It's been a tough and interesting time for me these past few days. I have been so busy doting my I’s and crossing my T’s ensuring I had everything I needed for my journey to my parents for Christmas with my 5-month-old.
My baby has grown so much over the months, hitting all the milestones and being a little troublesome too. My parent missed him so much It feels like the video calls were not doing justice to their communication with him considering he is just a baby so I decided to go spend Christmas with them in Benin city so they have him closer to themselves.
I opted for a private car to take us to Benin which would have been a 5/6 hours drive but my husband was so worried because he won't be comfortable with the idea, he has never been a fan of our Nigerian roads, so we agreed on taking a flight.
Like every developmental stage in a child, every milestone like first words, first step, the first flight is as Important as them all because we have no idea what it would be like or when or how they will react to this milestone so it has us, parent, in a state of anxiety, hoping for the best.
I was so anxious because I knew how I reacted to my first flight. I was swallowing my saliva a lot till I got some water from the air hostess just to get the clog out of my ear from the takeoff and landing sound,and I remember how it felt in my tummy like my guts were sinking when it was ascending and descending. And this was how I felt like an adult I worried how my baby will take it.
So I went on google and did some reading, learned from people’s experiences, and asked lots of questions. The lessons I learnt that was reoccurent with every post and stories I read were
I couldn't eliminate taking my hand luggage but I made mine small and it was a backpack easy to carry, I just had in it my diaper, wipes, and some change of clothes for my baby just in case.
The journey from Lagos to Benin was a 30min flight my baby started the journey calmly and slept through the take-off, thanks to the second advice but 10min into takeoff he won't up and became super cranky and agitated, I guess the fact he was seeing too many people all at once for the first time or it was the short nap or something else I had no idea. I sang all the nursery rhymes I knew, tried all the tricks I had up my sleeves but he wasn't having it till the crew announced we were about to land, and somehow I felt like he knew and became calm till we stepped down the plane.
I sincerely cannot explain what exactly happened but it was a wild experience. The screaming, struggling, and wailing was something else but I am glad it ended just the way it started but I am still contemplating about my trip back because I could go by road, and maybe going by road could be worst.
Well, till then because it is time to relax and be taken care of by my parents.
How was your child's first flight and was there anything specific you had to do to make it a smooth journey?
