Goodie bags treat baby’s fellow passengers

Brett and Samantha Kellgren weren’t looking forward to taking their infant son on his first plane ride, an early morning Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Boston.

“I felt like if it wasn’t a family wedding, we probably wouldn’t have done it,” said Samantha Kellgren, 33. “I didn’t know how it would go. Would he be awake the whole time and still be in a good mood?”

So, like any good parents, they turned to bribery.

Traveling with an infant, they were among the early boarders on the June 7 flight with unassigned seats. They chose a middle and an aisle seat 10 rows back, with Brett on the aisle and Samantha in the middle holding Owen.

As the seats around them filled, Brett passed out about a dozen goody bags to nearby passengers. Inside were ear plugs, gum, snacks and a note with a picture of the baby: “Hi there, my name is Owen and I just turned 4 months old! This is my first flight and I’ll try my best to be on good behavior but just in case I get fussy this morning here are some goodies that I hope will help out. Enjoy your flight!”

The gesture went over well, Samantha said, with some people even saying the care packages weren’t necessary.

Turns out the Kellgrens didn’t need the bags. Owen wasn’t bothered by the takeoff and landing, and he didn’t cry or get fussy during the flight. Instead, he smiled at the lady next to him in the window seat and spent time looking around, Samantha said.

On the way home, Owen fell asleep before the flight took off. He slept the whole way. Good thing, because the Kellgrens didn’t bring treats for the return flight.