1. It has been two years since we last travelled. A few things have changed. One change was that our airline of choice decreased the luggage allowance from 30kg to 25kg per person.
I wonder if this was to adjust the overall weight gain of travelers during the pandemic.
2. We are also now travelling as a family of four. Luckily were able to bring our yaya. So the adults still outnumber the kids 3 to 2.
3. Upon arriving at the airport 2.5hrs before our flight, we saw that the queues were very long.
Thankfully there was a special lane for those with children and infants which allowed us to go thru fast.
Getting priority on airports was a good reason to have a baby during lockdown.
4. Baby Ju has a reputation of being ‘boy Suka’. His vomits are not frequent enough thats it requires medical attention. But it happens often enough to remind you that it’s a thing he does.
So Mae packed extra clothes for her and Baby Ju in case he vomits on the plane. Upon getting seated on the plane, we also opened up an air sickness bag.
We knew the potential chaos, and we came prepared for it.
5. The flight overall was pleasant.
Mika was playing with Baby Ju, watched cartoons in the in-flight entertainment, then fell asleep for the rest of the flight.
Baby Ju was a little tougher to handle. He wanted to explore the plane and walk around. He couldn’t keep still. Each toy (and we had a lot) would only gain a few minutes of his attention. But this was better than any vomiting episode.
Finally, the pilot announced that we were about to descend for landing. The seatbelt signed was turned on. Mae strapped baby Ju on top of her with the infant seatbelt. I closed my eyes to rest a little. We’re almost there.
The flight attendants started to clear the food and other trash. They also removed the baby bassinet.
Then Baby Ju lived up to his reputation.
He started to cough. Then he started to retch. Mae shouted, “J3 yung bag!!!” I searched for the air sickness bag but it wasnt there. (It was removed when the flight attendant was cleaning up).
Baby Ju started to vomit. Mae caught the first batch in her hand.
I grabbed an unopened airsickness bag and tried to catch the next wave. But it just became a vomit slide towards Mae’s clothes.
J3 strike 1.
6. All 3 adults became mobilized. Mae cleaned herself up as much as she could, but she couldnt go to the CR to change as the plane was about to land.
Myself and our yaya stood up to get the diaper bag from the cabin storage to get as many wipes to clean up baby Ju.
The friendly lola on the next seat was also trying to make baby Ju stop crying.
The flight attendant assisted us with the things and throwing the dirty wipes. They were calm but at the same time in a rush to get us all seated back again for landing.
In total, 5 adults were needed to match 1 baby vomit.
Thank God Mika was asleep the whole time.
7. While preparing for the trip I was assigned to make sure we had our paper works in order including securing the vaccine certificates and filling out the health declarations. This was to ensure we would have a smooth clearance upon arrival.
I however, learned too late that I made the mistake of getting the wrong document. Instead of bringing the actual vaccine certificate… I brought the document certifying that our vaccine certificate (that I didn’t have) was authentic.
Masyadong advance magisip.
8. So we get held up in line at the health check. We were trying to retrieve alternate proofs of our vaccinations which included the dates of when we received our actual doses.
Everyone was already tired. Most of all was Mae as she was the recipeint of Baby Ju’s in-flight giveaway.
So it was understandable that Mae got fed up and said at the clerk, “Miss, sa Singapore kasi digital naman lahat! Nandyan na yung certificate, bakit pa hinahanap yung dates ng vaccine?! Nasukahan na ako! Pwede naman kasing dinuoble check yan para sure. Pagod na pagod na ako!”
Yes. That last bit was for me.
J3 strike 2.
9. Thankfully we eventually got thru. We got our bags and exited the airport. It was heavily raining.
It was actually all good from this point on. But until the day was over and we were in our beds lying down… I still had the fear of incurring strike 3.
10. We were fetched by family. Good food was waiting for us at home. We got to take a bath, settle down and enjoy a nice dinner with family who we havent seen for 2 years. The grandparents finally saw Baby Ju in person.
It is good to be home.
11. Two years ago when Covid started, and the lockdowns were implemented, I already knew I would be okay.
Stay at home? Done!
Work? Ive been work from home for 10+ years already!
Don’t meet friends? No problem!
Actually the more honest thought was, “Lockdown? I was made for this.”
So going back to the present time, as I was about to sleep, I thought about how inconvenient the day was.
I thought it was the only moment I got inconvenienced by Covid.
Then I realized how privileged I was to even have a thought like that.
So scratch this last bit. Let’s leave it at “Its Good to Be Home”.