Travels with Isabella Damon

Not even a year old, Isabella Damon, who turns 1 on June 11, is alreadya seasoned traveler. In the past 12 months, her international trekshave already hit the double digits, dad Matt reveals on The Late Show with David Letterman last night.

I figured out a couple weeks ago – we were flying from Paristo New York – she feel asleep and I counted her stamps on her passportand she has 11 stamps on her passport. She’s got a lot of air miles.

Asked if she’s a good traveler, Matt concedes it’s hard to travel with a baby and his daughter has "her moments."

Icame back from Milan last week with her and it was a day flight and shewas up the entire time just screaming, just to kind of test her lungs.There’s no emotion attached to it, so it’s not like this build-up whereyou can run to the lavatory with her. She just sits there and goes,’Ahhh!’

The Ocean’s Thirteen star recounts a recent flight fromParis, during which a woman sat in the same row as Matt and his family,which also includes wife Luciana and stepdaughter Alexia, 9. Isabellascreamed for eight hours, but to Matt and Luciana’s surprise, the womandid not complain once.

At the end of the flight, she ate dinner, she went to sleep. Ifinally turned to my wife and said, ‘I think she’s hard-of-hearing.’Literally, we could not figure it out. Finally, we’re in the passportline and my curiosity got the better of me and I tapped her on theshoulder and said, ‘Listen, I just want to apologize if my daughterdisturbed you on your flight.’ And she turned and said, ‘I have ninechildren. I spent 35 years raising children – that was a great flightfor me.’ They’re not always like that though.

If you missed the appearance, you can watch a video of it at Just Jared.

Comments

I’m just wondering how a woman with 9 kids could afford first class!

- Erin on June 5th, 2007

They were really lucky sitting next to that lady. Most of the time, people in planes or trains complain for a lot less than that.

- Aleah on June 5th, 2007

Do they allow babies in first class? Seems unfair to the other passengers who are paying extra for comfort.
Beautiful baby.

- Shawna on June 5th, 2007

Airlines can’t discrminiate against parents like that, Shawna. If I pay the extra cash for myself and my baby to fly first class, I have just as much right to be there as the business traveler sitting next to me. I only wish I *could* afford first class. The extra room would help a lot!

- Jessica on June 5th, 2007

I’d think they would allow babies in first class if the parents want it and can afford it, but I agree that the parents are really taking a gamble that they’ll get the Evil Eye the entire time from people who are paying extra to fly in relative peace. Traveling, especially on a plane, with kids in general is so hard. My godson and his family were just visiting us for the weekend, and their mom told us that my godson’s four-year-old brother threw such a fit when he found out he couldn’t sit next to the window that she said she was surprised they weren’t removed from the plane altogether. That was really nice of Matt to apoligize to the woman, though. A lot of parents are so self-entitled that they would expect everyone on the plane to put up with their kids’ antics just because they do.

- Lauren on June 5th, 2007

I have to be honest and admit that on the occasions when I travel in first class I cringe (internally) when families with small children sit nearby. I am not judging the behavior of the children – everyone’s children occasionally fuss and there is no way to control that – but when I am heading off on vacation I would prefer to decompress on the flight rather than watch the antics of active toddlers or listen to the crying of a baby in such a contained space.

It takes a village and I love kids so I always ask if I can help (especially if it is a mom dealing with children on her own) but having gotten past that stage of my life, I don’t relish the thought of small children or babies near me on a flight.

That being said, I have seen borderline rude behavior from walkers when (God forbid!) a stroller gets in someone’s way on the sidewalk in NYC. How hard is it to hold the door open for someone who is managing a stroller? People who are raising children need to be supported and respected.

- MLM on June 5th, 2007

I won’t deny it, screaming babies on a plane annoy me. It’s not their fault, I know, but it just irks me.

Three years ago I was returning to London from NYC in first class with my daughter, who was two at the time. And there was this little baby in the next row who just screamed and screamed and screamed, in the middle of the night, while my daughter asked me why the baby couldn’t just let her sleep. It was hellish.

I think it’s a good advice to just avoid long, long flights when your children are younger than eighteen months or so. But it still was really nice of Matt to apologise – some parents don’t even do that.

- Hilde on June 5th, 2007

Business class passengers receive high quality headphones that significantly block cabin noise so many people keep them on during the flight even when not listening to music or watching the inflight entertainment systems. I found that they were less likely to be bothered by baby grumbling than passengers cramped in economy.

- maminka on June 5th, 2007

I don’t think parents should have to apologize if their baby cries on an airplane. Babies cry and do not have enough self control to stop if they aren’t feeling well. Parents cannot control that either. And they have just as much a right to travel with their baby on an airplane as they do on a bus or in a cab. At a certain age, though, as young ones reach toddlerhood, a child should have had enough guidance and discipline to sit quietly without throwing a tantrum. It is the children who scream on airplanes, not the babies, who bother me.

- eBirdie on June 6th, 2007

There are things though that parents can do to try to alleviate a baby’s discomfort when flying. Most of the time when they are crying non-stop its b/c their ears hurt and they don’t know how to pop them. That is where the parents need to step in and help….help not only the baby, but also the rest of the passengers on the plane (in all cabins). I used to travel every week and I can’t tell you how many times I saw parents just blow off a flight attendent who stopped by to try to help. They would suggest a bottle, nursing, pacifier, anything to trigger the sucking reflex that helps the pressure in the ears and the parents just waived them away. That is when I get upset with a screaming baby on a plane. It’s not b/c the baby is crying, its b/c the parents aren’t helping to quiet the baby.

- madison on June 6th, 2007