in front of us and it is HUGE. Originally I had planned for Sébastien to sleep in the baby bassinet but we ended up putting Chloé in it since Sébastien fit in the seat between us. My parents ended up taking Sébastien for most of the flight and according to the flight attendants, he was so well behaved as we barely heard him at all. As you can see, my son is definitely a ladies man.
Chloé slept for the first five hours or so and then woke. In between her various naps, I let her pace the aisles which was challenging at times since they were so narrow and I didn’t want her to run and knock her head against the metal arm rests. Overall it was a very successful flight as she wasn’t terribly loud – she had her moments now and again when she wanted to get down while the seatbelt sign was still on. The layover in Taipai was fine as well, it was a good chance to stretch her legs, although if we were to do it again, I definitely would fly direct to Hong Kong. Between the two flights, the express train from the airport to the subway and then waiting for the connecting hotel shuttle bus, it was a very long day to say the least for everyone. Both kids were great sports but they were absolutely wiped from traveling for 24+ hours. It’s been a long day but we’re so glad we’re finally here in Hong Kong! Thanks to Mom, Dad, Queenie and Uncle Savio for helping make the trip bearable and lending many helping hands! And many thanks to my amazing husband for his patience and commitment to this trip!
