pistoy's first plane trip

going into this trip, i was worried about the ear aches pag nagka-change ng air pressure sa cabin during take-off and landing.  but it turns out, that was (sort of) the easiest to remedy pala. just make sure the child is eating or drinking para lunok nang lunok, and this will relieve the pressure.

Tampa to NY
ok yung take-off. pistoy was pretty hungry by then kaya kumain sya ng BreadSticks and had a bottle ng dede. since lunok sya nang lunok, hindi sya na-bother sa change ng air pressure sa tenga.

kaya lang, kain pa rin sya nang kain throughout the flight! the flight was just 2 hours. kaya nung pa-landing na, ayaw na kumain or dumede kasi busog na. kaya sumakit tenga nya, at ayon, super iyak. =( he was pulling on his ears kaya alam namin na yun ang nagba-bother sa kanya. eventually, napainom namin sya ng konting dede, kaya siguro nabawasan yung pressure sa tenga.

Lesson # 1
budget the feeding when you are expecting just a short flight. binigay namin yung dede ni pistoy a few moments after take-off (as in yung air-borne na yung plane). we should have stopped giving him snacks, and resort to distracting him with toys, para medyo gutom pa sya by landing. oh well, we learned.

NY to HongKong (the loooong flight)
ok ulet sa take-off. since mahaba pa yung flight, hinayaan lang namin syang mag-snack at dumede as much as he wants.

kaya lang, sa dami ng kinain, tumae sa plane. ayaw nya dun sa cr kaya mega-iyak sya habang pinapalitan namin! claustrophobic ata si pistoy. hehe! sa sobrang iyak, sumuka nung bumalik na kami sa upuan. buti na lang walang nasukahan na pasahero, ako lang. buong balikat at braso ko may suka, pati buhok ko. hehehe! may pamalit naman ako, tapos nag-ponytail na lang ako kasi amoy pa rin kahit halos maligo na ko sa lababo ng cr.

nakatulog naman si pistoy, pero karga ni je sa baby carrier for almost 6 hours. si daddy je nakatayo for almost 4 hours, kasi umiiyak si pistoy pag umuupo na si je. buti na nga lang may carrier.

nung gising sya, he was kind of restless sa seat. siguro kasi nasa regular seat lang kami (we didn't get the bassinet seats sa dami ng babies sa flight, and they booked in advance).

he wants to roam around, kaya inaakay namin sya sa paglalakad. fave tambayan namin yung malapit sa food station/gallery, at malapit sa restrooms. it helps that we were wearing tshirt, comfy jeans, and comfy shoes, kasi we did a lot of bending and walking with pistoy.

ok din si pistoy sa landing. around 3 hours before landing, medyo budgeted na yung pagkain nya. ok lang naman sya.

Lesson # 2
bring change of clothes sa plane. i brought 2 tshirts, 1 pants, pati bra. may dala rin akong pang-ponytail, face towel, perfume, and lots and lots of baby wipes. pag kumakain kasi si pistoy, medyo messy, so baby wipes ang katapat nya. kids will be messy, and that's fine. punasan at palitan na lang ng damit pag malapit nang mag-landing. =P

Lesson # 3
most likely you'll have a big diaper bag to hold EVERYTHING your baby will need. but make sure it will fit under the seat in front of you. if it won't, bring a smaller bag with the basic needs. based on experience namin, that bag should have:
- pamalit na damit (1 short sleeves, 1 long sleeves, 1 pants)
- face towel or burp cloth
- blanket (if your baby hates wearing socks, like our pistoy)
- diapers
- wipes
- disposable changing pad (if you're oc-oc like us, hehe!)
- poopie bag (if your baby's poop stinks like our pistoy's, haha!)
- 1-2 small toys
- 1-2 small books
- 2-3 bottles of dede
- 1-2 types of meals and snacks (it helps to put it in ziploc bags para hindi bulky yung containers)
- any medicines (if needed)

meron pa rin kaming bigger diaper bag with more stuff, but it was too big to fit sa ilalim ng seat, kaya we had to stow it sa overhead compartment. it's kind of a hassle na tatayo everytime may kailangan,kaya we transfered those basic stuff sa smaller bag and yun ang nasa ibaba lang.

Lesson # 4
if you plan on giving your baby some medicine to help them calm down or sleep, make sure you test them days before the flight.
technically, hindi papayag ang pedia na bigyan ng something ang baby kung wala naman talagang sakit, but only to calm them down. like benadryl. but for those whose pedia will allow it, do a test run days in advance, to make sure na walang allergy to that medicine yung baby. and also to make sure you know the effects of the medication. sa ibang bata daw kasi, nagiging hyper sa benadryl, instead na makatulog. =P

we didn't give anything to pistoy, first dahil most of my relatives in NY advised against it. and secondly dahil we didn't get to test it days prior to the flight. mahirap na kung may allergic reaction si pistoy, saan naman kami hahanap ng doctor sa eroplano. =P

HongKong to Manila
 take off is fine again. we budgeted his snacks, as we learned in our Tampa-NY flight. hehe! 1.5 hrs lang kasi yung trip this time.

umiyak lang sya nung pa-landing na sa Manila, kasi super antok na. sumuka ulet sa sobrang iyak. nung pagka-landing, tumayo na si je at tumatahimik naman si pistoy. pinagalitan sya ng stewardess, pinapaupo sya. nakipag-away si je! =P sabi nung flight attendant umupo daw, kasi gagayahin daw ng iba, tatayo na to get their luggages, kaya sabi ni je "i'm not getting my luggages. if anybody stands up, i will make sure they will sit down again."
ayaw pumayag nung babae kaya sabi ni je something like "he threw up 3 times already. if i hurt myself, i won't sue you, i know you're just doing your job. i just don't want him to throw up again."

so finally, pinabayaan na sya nung babae, sabi lang "just be careful". eh si je civil naman, sabi nya "i will, thank you." tapos tumayo na sya karga si pistoy. hehe!

nung paglabas namin, hinihintay namin yung stroller sa gate, andaming ngumingiti sa amin na pasahero, lalo na yung mga may dala rin na baby. ngayon lang siguro sila nakakita ng pasahero na nakipag-away sa flight attendant at nanalo. =P

sobrang kaawa kasi si pistoy nung umiiyak na sa antok. lahat tinry na namin, talagang naiinis na sya. within 5 minutes paglabas ng plane, tulog na. kids can't help it. kung hindi sanay ang baby na matulog nang karga, it will really be a challenge sa parents.

Manila to HongKong, Hongkong to NY, NY to Tampa
everything's a breeze! i feel like we're veterans in flying. the main difference, we got the bassinet seat this time. pistoy was less restless dahil pag nabugnot sya, tatayo/uupo/maglalaro lang sya sa lapag sa tapat ng seat ko. pag antok, humihiga sya sa bassinet. that's pretty much it. pag antok, medyo ma-whiny pa rin, pero pumayag syang sa bassinet matulog. i just wished we brought an overall onesies (yung may cover pati paa), kasi sinisipa ni pistoy yung socks nya, tapos ayaw nya ng blanket. eh ang lamig dun sa may bassinet seat.

Lesson # 5
if you could secure a front row seat, do it! where our seats are located made more difference, that if we booked a separate seat for pistoy, i think. kasi nung wala kaming bassinet, tumatayo si papa para si pistoy ang mag-occupy ng seat nya, pero ganon din. but with the bassinet, it's just soooo much easier.

Lesson of all Lessons:
the most important lesson of all: keep your cool. good sense of humor goes a loooong way! babies can feel their parent's anxiety. pag nagpanic na ang mommy or daddy, the baby will feel it and the cycle continues. pag umiyak ang bata, it's normal. if anybody gives you The Look, just smile back.

i'm trying to think of anything else we've learned from the actual plane trips. i think that's pretty much it. =)

next on the agenda, things learned at the place of destination. =P