Traveling with a toddler

The holiday was nearly over.  It was now time for the flights back home to Hong Kong.

With all our luggage, it didn't make sense to take the airport train from Termini station.  We just called a large cab and went direct to Fiumicino.  We had a late afternoon flight, so I was a bit worried about how this flight would be with Pickle.  Would he nap?  Would he sleep?  How would his schedule be through the flight and after?

I tried my best to tired him out the airport.  I took him running around the shops and we even found a small playground with other children.  One of the little girls playing seemed completely enamoured by Pickle.  She took him by the hand and kept hugging him.  It was cute to see.

The first flight went smoothly enough.  I was concerned about Pickle causing a fuss and disturbing the other passengers, but I was thankfully able to soothe him fairly quickly.  He refused to nap though and Veronica took over and was able to get him to sleep.

The flight was short and he woke as we were arriving in Doha.  We went to clean up and get some food.  We were feeling a bit dazed.  It was evening for us, but it was the middle of the day for those around us.  We were also getting ready to arrive back in Hong Kong early in the morning, so everything was feeling very off kilter.  Pickle wandered around, drawing the attention of all the wait stuff who thought he was both hilarious and cute.  

As we left to head to the plane, Veronica put him back in the carrier and we walked to the elevator.  Just before, Veronica wandered over to a counter to grab some more things before we joined the crowd in the elevator.  Standing in the elevator, I looked at Pickle and was shocked to see he was holding a pair of metal tongs in his hand.  I exclaimed in shock.  He looked at me in a very nonchalant manner.  Everyone in the elevator burst into laughter.  I grabbed the tongs off him and hurried back up to the lounge to return them to the staff.

The last flight was much tougher.  It was the "evening" flight back to Hong Kong and the plane was quickly darkened to let people sleep.  Pickle however didn't want to sleep.  I spent hours trying to calm him and to keep him occupied.  Veronica was exhausted and fell asleep for a while.  I kept struggling through, trying to keep up with the unstoppable energy of this small toddler, but it was always going to be a losing battle.  Eventually, Veronica woke up and took over.  She held him in her arms in a way that only a mother can, and he started to settle and sleep.  I felt dazed from the exertion.  The stewardess had been observing and offering to help me throughout.  She hurried over to see if I wanted anything.  All I wanted was a black coffee and a biscuit.  She quickly returned with a large cup of hot coffee and a large pile of biscuits for me.

Was the trip a success?  I thought so.  We had experienced a lot as a family and baby Pickle had developed in leaps and bounds.  It was fascinating and amazing to see him exploring the world and growing each day.