A Thank You Note From the Mom of That Crying Baby on the Airplane

Hi again, fellow travelers. It's me. You know who. You saw me doing bouncing walks down your aisle, heard me singing, maybe saw the tears welling in my own eyes despite the soothing soft voice I was using. I tried so hard to make my baby happy but, as you probably heard, he was not.

My son Paris (named for the city to which my husband and I traveled very peacefully with our then 8-month-old daughter despite a *7 hour delay* at our *second* connecting flight, through all of which she *did not nap*) is a year old and to be honest, I'm not sure why he was wailing. Right from six weeks old, my girl was a delightful traveler on a plane and in my mind, her good behaviour was to my credit, so for me to be holding my inconsolable child was a humbling experience, to put it mildly.

Had you not been kind to me, I may not have been very kind to myself. 

I'm talking to you, flight attendant who told me your kids were both awful flyers as babies but you traveled the world with them anyway and it was worth it because they are now interested and independent.

I’m talking to you, pilot who made an exception to the everyone-remain-seated rule so Paris’ diaper could be changed as the plane was de-iced on the runway.

I'm talking to you, guy across the aisle and one row back who noticed Paris was making ticking noises and pointing at your hand as tears rolled down his cheeks. You gave him the watch right off your wrist.

I'm talking to you, everyone along the aisle who tried to distract him for a moment as I bobbed on by, asked if his ears were hurting, gave me reassuring words, or simply a smile. 

I'm talking to you, couple in front of me. Sir, when Paris finally fell asleep, you told me he was cute. To know that you could bring yourself to even *look* at us was relief. 

I'm talking to you, mom who gave me a glow-in-the-dark magic wand that really did stop his cries for a while.  You told me gently, gesturing to your own children, one quiet and the other asleep, "it doesn't always look like this."  

I know nobody wants to listen to a baby cry on an airplane (because, ditto) so thank you for your compassion and general lack of icy stares through the whole ordeal. As a stay-at-home mom, the vacation I took with my whole family saw me read my first non-kid book in, I don't even know how long. It gave my kids the time to connect with their aunt and uncle whose schedules are generally pretty full, and it gave me a break from preparing meals, keeping the house tidy, and supervising my adventurous little Paris all day long (because his dad, Grandpa, and Nana were on the trip, too).  

So once again, thank you, and please wish me luck because I'm taking this guy to Vancouver in a few weeks all by myself. Here's hoping either he's in a better mood or the plane is full of people as understanding as y'all.

xo

p.s. Here is an update as of Feb 2024, as shared on my Facebook page:

Me again, back for more air travel convo! But wait, this time it's a heartwarmer. See, this lovely human is no relation to the baby in her arms. In fact, that baby had been screaming up until minutes before I snapped this photo.

Let me tell you why this was a full circle moment for me.

I was the mom of a screaming baby on a plane once. Paris. Both my kids were excellent travelers so long as I breastfed, bounced, and otherwise completely catered to their baby whims... until that one fateful flight where nothing I did could stop the crying.

And unlike what I feared would happen in the moment, people rallied for us. I wrote about it at back in 2019 and will put the link in my comments.

Well, fast forward to last week and this little darling was having a rough go. I could hear the baby's people trying to quiet and comfort her. Then, I could hear the person across the aisle jingling things & being supportive. But still, the crying was real. So I undid my seat belt & went the few rows back to ask, "would you like a break? I'll hold your baby."

Immediately in my arms, the baby was quiet. Sometimes it takes a new situation to snap them out of it... IYKYK. I went back to my seat and for a few minutes, I thought I'd saved the day!!

That lasted mere minutes.

So I went back with the screaming little one, saying oh well, I tried. And the person across the aisle said she'd like to try. She hadn't wanted to ask to hold the baby but now that she knew it was an option, she gave her arms as a cradle.

And let me tell you, that baby was happily, completely, totally out in no time. She had the magic touch.

Her name is Katherine, a fellow traveler who was connecting in Saskatoon on her way back to Winnipeg from Cuba, and you can see her beautiful heart in this photo.

It takes a village, friends. We are all that village!