Flying with kids is something that always makes me nervous.

Always.

With 5 kids, I know it’s never going to be seamless. I know there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t want to sit still. I know there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t feel well. I know there’s probably going to be someone crying. I know there’s always going to be someone kicking the seat or putting the drink/food tray up and down 100 times.

Honestly, I’m getting anxiety just thinking about it right now!

Two years ago we flew cross country with the 5 kids from Providence to Los Angeles. It was the first time flying as a family of 7!

I had a press event at Disneyland, so we thought it would be fun to bring the whole family and turn it into a vacation for us, too. The kids (at this time) were 6 months, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Since it was Victoria’s first flight, we weren’t sure how she would do in the air. She was such an easy baby, I honestly thought it would be a piece of cake. But, I’m not kidding, she cried from the SECOND the plane took off until the SECOND the plane landed in Chicago (for our 1st leg) of the trip. As soon as we took off for our 2nd flight, she feel asleep for a couple of hours, so it helped but as soon as she woke up, the crying continued. To add to the craziness of the travel, I was a nervous wreck up in the air. I felt like daggers were being seeped into my skin from everyone around us. There was nothing I could do to calm her, I just couldn’t get her to stop crying, so in turn… I started to cry. It was such an emotional flight for us. The boys were worried about her crying, so they were asking a million questions, which – added to some of the stress, too. As soon as we arrived in LA, I didn’t want to fly back home! I wanted to just stay put in Disneyland!

The way home wasn’t as bad, but she was still fussy. The stewardess on the way back home told me that it was probably Victoria’s ears that were bothering her with all the pressure. The taking off and the landing was the worst for her. I think I apologized to every single person on the flight on the way home, too. I was just more worried about their reaction than anything, which added to my stress. I’ll never forget this kind older lady as she was getting off the plane once we arrived home in Providence. She turned to me and said, “The crying is always much worse for you, Mom,” and she hugged me. It made me feel so much better.

We’ve flown as a family of 7 since then and we’ve had our moments, but nothing compared to that first trip.

When I heard the INCREDIBLE gesture that JetBlue did on one of their flights for mothers called Flybabies, it honestly made me cry. FlyBabies is an effort to help reduce the negative feelings a Mom feels when traveling with her baby. Often times, crying babies on airplanes can cause discomfort among other customers and therefor make mom feel guilt or anxious. When I saw this incredible video, I just LOVED what JetBlue did for these moms…

… how absolutely beautiful was that JetBlue did THIS???!!!

To help alleviate all those feelings for that one flight, JetBlue provided discounts to every customer every time a baby cried in-flight! As the babies cried, the flight was rewarded with a discount for a future flight! 4 crying baby episodes equaled a FREE flight! When a baby cried, the flight applauded. At the end of the flight, everyone had received a FREE FLIGHT! Talk about switching the roles! I just thought this was the kindest, most thoughtful and beautiful thing to do for a mother.

One of the last frames on the video really hit home to me…

… because it’s so true. It’s never easy for ANY mom or dad flying with a baby, there’s so much anxiety and stress attached to it. To know that people are going to be gracious and kind and understanding around you just alleviates so much of the stress and worry.

JetBlue, I applaud you for this AMAZING gesture for these moms. It was beyond generous.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored posting with JetBlue. All opinions are 100% my own.