What I Learned On My First Solo Flight With A Baby

I had been prepping for this moment for months. I had researched every single scenario about air travel before flying solo with my 9-month-old son. I had a copy of my son’s birth certificate, extra bottles, my handy dandy Sit ‘n’ Stroll, my nursing cover, a diaper bag stuffed full of diapers, wipes, and toys, hand sanitizer, a container of his favorite snacks, and my baby carrier. Since my husband and I had flown with my older son several times, I figured, how much different could this flight be?

For one thing, I was alone with a very active 9-month-old clawing at me and wailing to get down to crawl around. We hadn’t even taken off yet! What was I thinking when I booked this trip? I tried distracting him with toys which were promptly tossed onto the floor. Ditto with the snacks I had so lovingly packed. I frantically tried to wipe down every imaginable surface before Levi could mouth the seatbelt and tray table. He was happy sitting on my lap, kicking the seat in front of us for about 8 seconds…until I sensed that person in that seat was becoming disgruntled. Luckily, the passenger beside us did not appear to have any hard feelings about being seat next to us, even when my tiny caveman tried grabbing a chunk of hair from the poor guy’s head.

We made it through the first leg of our trip, but as we waited at the gate for our next flight leaving out of Chicago, I started to feel panicky. Sure, I could distract him in the terminal by letting him smoosh bananas all over his sweet little face, but I doubted that would work on the plane. Those airplane seats don’t afford much extra room and most likely the smooshed banana would end up on at least one person around us, minimum.

When it was our turn to board, I hauled the baby, stroller, bags, and other various items down the jetway. I prepared to gate-check the stroller, folding it with one hand while holding my baby with the other hand (no easy feat!). Another passenger offered to help me with the stroller while inquiring about my seating situation. I thanked him for his help and replied that I was planning to hold my son on my lap during the flight. As we boarded the plane, the gentleman handed me his first-class ticket, insisting that I take his seat while he would sit in my economy-class seat. He maintained that the extra room in first-class would make the trip much more comfortable for a mom traveling with a baby, and I could hardly argue with that! Levi and I settled into our unexpectedly upgraded seat and enjoyed the remainder of our flight, complete with hot towels, an actual meal for me (no stale pretzels!), and a bowl of quinoa for Levi.

Later that evening, after I had reached my destination, I thought back on the kind and unexpected gesture that had arrived just when I needed it most. I realized it wasn’t the only act of kindness I had experienced throughout my first solo flight with a baby. There was the security guard at the airport who had taken the time to help me locate the elevator, the grandma seated by us in the terminal who picked up Levi’s toys 35 times when he tossed them onto the ground, a couple seated behind us on our first flight who entertained Levi by playing peek-a-boo, and all the other people who smiled at the tired mom with the crabby baby instead of rolling their eyes. Instead of focusing on the positive parts of my trip, I had been letting the stress of traveling bring me down. One random seat-switching act of kindness was my wake-up call. I decided to make an effort to notice the goodness in others and to spread kindness to others more often.

Next time you see the tired mom at Target dragging a screaming, tantrum-throwing toddler through the parking lot, give her an understanding smile and offer to put her cart away, so she has one less thing to worry about. Maybe it means buying a coffee for the person in front of you at Starbuck’s, babysitting for a friend during her hair appointment, or making a meal for someone. You never know what one act of kindness could mean to someone!

As we arise each morning, let us determine to respond with more love and kindness to whatever might come our way. -Thomas S. Monson