Barely Supermommy

Dear all,

We’re back from a working holiday trip in Maldives!! My husband had to give a talk to a university there, me and Baby B came along. It is Maldives, who’s gonna refuse, right? There’s a reason why Maldives is called ‘heaven on earth’.. It’s because it IS heaven on earth.. Well, not the I have seen how heaven looks like but the view is breathtaking.. It’s a shame I’m not well-versed with my camera (I only know ‘auto mode’!! hehehe..) The ocean is crystal clear. You can see beautiful corals and fishes from above. I managed to catch a glimpse of black tip shark swimming below the restaurant when we were having dinner. Apparently there is over 1100 islands in Maldives and only 200 are occupied. The population there is about 350,o00 (only!) There are about 900 resorts in Maldives and one island only have one resort.. I got these facts from my husband, if it is wrong.. then he is to be blame

First thing when my husband told me that his wanted to bring the whole family (me and Bella!) to Maldives, my first reaction was.. yay!! But after that then I realized, is it safe for my 2 month old baby to ride a plane? The pressure in higher altitude is different from on the ground. Will she has ear ache during take-off and landing? Even we, as adult sometimes feel discomfort in our ears during taking-off and landing. So, as an overly-cautious parents (that is the hazard of having doctor parents, in our case, it is even worse because both parents are doctors!!) I did a mini-research, asked around, did some readings.. just to make sure it is safe for my little Bella to go for a plane ride.

Apparently my worries are reasonable Changes in air pressure from ground to higher level may cause discomfort to baby’s ears sometimes can be painful too. What you can do for your baby is to let them suckle on something like a bottle of milk, or even just your finger. This is because the act of suckling, yawning, chewing, intermittently opens up the Eustachian tube to prevent damage by equalizing pressure between the middle ear and the atmosphere. Babies will feel more comfortable (and not crying!!) during taking-off and landing where the change of air pressure occurs.

What I did for little Bella, I fed her both during take-off and landing. Even when she was asleep, I woke her up and feed her. It is so easy because she is on breast milk, ready-made and always there Both journey, to-and-fro, she didn’t cry at all. Quietly sleeping in her bassinet and both parents also slept soundly at their seats

Baby B was well-behaved during the plane ride. I believe at this younger age it is a lot easier to bring our baby to travel. Once they are more mobile and running around, it should be more challenging..

Till then, lots of love from Bella and mommy.. XO