Traveling with a kid

 I had planned for my trip months before, but still, it was just as intimidating as the first day. After all, I was going to travel alone with my 4-year-old for approximately 11000 km, most likely in search of a new destination.

Packing

I calculated everything perfectly. We decided to take two large trolleys and one medium trolley. One small trolley will be our cabin bag, and we are all set. But I would not sit here and write if everything went as planned. Thanks to my hand measuring machine, I had to shuffle stuff at the airport, and now I have to use one of my handbags as our cabin bag. Because the weight would not match, we had to give our small trolley in check-in baggage. So lesson no. 1: do not stuff up the bag to 23 kg or a little more than 23 as everyone says. Keep it within 22 kg.

Immigration

My baby has been getting ready since the morning. I intentionally scheduled her play date until 3 PM so she could sleep from the evening and wake up late at night, and we could board the flight without incident at 4 AM. It went as planned. But why am I writing if all went as planned? I didn't bring a water bottle because I assumed security would prohibit it, immigration would be quick at the boarding airport, and we could buy a water bottle inside. But the long queue at the immigration counter would bore any adult, and here's a kid. Even though security does not allow it, at that point, it felt as if it would have been better even if I had taken the bottle and thrown it. Lesson no. 2: Carry a small disposable water bottle or the kids' bottle in their shoulder bag for hassle-free immigration.

Boarding the 1st flight

Now we are settled at the airport with water, snacks, and a bench to sit on. It was much better compared to the previous 1.5 hours. We sang, took pictures, and our journey started. It felt like a void as we left this beautiful city of Hyderabad, which we had called home for the last decade. Most likely, it will remain our home forever. Let's face reality now. It was 4:20 AM on February 4, 2023, and the Etihad flight was flying towards Abu Dhabi on a 4-hour journey. After all, it was my child's first international flight, and she was overjoyed to see the small screen in front of her seat. She watched the screen for some time while I settled in and prepared for the journey ahead. We had some excellent food served on the flight. Though the coloring book and crayon did not impress her, thank you, Etihad, for thinking about them. Then comes nap time, and oh my Lorddddd. She could not understand how she should sleep. She does not fit anymore to lie down on the seat and cannot understand how she can sit and sleep like others. Real challenge. Finally, she sat on me with her face on my shoulder and took a small nap. Lesson No. 3: Prepare the kids for this type of sleeping pattern, especially when you are alone traveling with them because your shoulder also hurts.

The 1st Layover

It's time for our first layover at Abu Dhabi airport. It was crowded. But I had to keep calm, knowing it would be a long walk. We freshened up in a corner washroom near the airport entry from the flight, as I felt it wouldn't be crowded. And yes, that worked. Then we started looking at the yellow arrows to find our next terminal. A small thing that worked to my baby's favor was that I had small candies, and I was giving her those candies while we were walking around the beautiful airport. I cannot miss noting that the security check-in was the best. You do not need to remove any electronics or anything, which was done in less than 5 minutes. But my shoulders were aching from carrying my handbag, which contained my 2.5-kg laptop. Huuuffffff. I was neither finding a small airport trolley nor an electric cart for transport. Then I had to stop looking for my destination terminal and look for the trolley so that I could walk peacefully. And we found a broken trolley on our way, which made it better. I had packed some bananas with me. My daughter had one while we sat and waited for the next flight. We played with some stickers, which we pasted on the seat where we were relaxing, and then it was time for our next flight. Lesson No. 4: Find a less crowded washroom and find a trolley as soon as you deboard the aircraft.

Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam 

The second Etihad flight was from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam. It was a good flight with a gentleman by our side. The same cartoon series excited her, and some favorite snacks made the journey start on a good note. I had to take a power nap here as I was super tired. The food was good, and the mouth watering bread slices that Etihad served with every meal were delicious. I had good leg space and some documentaries to watch. Sleeping was still a struggle for my daughter. Somehow she managed to sleep for some 2 hours on this 7-hour flight and overall, we were pros by now. Lesson No. 5: Pay extra for leg space in the premium economy class especially for the longer flights if possible. 

Schiphol Airport 

The next layover was at the lovely Amsterdam Airport. Learning from mistakes makes life better and I did it by finding a trolley the moment I stepped out. The first thing was to find a trolley to save my life. Security check-in was pretty smooth. The only thing was that they wanted to cross-check my Chawanprass bottle twice. The walking escalator was an excellent way for us to kill time. She sat on the airport trolley to enjoy the pretty airport. A small coffee and a chocolate muffin made the bill 12 euros, and I used my Citibank credit card to pay the bill. Well, I could also use my Fi card, which would have been better with no extra charges, but I did not keep the card outside and missed using it. We sat near our gate while my daughter watched the iPad for some time. We refreshed after a while and changed her clothing. The washroom was excellent and spacious. What surprised me was the concept of family washrooms!.Then we boarded our last flight. Lesson no. 6: Keep your international card ready if you want to use it at the airport to avoid paying the extra pennies.

Flight to Destination 

This flight was a KLM flight, and we had a window seat. Yohoooooo ! Etihad had headphones that were better for my daughter's head. But KLM had earphones, and she was not able to use those. She had to watch it without sound, which was okay for her. But it would have been better to take a child's headphones. The food was great here. It was an 8.5-hour flight, and we got food every 2 hours, which included snacks, meals, juices, and cold drinks. Sleeping was a big issue again, but we did it the same way, though it was very uncomfortable. Then came our destination, the city of Toronto. Papa would be waiting outside, excited her, and she was amazingly cooperative. I could not find an airport trolley here, though. Lesson No. 7: Keep child-friendly headphones to make them feel comfortable and sound sleep is very important before the destination airport.

The last leap

There are many things to be done at the Toronto airport, and I was nervous as hell about how to do this with my super-tired baby. We needed to make a mandatory declaration at a kiosk and there was a long line. We managed to finish it. The photo needs to be taken by the kiosk after you scan your passport, but it is optional for the kids. Passport scanning is mandatory for all passengers, including kids and infants. Then we were headed towards the immigration counter. It was a short line. The only thing was that we had to stand there as there was no chair, and my daughter was exhausted. I asked her to sit down, as that was the only option. When my turn came, I went to the counter with so much confusion about what document they would ask for. But by God's grace, he did not ask for a single copy. We cleared immigration and got my work and my daughter's study permits. Now we were headed for luggage collection. Looking at so many people, she must have gotten some energy back because she was excited to search for our bags. Again, by God's grace, our luggage arrived on the conveyor belt just when we got there. I felt blessed to see all my luggage, and I did not have to wait long. I thanked all those unknown powers at that moment, as the most challenging part of our trip was completed smoothly. Lesson No. 8: Take your time exiting the aircraft. Listen to your kid’s body language and proceed at the same pace. Keep the excitement intact.

The Much Awaited Meeting

We had to find our way out. A bit of confusion as there was a rush. I have been thinking about taking our winter jackets out as it is the peak of winter (February 2023), but while I had been thinking, we were out of the airport, and tadaaaaa! She saw her Papa and was all quiet with shock. A tight hug from Papa was enough to recharge her from the tiring trip, and I was so relieved. The slight whisper from her in the car, "Momma, that's my papa," was enough to convince myself that we had finally arrived. The last 5 months have been the most difficult times of our lives. But all's well that ends well.