Flight Attendant Ducks Into Cockpit To Let Pilot Know That Couple Has Baby On Board

May 25, 2021

Dustin and Caren Moore were traveling on a midnight flight home to California from Colorado on Nov. 9, 2020, with a newborn baby girl when the unexpected happened. As infants do — and their newborn was just 8 days old at the time of the flight — the little baby started crying. Not wanting to disturb the other passengers, the couple asked the Southwest Airlines flight attendant where they could change the distressed baby's diaper.

The flight attendant, named Jenny, showed them a place in the back of the plane where the couple could change the baby girl's diaper and asked some causal questions. The flight attendant was so curious as to why Dustin and Caren were traveling with such a young baby. The couple revealed that they had just adopted the infant after ten years of trying to conceive and exhausting all possible assisted fertility options.

After the diaper change, the Moores then returned to their seats, relieved that their new baby was now quietly sleeping. They had spent an exhausting week traveling and filling out paperwork. Finally, they were on their way back home with their new daughter. Although nervous and stressed, they were also excited about starting their new life together. A few minutes later, another flight attendant came by and congratulated the happy couple on their successful adoption. The flight attendant then made an announcement over the aircraft's intercom about the special guest they had on board. The collective celebration that proceeded was one that the Moores are surely never going to forget.

According to The Washington Post, it was a flight attendant named Bobby who gave Dustin Moore, 33, and Caren Moore, 35, the surprise of a lifetime. In a Twitter thread, Dustin explained what went down on the Southwest Airlines flight:

"Jenny and another passenger complimented my beautiful daughter and politely asked what had prompted a flight with such a young infant. I gave them the shortened adoption story, to which they hastily offered congratulations, and shared a few more kind remarks."

 In an interview with The Washington Post, Dustin recalled exactly what flight attendant Bobby announced over the airplane's intercom. He said:

"Five minutes later, Bobby came on the intercom and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, there’s a very special guest on the flight today. She’s only 8 days old and she’s traveling home with her mom and dad.’ ” 

Initially, the couple was confused about the plane's interest in their newborn child. However, to the couples' delighted astonishment, the other passengers on the plane threw an impromptu baby shower, offering the Moores hand-drawn congratulations cards made out of napkins, small gifts and even money. One napkin read:

“I was adopted 64 years ago. Thank you for giving this child a loving family to be part of. Us adopted kids need a little extra love. Congratulations.”

Dustin's voice cracked as he recalled how all of the well-wishes made him feel:

“We had no expectation they would have done something like that. I get choked up thinking about it.”

The crew collected all of the napkins and even read some aloud. A total of 60 napkins were collected from the passengers by the flight attendants and given to the Moores.

On Twitter, Dustin expressed his gratitude:

“What all of those perfect strangers and attendants did not know, was the emotionally tender state of two brand-new parents. Parents who after 9 years of trying had been blessed with their first child. Parents who felt scared, but determined in their new role."

Dustin told The Washington Post about how the couple was dealing with a new and untraditional milestone in their lives. He said:

“Adoption is wild with uncertainty. You wonder, is this birth mother going to choose us? What happens if she changes her mind, if she backs out?”

The Moores decided to adopt their baby through an agency after dealing with infertility. Infertility affects 10 to 15% of the population, with increasing rates after the age of 30. Men and women are affected in approximately equal proportions. Infertility treatments depend on the cause and may involve surgery, hormonal treatments, artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. In some cases, couples resort to donated sperm or eggs. However, infertility treatment frequently fails, and in that case, couples who desire to raise a child need to consider the option of adoption.

There are millions of children available for adoption worldwide today, and adopting a child from the foster care system is usually relatively easy and cheap. The easiest route is to be approved as a foster parent, foster the child for a period of time and then apply to adopt. In some states, it can cost less than $100 for a foster parent to file for adoption. Couples who insist on adopting a newborn through a private adoption agency are likely to face many additional challenges, including hefty fees and prolonged waiting periods before a newborn is put up for adoption. The average private infant adoption costs over $40,000.

Despite their challenges in building their own family, the Moores felt an extreme amount of solidarity and support from the plane's crew and passengers. Dustin said:

“For an entire crew of strangers to come together like that, to partake like that, to show us that kind of love and kindness meant everything to us."

When the couple reached their home destination of Buena Park in Orange County, California, Dustin took it upon himself to contact Southwest Airlines and let them know about the act of kindness. Moore's mom, the newborn's grandmother, even decided to get crafty and put the napkins in a book for the couple to keep and show to their daughter when she gets older. 

When Dustin initially got on Twitter, he wasn't intending to share the story about the flight. As a registered dietitian and doctorate candidate in Public Health at the University of California at Irvine, Moore had originally got on Twitter to complain about work. However, he had a change of heart. Dustin told The Washington Post:

“I said to myself, ‘How about pointing out something good?’ I was tired of going to my Twitter feed and seeing something horrible somebody had done. I wanted to contribute something uplifting.”

Moore went on to talk about just how captivated he and Caren are by their baby: 

“It’s just amazing having a daughter. All the little details that are mundane to other people are amazing to us. When she burps, we’re like, ‘What an accomplishment!’ It was a long, long wait for her, but every minute we had to wait was worth it.”

Isn't this one of the sweetest gestures on an airplane ever? Let us know your thoughts — and if you are delighted by this heart-warming story about the kindness of random strangers, be sure to pass it along to everyone you know!