Day 4: The Amazing Race with baby (Beijing)

September 4, 10:48 AMTravels with Baby ExaminerShelly Rivoli

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For  travel in turbulent times: the Baby B'Air.

 After catching a few hours’ sleep at the hotel in Beijing, your family makes its way to the airport to negotiate airline tickets to Phuket, Thailand (pronounced “poo-khet,” mind you). Chatting with a friendly college student who is fluent in English, you learn that Malaysia Airlines will get you there with only one stopover. Everyone else, however, seems to be holding tickets from Air China, which has two stopovers en route to Phuket.

After faking a last-minute diaper emergency and disappearing to the restroom with your child, your partner waves goodbye to your fellow contestants as they board the Air China flight, believing fate and foreign diapers just beat your family out of a million dollars.

An hour and twenty minutes later, you board the Malaysia Airlines flight, greeted by friendly flight attendants who have earned the distinction of “World’s Best Cabin Staff.” They offer to warm a bottle or baby food for you and warn you that it’s going to be a bumpy ride to Bangkok.

They offer you a belly-belt for your baby, but you politely decline as you whip out your Baby B’Air, washable cotton flight safety vest instead. You slip it over your child’s head, fasten the buckles, and run your own safety belt through the loop. Buckled together, you position him with ease to nurse, relieving his tiny little ears as you ascend to cruising altitude.

Yes, it’s a bumpy ride. With the unpredictability of turbulence, you are especially glad that, if he couldn’t fly in his own car seat, he at least had this added measure of protection in flight.

Stay tuned for more of “The Amazing Race with baby” next week, as I count down the days to the season premiere of CBS’s The Amazing Race.

Previous epsidodes of The Amazing Race… with baby:

Day 1: KangaKid goes shepherding

Day 2: Taking orders in Hong Kong with Me Too!

Day 3: Jetlag and the Johnny Jump Up

For more info: Click here to see more of Shelly's recommended gear for travel with babies and young children, and subscribe to this column to get updates on The Amazing Race with Baby.

Shelly Rivoli has changed diapers on four continents and is the author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children. Find her online at www.travelswithbaby.com.