A woman traveling in the U.S. was taken aback by a kind gesture offered to her by a another passenger on a flight.
Ashleigh Rodriquez's child was only 8 months old when they wereflying from Florida to Tennessee to visit family. Rodriguez was experiencing many parents' worst nightmare on the flight when her baby wouldn't stop crying.
Instead of being judged and shunned, she received a beautiful gesture from a fellow passenger who herself knew the struggles of traveling with kids, she told Newsweek.
As Lyla was crying and "wouldn't settle", Ashleigh received an offer from the lady sat next to her who said that she would be happy to take the baby and help calm her down during the journey. "As a mom, you're so focused on trying not to disturb other people," Rodriguez said.
"Then when your child is screaming and nothing you're doing is working, it's very overwhelming and just... it's a lot."
The mom of one took to Instagram to share the heart-warming gesture she received on the Allegiant Airlines flight, posting a video that has amassed over 3.1 million views since it was shared on September 23.
Rodriguez wrote in the text overlay of the video: "To the lady and her five-year-old daughter next to me on the plane who offered to hold my screaming baby instead of judging me... thank you."
The video shows Rodriguez looking emotional as she pans the camera to the row to her right, showing the stranger holding her baby.
"She asked if she could try to hold her and counsel my daughter and I was like, 'Yes, absolutely!'" she told Newsweek. "I am not afraid to let strangers hold my baby; it's totally fine to me.
"The lady next to me held Lyla for maybe a little over and hour and just gave me a little bit of a break. It was really sweet. Honestly, I didn't even know how to thank her.
"I think people can typically just judge a mom. Like, 'Why can't you get your baby to calm down?' or 'Why are you bringing them on a plane?'. The answer is, we want to travel still. It is what it is. Kids are unpredictable and sometimes, they're not going to do what you want them to do.
"I was very grateful for this lady helping me in a situation where I'm a first-time mom and I didn't really know what to do."
Instagram users shared their thoughts on Rodriquez's experience in the comments section of her video. "My son did this on a flight from Reno to Philly. He gets a Christmas card from the women every Christmas since," @patsusan83 shared.
@andrew_mithcell_pro wrote: "No one should ever judge. It's damn hard at times."
"That's what we should do. Help each other where we can. If we aren't part of the solution we are part of the problem," said @gfz75.
@dr.nashra_11dec commented: "Any human can do this."
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