Gold Coast May 2016 - The flight

I have so much to share about our maiden trip. It's not the itinerary; it's hardly impressive. 

It's more about the experience since we have so many "firsts".

I wrote and re-wrote the entries, the drafts sitting in my phone for months.

Perhaps it's time now. Before we set off on another adventure before J starts school.

J said the most adorable thing while we were getting ready to leave for the airport.

"We going Australia?"

"Yes."

"We going airport? Now?"

"Yes! :)"

There was a brief moment of silence before she asked, somewhat cautiously, "Mama, I'm two years old?"

That's odd because she knows her age. "Uh... yes."

"I'm not three years old?"

"Nope. But almost. :)"

"Not three years old can take airplane?"

So that was why. Probably did too much of the wait-till-you-are-a-little-older there. When the idea of the trip finally set in, J carried her little backpack with her neck pillow attached to it, and went out of the house. The bag is huge for her but I could see that little skip when she walked. 

I, on the other hand, was very nervous about our first flight.
How would it go? Would J be okay? It's eight hours on the flight. Will her ears hurt? Can she sleep through? What if she doesn't wanna sleep? What if she wakes to use the toilet but we will have to be strapped in because we are landing? 

The never-ending questions in my head.

*****

I borrowed some books about the airport prior our trip to prepare J for the flight.

Image from: bookdepository.com

This is a good one because it's a walk-through from the moment you arrive at the airport, to the check-in process, to take-off.
We want J to know what to expect so that we can minimize the chances of tantrums due to surprises.
She usually responds very well to surprises but you know, Murphy.

J was very cooperative through the entire check-in process (we tried to point out the different parts of the book) and was enjoying pulling the cabin-luggage (which she thinks is hers because it's the smallest) around the airport.

"I pretend to be cabin crew."

We had some supper before the flight because Scoot doesn't come with free meals. :)
Completely forgetting about sugar rush, I gave her chocolate donut and iced chocolate. O.o

The security check was a breeze and I was really thankful they allowed water on board.

For future reference, we had her water bottle and two milk bottles filled with water, and a thermos flask full of hot water for her milk.

At the boarding area, I told her to look out of the window. She spun around shortly after and exclaimed in delight, "Plane!" The look on her face is priceless. She had her first air bridge experience and upon entering the plane, and was excited to jump onto any seat until I told her to keep walking all the way to the end.

"36. That's where we're sitting."
Taking every opportunity to subtlely add in number-recognition activities.

The flight was rather empty so The Husband moved a row back to get some proper sleep to prepare him for the drive (read: without J's kicks) and J got 2 seats to sleep on, which became 2.5 seats along the way, but she slept well.

We got our fair share of "why the plane haven't fly?" while waiting for take-off. J got some milk to help with the ear-popping and though she drank it much slower than she usually does, we were still on land when she's done. Just as I was about to panic, J started making strange expressions with her mouth - she was collecting saliva to swallow. My dad taught her to swallow her saliva to pop her ear.
Good one, Daddy!
Ear-popping: checked.

I had prepared a special set of pajamas for J to change into just in case she fights sleep, but she fell asleep after all, with the lights on. 

"It's okay if it's bright, mama."

I melted into a puddle before doing a victory dance. In my head.

J slept through until we touched down.

IfI can say this myself, this was a pretty awesome flight.

The sunrise that welcomed us as we approached Gold Coast is absolutely stunning.

It was the most beautiful when I was queuing to use the washroom so I don't have any photos.
But it was amazing.
A pretty good start to our trip.

:: Tip :: Sitting on the left side of the plane gives a stunning view of Gold Coast's sunrise.

For posterity's sake, we picked seats 36A, B and C.