So I blogged about our first flight with Liam and in that post I mentioned that I would talk about our flight back to Malaysia.
It was a night flight. We sat next to a couple with dreadlocks and tie-dyed clothings who also happened to have a similarly aged daughter.
I shouldn’t be presumptuous but I remember thinking to myself, “Yay hippies! They must be be understanding, kind and cheerful”. Their baby was nursing on her mother and sleeping soundly.
The plane took off off with not much drama. But, I think Liam was a bit overstimulated from the London’s Bersih 4 which I attended with him earlier in the day.
#- Earlier in the day at London’s BERSIH 4 with my unimate SY and her bub.
He was having difficulty falling asleep. He was babbling non-stop and at one point he let out a scream and the hippie couple’s baby woke up.
I quickly wore him and took him to the back of the plane, swayed on my feet for about 45 minutes and he finally fell asleep.
Then I went back to my seat and also fell asleep. Think we both slept for about 3 or 4 hours?
Then Liam woke up. And he also cried loudly. This was when the couple’s baby woke up too and I was frantically trying to calm Liam and get out of my seat while belted down and waking G who was asleep who was blocking my way so I could get out.
# – Liam being beastly.
Then the woman next to us said, “Oh my god, I can’t believe they woke up our baby twice. Seriously!?“
I was so angry! So my son woke her kid up twice in a 13 hour flight…big effing deal?
What did she propose I do? Stand at the back of the plane for 13 hours? Her kid cried loudly many times too but my son didn’t wake up, so how come we’re the worse parents now?
Then, her husband who sat next to me, turned to me and politely told me that there’s a stairwell at the back I could calm Liam down.
In my head I was like,”Yeah I know, I was there swaying my kid to sleep for 45 minutes”.
Anyway, I told Gareth to just grab Liam and take him to the back. Then I joined him and ranted my heart out hahaha.
I told Gareth I was going to scream at the woman about being more understanding and that her vegetarian kid (well, I assume was a vegetarian lol) was crying too but didn’t woke Liam up. G told me to chill as we had 8 more hours to sit together. I finally calmed down and we returned to our seats.
And in the light I could see the mother’s unshaven pits. I nearly puked out my airplane food.
They also took their shoes and socks off and aired their barefeet on top of the bassinet. Half-eaten snacks and all kinds of rubbish were accumulated beneath their bassinet. What a gross bunch!
At one point, the wife and baby was sleeping on the floor space (WTF?) between seats and bulkhead and the devil in my head really wanted to “accidentally” step on her dreadlocks, man. But I didn’t.
And you know what, the daughter’s name was Gaia. Hahahahaha. How original!
I swear they came straight out of a caricature show about hippies, if there’s one.
Just too bad, they seem to be all hippie on the outside but on the inside they’re as uptight if not more uptight than us poor, trapped bourgeoisies.
Okay, enough of hating on them. I think hippies are great just not the fakes ones :P
Anyway, my real point is, why so judgemental?
We all have kids with different temperaments and behaviours. As parents we try our best using ways we think work with our kids. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
Liam is usually okay when I boob him but he was not having it. I was close to not caring about exposing my breasts as I kept shoving them into his face! I really wish I could predict his crying and get to the back of the plane ASAP but I couldn’t.
It’s understandable when you experience judgement from non-parents but it’s incredibly disappointing and upsetting to experience it from other parents.
It’s not like we were sitting down with earplugs on letting Liam cried it out. We were visibly flustered trying to control the situation!
Fortunately, Liam didn’t wake their kumbaya daughter up for the 3rd time, well done son!
Kimberly,
Apparently you were unfortunate enough to be seated by style hippies. That’s the couple, in this case, who choose to dress like hippies and likely smell like them too. Style being the operative word here. The clothing, hygiene and other aspects of such hippies are only outward manifistations of who they. The “peace, love and tolerance” part of what was a large part of 1960s hippy movement is completely unknown to these sytle hippies.
My wife and I flew on a red eye trans-continental flight recently. The row in front of us was occupied by a family with two small boys, one about 4 or 5 yrs old and the other 2 or 3 yrs. The younger boy slept the first 90 minutes and than was crying on an off until just before landing. The older brother woke up cranky and crying around mid flight or this 5 hr flight from his brothers crying. He wanted his mohter to quiet the little one so he could go back to sleep.
We did not say anything to the parents. They were quietly trying to calm the younger boy and the older on when he awakened. Singles without children, parents with grown children, and some parents who think, (only in their fertile imaginations that THIER child is perfect). Simply cannot tolerate another couples inferior and obviously, to them, poorly raised child. Liam’s behaviour on such a long flight was quite reasonable and you went out of your way to calm and quite him1
Be wary of hippies. Young hippies, that anyone hippy under 40 likely picks and chooses what elements of that lifestyle they prefer. All to often the style is all that some younger hippy look alikes are after.
Do not think that you or Gareth are uncaring parents. The hippy look alikes are the people with problems!