Many people have asked me how it is to travel and fly with an infant. Some are hesitant to travel with a child. Stella is now 8 months old and has flown several flights, been on road trips and ferry rides - all the ways of transportation there are.
Either she's used to getting out and about and going to places from the early on but she is also an easy-going and curious baby, and now socializing and making contact with other people all the time. Maybe she’s not an introvert like her mama! I had to teach myself later in life how to do it all, she seems to do it naturally or it’s just the phase, we’ll see. Anyway, she makes traveling really easy for us and clearly enjoys observing people and exploring places.
All it requires is good planning around naps and feeding, making sure there's enough quiet time for recharging and avoiding over stimulation, that she gets enough cuddles and feels emotionally safe at all times. Plus ensuring there are opportunities for taking breaks and allow her to move, crawl and practice all those things that are related to this age so she can use all the excess energy she has.
Also, being prepared for surprises and knowing that things won't go as planned is always a good idea when traveling, whether there is a baby on board or not.
This year we had our family vacation in the South of France, in Nice and Corsica. This trip didn’t come without surprises either.
We had planned to take the car ferry from Nice to Corsica. We knew the boat was fully booked and decided to rush up from the melting hot and fully packed car deck to the lounge area to make ourselves as comfortable as we could and to reserve ourselves seats for the trip.
But… When we got to the lounge area we realized all the seats were numbered, which could only mean they should have been pre-booked. We quickly found out that our tickets only included the deck seats. Basically meaning we would be sitting 6 hours out on the deck or on the floor in the hallway with the baby.
It was too sunny, windy and wet outside for her. Honestly, I was not too excited to sit on the floor for all that time. I wondered how feeding and naps would go in the narrow but busy hallway where people were passing us all the time.
However, I couldn't do anything else.
It reminded me of my low budget travels in my 20's and backpacking trips in Asia and around. The circumstances haven't always been that neat and I've slept in some interesting places.
Somehow this situation smelled like an adventure for me. Yes, family life is quite structured and I'm a personality type who gets bored easily with routine and repetition, so somehow I was able to get a kicks out of our ferry trip.
One of the things Motherhood has so gracefully taught me to let go and surrender like never before and accept what is happening in each moment.
That means that I have to stop doing what I want to, put my phone and laptop away and forget what I’ve had planned when the baby wakes up earlier and when things change suddenly and often, like they do with the kids.
I've learned to shift my mindset and let go of negative feelings on the go more than before, just rise above all that crap my mind would like to stick with. When I just can't do as much as I used to do before - using at least an hour per day to keep up my spiritual practice - I've learned to turn inwards in the moment and shift my thoughts and set intentions without the possibility of journaling or longer meditation or contemplation.
Quite often when we don't have that much time to think it all through we just get things done courageously and efficiently — the mind can’t then get on the way. Often when we think too much our mind creates all kinds of excuses and insecurities - and then we are doomed. The thing is that I had a habit to overthink and I often got stuck and start procrastinating because the inner fears and hesitations kicks in.
All this though has made me become more aware of how powerfully and quickly these conscious shifts of thinking and setting clear intentions can manifest good, and I've been enjoying to play with it.
So when we sat on that deck I allowed myself to feel the adventure and quickly shifted my thoughts, accepted what is and decided to make it as good as the ferry ride could be.
Me and my husband have traveled a lot so it helps that neither of us rarely make a scene when things are not going as by the book.
Later in the evening, it turned out we had the best seats in the boat!
It turned out that the AC was either not working or didn’t even exist in the ferry.
It was melting, over 30 C degrees inside. It was intolerable and people had to escape outside to the deck with their kids and dogs.
We were enjoying cold drinks, the shade and the sea breeze that was blowing from the open doors in our secured spot. Baby napped in the carrier ( a must have to help with babies on the go and at home too) and as I'm still breastfeeding feedings on the go works easily.
When we are conscious about our thoughts and feelings we can set intentions, shift our mindset and let go of the stressful feelings in the very moment. It always works miraculously and instantly... That is how our energy attracts things and what we put out there comes back to us. All what it requires is self-awareness, self-knowledge and good emotional habits, ability to observe and choose how to respond and react to the events of life.
For example in this situation I could have said “I knew this trip was going to be a disaster. This is just so typical for us, we always….” and then blame and pass it on to my husband, “Why you didn’t book the seats beforehand?” The outcome would have been different.
Now, to learn how to manifest good in the moment, the first thing is to become aware and learn how to change the stories that you tell yourself and your habitual inner beliefs that are mostly not true.
You see, there’s 50-50 chance that anything good or bad can happen in the future or the next moment. It’s 100% better to believe and trust you are always getting the good and the best outcome. No one knows for sure what will happen in the future. Even when the obstacles occur, it’s crucial to learn out of it and have faith there’s a reason for it and move on.
Download the free guide to learn more how to start making changes from inside out and how to release and let go of the stories and start raising your awareness and ability to consciously manifest good in your life.