Since London will be a long-haul flight, Sean thought it would be best if we try to do a short flight with Arthur. That way, we will be able to see how he would behave on the plane, what the stroller and car seat gate-check situation would be like, whether or not the diaper bag would suffice, and the amount of time we would need to set aside before the flight.
After searching various destinations that would be inexpensive and within 4-hour flight from Singapore, we settled with Penang. It would only be an hour flight. We decided to fly out on Saturday on the 10:40 am flight and come back on Monday on the 12:45 pm flight. This would mimic our London flight later on, and two nights away seemed quite reasonable.
Before we had Arthur, Sean and I would show up at the airport an hour before the flight. This time, we decided to be at the airport at least two hours before the flight.
We took with us one 20-L backpack, the diaper bag, and a purse. The backpack had our clothes and toiletries. It was only a two-night trip so we didn’t need too many things. For Arthur, I packed two short-sleeve bodysuits, two long-sleeve bodysuits, two pants, two mittens, two socks, one receiving blanket, one pajama, one hooded towel, two washcloths, a travel-size bath soap, and one swaddling blanket. They all fit nicely inside a “Jumbo Storage” ziplock bag with lots of room still available. I did not expect to access any of these things until we arrive at our hotel.
In my purse, other than the usual things like my wallet, I had Arthur’s health booklet and birth certificate, my nursing cover, and a thick swaddling cloth just in case it got really cold on the plane.
Our diaper bag is really just a regular laptop bag. There are three compartments. In the first compartment, we placed a changing mat and a ziplock bag filled with 10 diapers, a travel-size butt paste, and a pack of wet wipes. This was the most accessible compartment. In the second compartment, we had a pack of sanitizing wipes and three ziplock bags: one with a set of changing clothes for me, one with a blanket and swaddle for Arthur, and one with several clothes for Arthur. This includes a pajama, three long-sleeve bodysuits, three pants, two mittens, two socks, a hat, and a bib. The third compartment housed the stroller rain cover and mosquito cover, and medicine/first aid box. We could also stuff the baby carrier in this compartment. On the outside pockets, we have travel-size hand sanitizer and several small plastic ziplock bags for soiled clothes.
Since Arthur is fully breastfed, we didn’t bother with bottles and formula milk.
On our way to the airport, Arthur fell asleep in the car seat. Before we left, I made sure I changed his diaper and fed him. He was wearing a long-sleeve bodysuit, pants, mittens, and socks. I had a blanket for him as well to cover the car seat from the sun.
When we got to the airport, we thought we would be able to print our boarding passes from the machine, but because we were traveling with an infant, we had to go to the counter. While waiting in line, Arthur was awake but quiet in his car seat. We have the Graco click connect travel modes so the car seat was nicely attached to the stroller. Once we got to the counter, he started to become fussy and his little lungs can make a lot of noise. So I picked him up while Sean talked to the airline representative. I quickly found out that Arthur had a major diaper blowout.
After we got our boarding passes, we went straight to the changing station. Sure enough, his poop had soiled both his pants and bodysuit. Instead of changing him into another bodysuit and pants, I changed him into a pajama instead. It was quicker.
Then we put him back in the car seat and headed towards immigration. Usually, Sean and I would be able to go through the automated gates. Well, not with a baby. We had to wait in line for an officer. Thankfully, there was no line so we breezed through it quite quickly.
There was still 1.5 hours left until our departure. The gate was not even opened yet. So we hung out at Starbucks. While we enjoyed our coffee, Arthur, too, got hungry. I took out my nursing cover and nursed him. When he has finished, he started getting sleepy. Once he fell asleep, we decided to go to the gate.
Going through security was easy. We pushed the stroller-car seat combo through the metal detector. I went through with Arthur in my arms, and Sean placed the backpack, diaper bag, and my purse on the belt. Once we were through, we went to the airline representative to get the stroller and car seat tags. They told us that we would only be able to get the stroller and car seat at the baggage belt, not at the gate once we landed. No big deal.
The plane ride was pretty easy. Arthur was asleep during take off. I did not wake him up for a feed. He slept through the whole ride. At the top of the descent, I was worried his ear was going to hurt, but he stayed asleep anyways. Only about 10 minutes later did he wake up hungry. So I nursed him. He was not nursing when we landed but he did show that he was a bit uncomfortable. I knew it was his diaper. When we were at the gate, he started to become more fussy. Everyone had already stood up to wait to deplane. We sat four rows from the back. While we waited, I thought I might as well change Arthur’s diaper. I made my way to the lavatory and changed his diaper there. The changing station in the restroom was quite spacious, actually. Not bad. After I changed his diaper, he was much more content. It was only wet. No poop.
Once we deplaned, everything else was quite smooth. Arthur fell asleep again on the car seat in the car. The driver took the long way to get to the hotel. It could have taken us 20-30 minutes, but instead it took us 1.5 hours. 10 minutes before we got to our destination, I had to take out Arthur from the car seat and nursed him in the car.
At the hotel, Arthur was fully awake.
So, Arthur’s first flight was quite easy and straightforward, actually.
On the way back to Singapore, we had a similar experience. While waiting in line to check-in, he pooped and soiled his pants. Sean changed his diaper while I waited in line. Thankfully, the bodysuit was fine. It was only the pants. After the change, though, I could tell he was getting tired. I thought I should feed him again, but we were five people away from the counter. So I bounced and swayed to pacify him until we got to the counter. I asked the lady if she needed me to be there. When she said she didn’t, I went to find a seat and attempted to feed him. It seemed he was not interested. He continued on crying, though. He wasn’t hungry. He was tired. He wanted sleep.
We decided to put him back in the car seat and go through immigration and security. Hopefully, he would sleep in the car seat. We were wrong. He was at first awake and quiet in the car seat, but at immigration, when I presented the passport to the officer, he started to become fussy again. And the crying began. As soon as we cleared immigration, I picked him up. Luckily, security was next, so he needed to be in my arms anyway. While getting ready for security, his cry quieted down a bit. And he finally went to sleep. I think he was too tired to argue.
He slept until we boarded the plane. Then he woke up just as we were about to take off. So I nursed him. He was really hungry. He was awake for some time afterwards, but he fell asleep again at some point. At the top of the descent, he woke up again, so I nursed him. And when we landed, he was awake.
Overall, our first flight experience taught us a couple of things.
- Our diaper bag was actually a good bag.
- We packed well.
- We needed to buy a stroller and car seat cover for the plane so that they would be protected from the rain and dirt.
- It’s okay to let him sleep during take off.
- We need lots of time before the flight just in case we need to change his diaper and nurse him. That way, we don’t have to feel rushed.
- For the long flight, Sean would probably wear the baby carrier in case of turbulence.
- Patience is key and to take everything slow. If we’re prepared mentally, we won’t have to feel flustered.
And now… for the real extended travel…
two backpacks and a diaper bag 