Wednesday, 29 January 2014: Three Hundred and Three Days Old.

I am so lucky to have a baby who is as forgiving, placid and easygoing as Ayla.

Up at 4.45am this morning Ayla was happy to wait with me as we huddled under the front patio in the pouring rain and waited for a taxi to arrive and take us to the airport.

Once there, nearly twenty minutes late mind you, Ayla sat comfortably on my hip and I sweet talked our way into three adjoining seats in Row 5 at no additional cost, and Ayla quietly clung on to me as we charged through the security checks,

The two of us spent the next half an hour sitting side by side on a departure lounge couch, sharing a toasted sandwich and watching other red-eye warriors prop their eyelids open with tooth pegs… Or coffee.

The flight itself was great, thanks to Row 5 but ultimately due to Ayla’s awesomeness at traveling; this is her third interstate trip since she was born and Ayla’s evidently a seasoned pro, happy and content to play with her toys and smile at the passengers behind us through the gap between seats.

I didn’t even have to feed Ayla during landing because her ears handled the change in altitude all by themselves, and I was able to somehow bundle Ayla into the Baby Ka’tan and be ready to “disembark via the front door” without a fuss.

Our luggage arrived on the carousel and we made our way to the pick up area where Ayla’s Grandma met us and helped us load our things, smothering Baby Ayla with cuddles and oodles of long awaited love.

From the airport we headed to a shopping centre no less, and while Grandma finished work for the day Ayla and I killed time browsing and stocking up on nappies and fruit.

We finally made it home in the late afternoon and by then Ayla’s eyes were hanging out of her head, as were mine.

Although we’d been able to jag a little over an hours sleep on the plane it was a massive, long, tiring day of travel and Ayla took it all in her stride.

I would have completely understood if Ayla had reached breaking point on the plane, in the car or even at the shopping centre but my baby girl is a trooper and she helps make even the most exhausting day a pleasure.