I let my baby hang in a DIY airplane hammock — haters say it’s dangerous, but she loved it
This mommy hack was a swing and a miss.
Absolutely no one likes a crying baby on an airplane.
So, to soothe her nine-month-old during a 4,000-mile flight from Brazil to Miami, Florida, a beauty influencer built the babe a handmade hammock, tying a blanket between a few empty seats.
And the potentially “dangerous” DIY left jaws hanging in horror.
“POV: You improvised a hammock so your baby can be comfortable on the plane,” Brazilian tastemaker Natália Figueira wrote in the closed caption of her controversial clip.
“Purely impromptu,” she continued in the caption of the social media share, which originally garnered a staggering 7.5 million views.
“We used the blanket they give you on the plane, tied it to the [tray] tables on both sides, put a pillow [inside] and that’s it!” said Figueira. “Maria loved it!”
Unsurprisingly, nervous nellies across the internet didn’t echo those sentiments.
“Guys, don’t do this,” urged a concerned commenter beneath the viral video. “It’s dangerous.”
An equally anxious onlooker noted, “If the plane is shaken because of turbulence, this baby will be flying.”
And worries are, indeed, warranted.
Severe turbulence can strike at any time while at 30,000 feet, leaving travelers — like the 30 victims of a recent rough Air Europa flight — vulnerable to intense injury or death.
Following the firestorm of virtual flak, Figueira released a statement, claiming her daughter was only in the crudely crafted contraption for 30 seconds of their seven-hour flight.
“We put her inside, she played a little, but we know that children don’t stay still,” the brunette told NewsFlash. “It was when we recorded the video that was posted that she wanted to get out.”
Figueira, too, said that she wouldn’t have pulled the stunt if she thought it’d be putting her child in harm’s way.
“We know that a child won’t spend hours on a flight in peace,” said the mother, adding that the makeshift hammock was just one of the many sources of amusement she used to entertain her tot during the long trek. “So as not to disturb the other passengers, we bring several distractions.”
But when less creative moms aren’t able to pack a sack of playthings for fussy little flyers, one pilot suggests popping out a boob.
“Breastfeed on descent,” advised captain Jimmy Nicholson in a trending tips clip. “The sucking and swallowing motion gets rid of the trapped gases in their ears and sinuses.”
The hunky airman, who starred on “The Bachelor: Australia,” said ice also does the trick.
“Ask your flight attendant for an ice cube, give it to your baby and try and get them to suck on the ice cube,“ Nicholson recommended. “This will help unclog their ears.”
“Fly safe!”
