Two weekends ago, I traveled as a solo-parent flying domestic flights with both of my kids (ages 1 and 3) for a quick afternoon of flying home from a family trip… or what was supposed to be a quick afternoon of flying home from a family trip.
We packed light (3 bottles of formula, some non-smelly snacks, a few quiet toys, my phone charger, diapers, and wipes) because it was supposed to be just the afternoon then we’d be home, but due to random flight delays, I found myself stranded in the Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport overnight with limited supplies and out-numbered by my kiddos. Our final flight home was first delayed just a little bit then by a few hours then finally until the next morning at 6am. WHAT?
Our airline did offer us a hotel stay, but since there were no carseats offered with the shuttle services to the available hotels, we were forced to decline as there was no safe way to get the kids from the airport to the hotel. That left me with the stress of trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do with my kids all night long in a large airport full of people I didn’t know.
The Surprise Solution
We rode Atlanta’s “plane train” – the underground tram that takes you terminal to terminal – for a while to kill some time, but eventually both kids were getting tired and David, my youngest, was getting hungry for a bottle. I knew that David frequently will people-watch and get distracted from finishing his bottle so I had to find a quiet space I could feed him his bottle where he wouldn’t be people-watching and I wouldn’t be trying to wrangle my excited three-year old out of a stranger’s personal spaces. I noticed the Mamava Lactation Pods in the airport and downloaded the matching free app.
What I found was an intuitive app that showed me a map of all the pods in the whole airport and if they were in use. All of the pods are free to use and afford moms and babies a private, quiet space to feed. We made our way to the closest pod and settled in. I was able to lock the door behind us so I felt safe and like I could let me guard down. My toddler, William, unpacked his little backpack with his airplane play set and played the whole time while I fed David.
Side note: this airplane play set was an impulse purchase when we arrived at the Savannah airport and this was hands-down the best toy set for our travels. He played with it during our whole trip and never once even wanted to watch tv on my phone or the iPad I packed (I offered the iPad and he legitimately said “no thanks”). I only let him use the cones and smaller signs during our Mamava Pod experiences so it wouldn’t be dropped and lost on the plane, but the die-cast plane, bus, and food truck were toys that captivated him for hours in the terminals and on the plane rides.
This first pod we visited was a medium-sized very clean pod, but with three of us in there it got toasty quite quickly. With the heat and humidity of the southeast, that little pod fan was fighting an uphill battle. Before David finished his bottle, I used the app to look up which terminal had an XL pod and we packed up and headed to the plane train to utilize the larger pod. Terminal A’s XL pod was available (and again, very clean) so we settled back in there for some more playtime for William and for David to finish his bottle. The XL pod also featured some advanced adjustment features like adjusting the fan speed and light brightness. Once David had finished his bottle, both boys were winding down. To this point I hadn’t seen any of the other pods being used at any time on the app so I figured it was safe for us to stay and spend some time in here without inconveniencing any moms (plus, it was around 1am at this point so there were very few people around). I had been baby-wearing my 20+lb infant for hours and hours up to this point and wanted a break. Unfortunately, every time I would put David down he cried so I didn’t get much of a break physically from holding him, but I was able to rest my mind a bit because I knew William wasn’t going to run off or play with his toys too close to a stranger’s personal space.
With the pod’s adjustments I was able to lower the lights. The quiet and calm of the pod plus the low lights led to William packing his toys back into his backpack and climbing into his stroller to doze off. David had refused to sit on the seat next to me so I was baby-wearing him again at this point and he also dozed off.
Eventually, this XL pod also got a bit toasty for my liking – again, that fan was fighting a losing battle with the southeast’s humidity – so we left and I walked the halls of the terminals with the sleeping boys to get us some better airflow, but the Mamava Pods afforded us a safe space for a good while where I could let my oldest play while I fed by youngest and I was able to rest my mind a bit as a parent who was outnumbered on a surprise overnight trip.
In the end, our 6am flight was on-time where we got to watch the sunrise while in the sky. We flew home where I promptly handed the kids off to my husband, Eddie, then showered, and headed to bed for some much-needed sleep.
If you are a traveling mama, I highly recommend downloading the Mamava app so you can utilize these great pods on your travels as well. If you’re traveling in a hot or humid area it might be helpful to pack a small travel fan to help with staying cool in the pod (this is my favorite that we use on our stroller and I wished I had on our trip).
While staying overnight in an airport with both of my kids and no adult backup was not our weekend plan, I am so so thankful for the Mamava Pods in the Atlanta airport and how they helped us have a more comfortable and safe experience.
Let me know how it goes!
I truly hope this tip brings peace to your travels and lets you be worry-free on your adventures.
So let me know how it goes – I’d love to connect, hear if this tip helps your family as much as it helped ours. To see more posts about parenting resources and apps, check out my blog here.
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