A few days ago Chris, Jupiter, Tsunami, and I took a quick trip back to Nebraska to see our newborn niece. We decided to fly since we really did not have a lot of time to drive, visit, and then drive again. It was Tsunami's first time on a plane and Jupiter had not remembered being on a airplane when he was about Tsunami's age, so we did not know for sure what to expect.
Jupiter had been excited about getting on the airplane since we told him about the trip. He wanted to sit by the window so he could look out and so we told him that he could. He loved almost every minute of it. From the time we got on the airplane, he was very thrilled by the whole experience.
As soon as we were in the air, he was fascinated by everything outside the window getting smaller, the clouds as we started to fly through and above them, and even the novelty of the tray table kept him busy for much of the hour that we were in flight. The only time there was any problem was when he developed pressure in his ears on the way back down to earth. He did not know how to depressurize them, and descriptions of some of the common methods were a bit of challenge for him to comprehend.
Tsunami was, as Jupiter had been on his first airplane ride, entirely unaware that we were traveling from one point to another in an airplane. He really has no idea what an airplane is. He is five months old. These concepts are not yet familiar to him.
It was, however, still a new experience to him. He was very interested as I adjusted my air conditioner as you can probably see from the photo attached to this post. As the airplane was taking off, he was hungry. As I fed him his bottle, he fell asleep. At least he appeared to fall asleep. Chris and I have a theory that he may have been overwhelmed by everything going on and simply shut down to avoid dealing with it. Either way, he was a very calm passenger.
We were very impressed with the way that both of our boys handled the trip to Nebraska. They did not cause any unexpected trouble at all for us and did not seem to bother any of the other passengers. This is a far cry from the experiences that I have heard from others who fly with their kids. I am glad that our two are so adaptable.
We flew back to St. Louis very early in the morning, so everyone was very tired. The flight back was not quite as calm as the flight there due to this fact, but it was not too crazy either. Jupiter slept most of the way and, while Tsunami cried a bit more this time, he did not spend a lot of energy complaining.
It is good to know that next time we want to plan a trip which would be more efficient to travel by airplane, we should have little trouble trusting that our children will handle it like champs.
Jupiter had been excited about getting on the airplane since we told him about the trip. He wanted to sit by the window so he could look out and so we told him that he could. He loved almost every minute of it. From the time we got on the airplane, he was very thrilled by the whole experience.
As soon as we were in the air, he was fascinated by everything outside the window getting smaller, the clouds as we started to fly through and above them, and even the novelty of the tray table kept him busy for much of the hour that we were in flight. The only time there was any problem was when he developed pressure in his ears on the way back down to earth. He did not know how to depressurize them, and descriptions of some of the common methods were a bit of challenge for him to comprehend.
Tsunami was, as Jupiter had been on his first airplane ride, entirely unaware that we were traveling from one point to another in an airplane. He really has no idea what an airplane is. He is five months old. These concepts are not yet familiar to him.It was, however, still a new experience to him. He was very interested as I adjusted my air conditioner as you can probably see from the photo attached to this post. As the airplane was taking off, he was hungry. As I fed him his bottle, he fell asleep. At least he appeared to fall asleep. Chris and I have a theory that he may have been overwhelmed by everything going on and simply shut down to avoid dealing with it. Either way, he was a very calm passenger.
We were very impressed with the way that both of our boys handled the trip to Nebraska. They did not cause any unexpected trouble at all for us and did not seem to bother any of the other passengers. This is a far cry from the experiences that I have heard from others who fly with their kids. I am glad that our two are so adaptable.
We flew back to St. Louis very early in the morning, so everyone was very tired. The flight back was not quite as calm as the flight there due to this fact, but it was not too crazy either. Jupiter slept most of the way and, while Tsunami cried a bit more this time, he did not spend a lot of energy complaining.
It is good to know that next time we want to plan a trip which would be more efficient to travel by airplane, we should have little trouble trusting that our children will handle it like champs.
Congrats on the success of flying with you boys Kirk. The Twins have been flying for a long time and do a lot better now then they did when they were younger. Only real problem we had was on a trip to East Lansing Michigan and the ungodly delays from United. Hope to be able to see you the next time your here in your former home state.
ReplyDeleteSince my parents live in Oregon, my kids have all flown quite a bit, and have done pretty well. Sarah's also been to Hawaii and New York and is so relaxed she seemed un-phased. I try and make sure my bag is packed with plenty of things to make them happy to avoid being the parent with the unruly kids. At the end of this month we're flying to San Diego for one last vacation before Mike starts flight training. He was supposed to be home, but his latest training got pushed back. What this means is that I get to make a 6 AM flight with three kids and all the luggage that goes along with it. I'm just hoping for the best, or for understanding passengers. (or the nice stranger lady that happens to be a grandma and helps. Those are always nice. )
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your trip went well. :)