How the Pop It and Fruit & Veggie Melts Saved the Day
A few weeks ago I shared a picture of this Pop It toy and fruit & veggie melts. Here is the story on how they saved the day!.
My husband had just set the alarm so we could leave for the airport when I decided to make one more sweep through the pantry. “20 seconds” he hollered, as I scoured the shelves for anything else I might need. I randomly decided to grab a pack of fruit and veggie melts and added them to my overly full carry-on.
I know I’ve told you I don't like veggies and I try to sneak them in whenever possible:) So, I found these toddler melts that are made of only fruit and veggies and I keep them in my drawer at work to eat when I need something sweet - and I get to add some veggies to my diet:))
Anyway, we got the airport and boarded the plane and my family of 5 was seated in a row with the 6th seat occupied by a young woman and her lap-child. It just happened that my oldest son and husband were in the seats next to her and I was across the aisle.
We hadn’t even left the ground, and this poor woman's baby would not stop crying. She was so nervous, and rocking him and trying to get him to stop making any noise. Watching her made my stomach churn. I know how terrible it is to have a crying baby on an airplane. I asked my husband to trade places with me so I could try and help, but he didn't know how the mother would feel about that with COVID, so we stayed in our original seats.
I started searching through my carry-on - - because I always have one massive carry-on - - a neck pillow, blanket, headphone splitter, snacks, suckers, drawing paper, pencils, a bag full of medicine, iPad and much more…and there were the fruit and veggie melts!! At first I wasn’t sure if the baby was old enough to have the melts, so I decided to keep looking in my bag. Then, I spotted the Pop It in the side pocket of my son’s book bag. The Pop It is the toy that replaced fidget spinners at school this year - for kids to use to help reduce stress and anxiety and to help them focus (teachers may think otherwise;)). This was the only toy my son had brought on the trip, and I was so thankful! I handed it to my husband, who gave it to the mom and baby and it provided a good 30 minutes of entertainment. My husband played peek-a-boo using the toy and then went over all the colors with the baby. The baby loved “popping the bubbles” and everyone around him loved the silence.
Once he grew tired of the popper, he started fussing again. Our flight left at 10pm, so the mom said she thought the baby would sleep on the flight. NOT THE CASE. She tried rocking him again and after 20 minutes of no luck (and watching her try and force his head down on her chest, put her phone up to his ear with white noise playing and holding his hands down so she could rock HARD), I reached into my carry-on and got out the fruit and veggie melts! I had already asked the flight attendant for a plastic cup in case he didn’t calm down. I tapped my husband’s arm and showed him the bag and he offered them to the mom. He poured a cupful and handed it to the baby and he was in heaven. So happy, loving the melts! It took him quite a while to eat all that he had and then they played a game with the empty cup. Once this excitement was over, he dozed off to sleep for the last 30 minutes of the flight.
I overheard my husband telling the mother how we remembered flying with little ones and some of the tricks we used. I’ll share that list soon!
But for now, if you are a parent, try and remember the stress of having a crying baby on a flight and maybe throw a bag of melts in your carry-on:):) If you’ve never experienced this, know that the parents dealing with a fussy child on a flight are as frustrated as you, and show some grace. Or, pack a sucker or some fruit snacks in your carry-on. You never know when they might save the day!!
Buy the Pop It Here: https://amzn.to/3jbQudn
Buy the fruit and veggie melts at your local grocery store, or here: https://amzn.to/3h3jJwm (this is the only brand I could find on Amazon)
Buy the Vera Bradley bag here (this one is 50% off!): https://brandcycle.shop/mevyl
#Ad #MomLifeSimplified #CuratedbyCamie #VeraBradley