Gold Coast – Part 1: Buy a leash

Hannah and Mommy. See how useless the baby seat belt is? She can turn around in it....

Hannah and her dolly on the plane

Note to self: Do not check in for a flight and go through security with a toddler all by yourself.

Who knew it would be so hard?  Not me.  I thought Hannah would just sit in the pram, giggle at people, squeal at people, and of course, get every single person around hers attention.  But no, that was not to be.  She wouldn’t let me even put her in the pram.  Instead, she made like a wet, slippery, floppy, flailing wiggle worm, rendering my buckle her into the pram efforts useless.  Of course it wouldn’t be so easy.

Sometimes you see a child running wild and you just think “why doesn’t that parent do something?” or “that child needs a leash.”  Well, Hannah is that child, and I am that mom.  We can’t help it really.  She is full of energy, curious about everything, and super smart.  She isn’t content just sitting in the pram all day, looking at things.  She wants to be in the midst of everything.  She wants to run around and inspect everything, and I want to let her.  But not while in line to check in for a flight.  Our check in line went a bit like this: Hannah ducks under the rope and takes off.  I run after her, pick her up, and deposit her next to the pram.  She helps me move the pram forward in line.  Repeat process.  Add stares from everyone around us, probably with thoughts of “Oh my goodness, WHY doesn’t that silly mum just put her in the pram??” or “how embarrassing, I’m glad I’m not her.”

We had to check the pram in at the oversized luggage counter, complete with on the spot x-ray.  Hannah was very interested in the x-ray machine and cheekily ran to the other side and pushed the start button.  Then she ran off.  I know you’re not supposed to leave luggage unattended, but that’s kind of hard when you have a freakishly fast 1 year old who likes to run off on your hands.  Start folding pram.  Run after Hannah.  Continue folding pram.  Run after Hannah.  Put pram on x-ray conveyor belt, run after Hannah.  I didn’t know being at the airport was such a workout.

Getting through security was even harder.  Have you ever tried to put backpacks, bags, watches, etc. off and on while trying to keep a toddler from running away?  Put bag in plastic tub on conveyor belt.  Run after Hannah.  Dodge annoyed stares from everyone in the line behind you.  Put next item in tub.  Run after Hannah.  Dodge stares, don’t make eye contact.  Repeat.  Go through metal detector.  Repeat whole process but putting everything back on this time.

Try to hold a noodley, wiggley, child at the same time while you have a backpack on your back, a camera bag on one shoulder, a nappy bag on the other, a sippy cup in one hand, and Hannah’s purse in the other.  Oh no, which gate was I going to?  I went in search of the info board carrying noodley wiggle worm.  I found it.  Hannah wiggled free.  I knelt down, put my arm around her and looked at the board.  Hannah didn’t want to stay stationary, so she put herself face down on the floor and started crying.  Darn it.  Everyone was staring.  Why was there a child crying face down on the floor while her mother was kneeling down, loaded with bags, hand on child, looking at the info screen?  Ignore everyone, grab child, go straight to parents room, let her run free.  Let out sigh of relief.  Wait for Aaron (who was coming straight from work).

I was never sure about those child leashes, but now, I really think they have their place.  Like airports for example.  That would have solved a lot.