Baby On Board: Keira's First Flight

We're so excited! Our good friend from long time back, Hannah Tan is getting married tomorrow and the three of us (daddy, mommy and baby) are attending her wedding in Kuala Lumpur! Keira, of course, will have to come along too as Hannah is her "godmum".

We were also quite nervous as it was our first time to fly with our baby. That's Kevin, me and baby. Meaning: no mommy or auntie for mine or any kind of family support would be available to us during the plane ride of 40 minutes. 

What if the air pressure is too much and she cries and cries non-stop? 
Would Kevin and I be able to handle it? 
What if she poops in the plane and makes a big fuss about it? 
What if we forgot something that she really, really needs and she won't stop crying? 
She's not a morning person, cos she sleeps around 4am. And our flight is an early morning one, means that we would need to be up and at the airport before 8am. What if she throws a tantrum for us disturbing her during what's meant to be time for her beauty sleep?
What if...? 
What if...? 
What if...? 
Whatever the case, there was no way out and we would have to deal with all of it like grown-ups.

Thankfully, we ended up having no problems at all with her first flight earlier this morning. Everything went smooth sailing, as our anxieties ensured that we be well-prepared more than ready of anything that coulda, woulda, mighta gone wrong.

• Before the flight, we made sure to put Keira in comfortable clothes and give her a fresh diaper change. We also made sure not to feed her too much milk otherwise she would reject the milk during take-off (and we can't afford that to happen).
• Before take-off (and before she was belted to me as all infants need to be for safety procedures), I lifted her up with both hands so that she can catch a glimpse at the people seated on the flight.  The natural princess nature in her of course shone brightly as what she was lifted up, she gave all the passengers that she made eye contact with a glowing smile and a "princess wave". We could hear the "auuwwws" and "Look at the baby wave, so cute!" compliments that followed.
• During take-off and descent, we kept Keira sucking on something to relieve ear pressure. The flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur is short, so at takeoff we fed her milk from her bottle. 30 minutes later, as the plane was ready to make its quick descent, we could not stuff her with more milk, so we had alternatives ready - water from a bottle or her pacifier. Pacifier was her pick, of course!
• During the flight, we brought her favourite toys and soft-book so that so that we could keep her occupied. It was also a small plane and we did not get the front row, so we had to make do with positioning her strapped on me in the limited space that there was. Turns out that we did not need anything. She was happy to be gazing out the window during take-off and landing.

From this first experience, we discovered that SHE LOVES AIRPORTS and AIRPLANE RIDES! She did not mind the air pressure or the noise during take-off and landing at all. She loved flying with her "royal subjects" and was very well behaved throughout the entire flight.

Hello, Kuala Lumpur! Happy Valentine's Day! We made it here in one piece with our 8 month old! :)