When you're outdoors, just raise your head and look up into the sky. An ordinary empty abyss, you say? But no - there, behind the clouds, in fact, a stormy life is in full swing. There, someone's laptop was broken by another passenger simply leaning back excessively in the seat in front of them, someone got extra leg room by distributing souvenirs for the cabin crew, and someone’s desperately trying to soothe a four-month-old baby...
Of course, flying with a baby is not the best idea, but sometimes it doesn’t work out the other way. And Aliza Carr, a midwife from Sydney, Australia, and a mom to 4-month-old daughter Zadie, had to experience it firsthand. And, most unexpectedly, the main source of discomfort was not her baby at all, but quite adult netizens...
This new mom from Australia once flew with her 4-month-old daughter on a long flight
Image credits: bumpnbub
The woman had to soothe her baby so she went to the emergency exit area to do it
So, Aliza was traveling by plane with her child and, probably, with someone else from her relatives - after all, someone filmed the video that she later posted on Instagram. The baby could not sleep, so the mom went to the emergency exit row area and tried to rock her in the carrier. Apparently, it was successful - especially since there was no one around, neither passengers, nor someone from the cabin crew.
Image credits: bumpnbub
In the author of the post's own words, she always thought that the most difficult thing about motherhood was pregnancy, but her own experience changed everything. Aliza posted a video of her rocking the baby on her Instagram, adding in the description that she later even had to take Panadol (a variety of Paracetamol) for her aching muscles. Apparently, the soothing process took a little longer...
Image credits: bumpnbub
The author then posted a video of her rocking the baby - but faced some harsh backlash in the comments
The humble beauty of social networks is that there are always a lot of experts on a wide variety of things. Three years ago, literally one in two was a virus expert, then there were numerous military experts... toward the end of this week, we expect a surge in football experts' opinions as the new NFL season kicks off. Well, in the comments under Aliza Carr’s video, there were suddenly a lot of experts in the field of plane etiquette.
Image credits: bumpnbub
Probably, the mom herself did not even expect such harsh backlash - commenters categorically stated that "dancing mamas" like her incredibly annoyed them on airplanes, and if they were on that very flight, then they would definitely have got mad over Aliza's soothing. Moreover, according to some commenters, even the very sight of a mother rocking a baby may infuriate passengers, so the best place for such actions is somewhere in the back of the plane.
Image credits: bumpnbub
According to many people, the mom was "selfish" and all these "dancing mamas" usually just annoy other passengers
Also, the mother received a lot of angry reproaches for being "selfish", simply because she was traveling with a baby. So, according to some folks in the comments, if you have a little kid, you should just stay at home and keep your head down. In order, God forbid, not to offend other passengers with your appearance or the crying baby or toddler.
Image credits: bumpnbub
No, of course, there were many supportive comments - for example, that the emergency exit area is almost always, on any flight, occupied by people standing with their babies. Especially when it comes to long international flights. Many commenters asked to pay attention to how difficult it is to be a mom in general - not just flying with a baby. But what upset the Original Poster the most was that a lot of the negative feedback was from women and probably other moms.
Image credits: Daniel Frese (not the actual photo)
The woman ended up answering her critics, and expressed her disappointment with such opinions
A few days later, Aliza wrote another post in which she expressed her deepest disappointment that many mothers not only did not sympathize with her, but also condemned her. “It amplifies the revolting notion that children should be seen and not heard. That their well-being doesn’t matter, as long as the comfort of strangers isn’t jeopardized,” the author wrote. Carr also added, “It pushes the opinion that a mother responding to her new baby is being manipulated, and is spoiling that baby.”
Most airlines let babies fly from the age of seven days, and experts believe that soothing the baby on board is absolutely okay
An analysis of the websites of many airlines confirms that babies are allowed to travel by air, usually from the age of seven days. Moreover, British Airways states that "newborn babies must be at least 48 hours old and have been born without any complications before they can travel with us." Thus, there was nothing wrong with Aliza flying with a four-month-old baby. As for the discomfort that she could cause to other passengers by soothing her daughter, everything is also quite clear here.
"If at all possible, start your vacation with keeping your baby well rested, as it's much easier to get your baby to sleep if they aren't overtired. When flying with a baby, use a familiar bedtime routine on the flight to help your baby sleep," Celine Brewer, a mom and the author of the Baby Can Travel blog, writes in the dedicated post. "The best advice I can give on traveling with your baby on plane is to stay calm and focus on your baby. You will survive flying with a baby. And chances are good that it won't be as bad as you think."
Well, people's opinions always differ - but that's what makes it good to be human. Because even a negative experience is also an experience. We hope Aliza Carr and her tiny daughter are doing well, and in the meantime, we’re already looking forward to your opinions on the described situation in the comments. And, of course, if you too have ever faced or witnessed something similar, please let us know your own story as well.