The great Indian saga

Traveling solo with baby and tot

So a few years ago I had this demystifying transatlantic flight experience with my baby. And  I was convinced that i had unravelled the haplessness of a for lone mother but little did I know what the future would augur for me and my growing family. What if I had to undertake a similar journey with a toddler and a baby In tow. Sometimes the hypothesis meets reality and the unfathomable happens. And thus began my saga to repeat history,  part 2 in the making. The punchline being buy one trouble get the other one free!!!!!!

As the d day advanced, my mind was in over drive. I was a virtual machine making checklists in the zillion. Baby check, toddler check, mother check mate. The bags kept piling and my lists kept growing. On final count I had 8 bags, one stroller, 2 kids and a zapped brain. Ironically there was no time for self pity, I still had a routine to keep up and a journey to strategize to the minutest detail. The day of reckoning finally arrived and I uttered the battle cry. The first pit stop was encouraging. The Babbage check in proceeded without much ado except for the sympathetic inquiry from the ground staff. I was already being touted as the brave heart.

My husband on the other hand was on a mission of his own. He was already scanning through people to find a potential ally for my impending journey. We were both expecting some tamil Mami to take pity on us when we found a young woman also braving the odds with a small bundle in tow. By default we decided to stick with each other through thick and thin. As our husbands bid goodbye we strode in for the security check. It was quite the scene wading through the sea of people with my myriad accompaniments. And to my surprise I  was sidelined for a full pat down check. My past experience had taught me one valuable experience- never be shy to ask for help. Without a pause I  turned around, and passed my unsuspecting baby to the equally unsuspecting security guards. And that my friends summed up my whole experience. It didn't matter how rude or insensitive the authorities/flight staff were to me, my hands could only handle so much. So my baby was invariably handed over much to every one's chagrin.

The first half of my journey to London was a whirlwind. I was a woman in control. Handing over the iPad to my older one, I focused on the baby. She seemed content in her cot seat aka bouncer. In between her intermittent sleeps and feeds, I was a tired out woman. Again past experience has taught be to be over prepared and thick skinned. Just when I expecting a smooth ride, I was handed over my first shocking news. There wasn't going to be a cart as promised. But hey I was prepared for all eventualities or so I thought!

The next part was nothing like I had imagined. The security check at London literally knocked the wind out of me. I was asked to strip all my accessories and taste the baby food. I felt like i was in shawshank prison.  I so regretted making the solo flight. My temper flew and the ground staff just compounded my misery. Folding and unfolding the double stroller, I had to collect all my sundry and soothe my jet lagged babies. If not for my friend, I would probably haven broken down. We made our way through the multitude gates,  and took the Air Tran to the final gate. As we sat down waiting for the penultimate flight, we gave each other a triumphant look. We had made it past the most difficult leg of the journey.

The final leg was a total contrast from the previous leg to London. Surrounded by caring Indian flight staff, I was in good hands. In fact the entire front row was occupied by mother's traveling alone. And all the young ones were girls!!!! As I glanced at my sleeping beauties, I couldn't help sighing at my good fortune. When we disembarked the flight, help was waiting around the corner. My bags and stroller were taken from me. And all I had to do was keep a watch on my babies. There were no lines, no security checks. The only blip in my happiness was the one delayed luggage. But all in all it felt felt like home. And I made made it solo with my angels.