My FIL had a sudden decline in health two weeks ago, and my dh was able to hop a plane and arrive in time to say good-bye. I needed to fly solo with the baby to join him. I had never flown with a baby before, and I was nervous about doing it alone.
My sister and bil donated some airline miles so I could purchase seats for both of us for the price of a single ticket so I didn't have to have her in my lap.
When boarding, the baby was screaming. I was worried that passengers would be afraid the baby would be screaming the whole flight and were unhappy to see us. I was having trouble carrying the car seat with the baby in it over the heads of seated passengers (very narrow aisle) plus my carry-on.
A man almost immediately came to me, asked what row we were in and carried the baby to our seats. Another woman held the baby while I buckled in the car seat base. I was told I was doing a great job. Passengers nearby told stories of when they had to travel with infants. I was also offered assistance while deplaning.
The baby fell asleep before we took off and was either asleep or content for the entire trip.
I was really touched by the amount of people who either helped or had kind words.