A Father's Love in the Skies (ft. Ben Bashinski, Southwest Pilot)

In this heartfelt episode of Girl Dad Nation, host Matthew Krekeler sits down with Ben Bashinski, a pilot and proud girl dad, whose touching moment of flying his daughter on her first flight with him as the pilot went viral on social media. Ben shares the experience of balancing his dream job as a Southwest pilot with being a new father. He talks about the joys and challenges of traveling with his daughter, the unique work-life balance in aviation, and the invaluable support of his wife, Hannah. This conversation covers everything from the stress of bringing your baby home for the first time to the importance of being fully present as a parent. Tune in to hear an inspiring story of family, flying, and fatherhood.

Girl Dad Nation is made possible by the generous support of our listeners and my wife, Executive Producer of my daughters and this podcast. 

Transcript

**Transcript Auto-Generated**

00:00:00:15 - 00:00:32:03
Matthew Krekeler
Welcome to Girl Dad Nation. I'm a dad of three daughters, and I started this podcast to learn from other dads of daughters and just share amazing stories about being a girl dad, the ups, downs and all of the life in-between. So today I am joined with Ben Brzezinski. I got to know him through social media. There is amazing video going around with him, bringing his daughter on her first flight and he was the pilot of the flight.

00:00:32:03 - 00:00:52:13
Matthew Krekeler
And so it was an amazing first experience for both of them, I'm sure, but great to reach out to him and great to have this follow up story with pilot Ben Bashinski.

00:00:55:20 - 00:01:02:10
Matthew Krekeler
Ben, welcome to the podcast. Welcome to Girl Dad Nation and you're a new dad. How old is your daughter?

00:01:03:05 - 00:01:12:06
Ben Bashinski
She is 14 months and a couple of days. So and she's the first one. So we're. Yeah, like you said, we're very new to this.

00:01:13:20 - 00:01:28:09
Matthew Krekeler
And yeah, I loved all the smiles, all the reactions from the video that was going around social media. What was that moment like for you to bring your daughter to work with you as a pilot on her first flight?

00:01:28:22 - 00:01:54:15
Ben Bashinski
It was awesome. So just a slight correction. So it wasn't her first flight. At that time, it was her 19th actual flight. So she'd been flying for a while, but it was her flight, first flight with me as the pilot. So I had always wanted to fly by her or fly my wife, my wife Hannah, but never got the chance to at my old airline.

00:01:55:00 - 00:02:25:01
Ben Bashinski
And it just so happened that this flight for my it was my initial experience at Southwest we had it was the last day. It was kind of a it was a two part trip. So I had like a three day trip a day off in Denver and then another three day trip. And we live in Chicago. So the flight, the last leg of the three day trip, had a stop in Midway, which is, you know, Southwest Hub in Chicago.

00:02:26:01 - 00:02:48:03
Ben Bashinski
And it so happened there was one seat available and we were able to get Hannah and Lee on. So, you know, we didn't get our hopes up that it was going to happen. But, you know, the gate agent was awesome and making sure that we were able to get them on and we got them on early so they could get a spot up front.

00:02:48:03 - 00:03:11:06
Ben Bashinski
So I could see them before we flew and then we got to hang out in Denver afterwards and you know, flying is fine, but you know, when you get a chance to bring your daughter on board your first flight with her, it's a it's a good time. And, you know, I'm glad we got it on video. I don't think we expected it to get the attention that it did.

00:03:11:10 - 00:03:42:21
Ben Bashinski
We just thought it was fine and cute. But we we love that. You know, the video now is a memory that we get to share going forward. And probably the best part about it really is kind of going through those comments and looking at people, you know, mentioned all I mean, really all kinds of stuff, but mostly a lot of the the the great things where, you know, man, that's going to be a safe flight with with, you know, the precious cargo on board or, you know, that's going to be a smooth landing.

00:03:42:21 - 00:04:03:15
Ben Bashinski
And, you know, it was going through those and, you know, people mentioned and just, you know, kind of how proud I was or how proud I looked holding her, which, you know, I think reflected how proud I was to, you know, to be there, you know, one working my dream job. But you are getting to share that with my family.

00:04:03:15 - 00:04:25:18
Ben Bashinski
You know, I was I was brand new to Southwest at the time, so that was all brand new to me. So to be able to kind of share that with my family at the same time was that it was awesome. It was awesome. So I got to, you know, while people were boarding the plane, I was holding her and it's and I got her like a little pilot onesie, which.

00:04:26:02 - 00:04:27:00
Matthew Krekeler
Oh, that's so cute.

00:04:27:05 - 00:04:46:10
Ben Bashinski
Yeah, she's very cute net. But, you know, everyone's asking like, oh, you, you find the planes like, yeah, of course. Yeah. I mean, why, why would you wear this pilot outfit if she wasn't like but you know, people for a lot of people, flying can be really stressful, you know? So getting on the plane is not their favorite experience.

00:04:46:15 - 00:05:09:07
Ben Bashinski
So when they see, you know, adorable Ali, they're as they're boarding the plane, you can just kind of see their their whole demeanor shift. Like, they just they literally everyone, you know, from kids to, you know, older adults, everyone just just lights up whenever they see her. And kind of seeing that effect on people is just a great time.

00:05:09:14 - 00:05:17:02
Ben Bashinski
So that was still the only time I've been able to do it, but looking forward to to do it again at some other point.

00:05:17:07 - 00:05:30:10
Matthew Krekeler
So that's great. Yeah, such a great moment, I'm sure. And I want to go back to with the correction that you you made with how how many times has she flown before that moment?

00:05:31:01 - 00:05:36:03
Ben Bashinski
So that that was her 19th flight. So 19 times. And she's I.

00:05:36:03 - 00:05:39:14
Matthew Krekeler
Don't think I've even flown 19 times.

00:05:39:14 - 00:06:06:09
Ben Bashinski
I mean, it was yeah. Like it's working for an airline has its perks for sure I mean all this like to minute while not all of them she had a few work trips that she went on with Hannah where she was a paid lap child I guess, you know, and about the ticket. But, you know, 90% of those flights are are standby, which is a whole different breed of flying and so on kind of stressors.

00:06:06:09 - 00:06:21:13
Ben Bashinski
So but yeah, if you don't if you don't have to pay for the ticket, it makes it a lot easier to be able to bring them on board and kind of be like, Hey, what are we doing this weekend? I don't know. Let's see where seats are open or, you know, go visit our families in Georgia and stuff and, you know, just kind of bring her along.

00:06:21:13 - 00:06:27:09
Ben Bashinski
So and she's had five more since then. So she's she's at 24 right now.

00:06:27:19 - 00:06:31:12
Matthew Krekeler
So she already had frequent flier status then.

00:06:31:12 - 00:06:33:07
Ben Bashinski
Like I guess she.

00:06:33:07 - 00:06:36:11
Matthew Krekeler
Was complimentary drinks and the red carpet and all.

00:06:36:14 - 00:07:02:09
Ben Bashinski
Well, yes. To get she gets all the milk she can drink. Yeah. And but mom and dad, well sometimes, you know, as far as passengers may may partake in something harder since traveling with a baby isn't always a stress free experience. So. But, no, when you when you fly standby, unfortunately, no. No points are accrued. So the perk is flying standby.

00:07:02:09 - 00:07:11:02
Ben Bashinski
So she she doesn't get in the lounge access or anything as a result of her, you know, time in the late stack.

00:07:11:02 - 00:07:34:14
Matthew Krekeler
So first time being the pilot for the flight with your daughter, like. Yeah, what were the nerves? Did you have any nerves? Like taking off? I know. Like for myself, I'm not a pilot by even leaving the hospital, putting the kid in the car seat in our car, I'm like, the drive home was like a different experience. Like, I'm like watching the speed.

00:07:34:14 - 00:07:41:10
Matthew Krekeler
I'm like, looking over my shoulder to make sure, like, I'm defensive, driving like every stoplight and everything. And yeah.

00:07:42:08 - 00:08:04:01
Ben Bashinski
I mean, looking back at that moment, I would say I was way more stressed driving home from the hospital the first time than flying. So, you know, there's not we don't we don't do any, you know, simulators for driving the baby home, you know, we don't practice, you know, worst case scenarios for that whereas, you know, we do in the airplane.

00:08:04:01 - 00:08:35:08
Ben Bashinski
So and you know there's the advantage of having a very experienced captain sitting next to you is, you know, since it is and it was an evaluation flight for me anyway. So he's specially trained captain particularly for brand new first officers. So that helps, you know, he's in our lives. But you know, honestly, once once you, you know, add power and start to fly, you kind of forget about everything else going on and just kind of focused on that focus on the work.

00:08:35:08 - 00:09:01:07
Ben Bashinski
So and I probably didn't really even think about it again until we were kind of getting into Denver. I was like, Oh yeah, I get to I get to grab her afterwards and see how she did. So yeah, I would say there are way greater stressors and the, the farther her journey than than that flight. So, so yeah.

00:09:01:07 - 00:09:28:08
Matthew Krekeler
And I honestly don't know too much about like the whole pilot world, like the different ranks, different trainings, all of that. But yeah, how would you describe like where that intersects between like your journey as a career, as a pilot and becoming a father and then just like what the work environment is, how do you balance. Yeah, your job?

00:09:28:22 - 00:09:35:20
Matthew Krekeler
Because I'm sure it's not always 9 to 5. Yeah, but then how do you balance all of that with a young family?

00:09:37:18 - 00:10:08:01
Ben Bashinski
I would say it's it's a complicated answer because it's both it's both easy and it's really tough. The whole reason I picked the the flying, I'm a second career guy, so I was in the Army for nine years, active before I got out to get my pilot's license. So that I think is way harder to balance work life as opposed to flying.

00:10:08:01 - 00:10:29:10
Ben Bashinski
You know, in the Army year, I was gone, you know, probably a third of the time just on deployments, not to count, you know, training or being in the field or anything like that. So that is really hard on families. And, you know, they say you're like a soldier, 24 seven. So, yeah, you can they can kind of call you at any time to be like, hey, you're a soldier, messed up.

00:10:29:10 - 00:10:50:17
Ben Bashinski
You need to come bail them out of jail or something. They don't do that at the airlines. You know, when you get home, you know, no one's no one's calling you on you're on your day off telling you you need to come in or anything unless you, you know, really messed up or something. But, you know, now the reason I got out of the army was because I wanted to have more time off.

00:10:50:17 - 00:11:25:14
Ben Bashinski
I wanted to be able to start a family. And I doing that on active duty. With that, the cycle I was on, it was just there's no way to like invest yourself fully and do that at the same time, at least not for me. So I got out knowing that I wanted to spend more time at home and, you know, I'm at Southwest where, you know, when you when you're doing a full flying line, you know, you kind of average 18 days off a month, like four days off.

00:11:26:06 - 00:11:53:12
Ben Bashinski
They don't call you. You don't have to respond to emails. You're at home. So, yeah, you're gone 12 days out of mine. So that's not great. But as long as you, you know, and I'm still new at Southwest, I was at a regional airline before where I work a little bit more and I was trying to build time while I was there so I could get to Southwest quicker.

00:11:53:19 - 00:12:12:09
Ben Bashinski
So I was picking up a lot of extra flying and stuff just to get hours. So I was gone way more back then than than I am now. But you know, now, you know, the average like three day trips pretty much. So I'll leave in the morning, begone two nights and come back the third day like in the afternoon or so.

00:12:14:02 - 00:12:44:04
Ben Bashinski
So you really only got like two plus days when I'm gone. Like my wife Hannah is amazing at face timing with me when like, Ellie's going to bed or, you know, they're eating or something like that and you know, it just technology in general. Now she she's always sending me pictures about whatever they're doing that first moment when like Ellie actually noticed me on Face Time, it could, like, recognize me and she's just like, light up.

00:12:44:04 - 00:13:01:04
Ben Bashinski
I mean, that was I was probably like three months ago now and it was just get that was life changing. So I'm for it. Like, she just she's like, oh, sweet. This like, light up little box. That's exciting. But then to see her, she can, like, really see me and you can see her, like, react. That was awesome.

00:13:01:04 - 00:13:27:18
Ben Bashinski
And then, like, conversations are actually fun with her now. Even if she's not conversing, she's still babbling and squealing and she's grabbing the phone and and shaking it and stuff. But, you know, Hannah is just instrumental in kind of, you know, ruling the roost while I'm gone and making sure that everything's taken care of. And, you know, I can't speak for everyone in the in the industry and say it's the same thing, has everyone's relationship is different.

00:13:27:18 - 00:13:46:13
Ben Bashinski
But it would be really hard doing this without, you know, a partner like Hannah, you know, she's well, I'm well, I'm getting paid for the work I'm doing while I'm gone. And, you know, she is working just as hard, if not harder, because, you know, I have a I have a limited duty day, you know, that I'm legally allowed to fly.

00:13:46:13 - 00:14:10:21
Ben Bashinski
And then after that, I've got to be, you know, done with Hannah. There's no she can't clock out and say I'm good. So she's she's working way harder for a lot less pay. But it is it's, you know, just amazing and doing doing all of it. So, so when I come home, you know, I do everything I can to to, you know, kind of take the load off her a little bit.

00:14:11:15 - 00:14:35:05
Ben Bashinski
But we are still trying to figure out, you know, how we we kind of still take some some time to ourselves when I get home. So, you know, yeah, I love taking it. Like when I get home and catching up with her. But, you know, I still need some time to sort of reset, do my laundry, you know, just breathe because I'm not at work anymore.

00:14:36:02 - 00:14:51:16
Ben Bashinski
And Hannah needs the same thing, too, you know? So we're trying to figure out that actual balance of pride. I'm home for this three or four day stretch. All right, let's figure out what this routine is. We're still kind of figuring out that, but it'll come.

00:14:52:04 - 00:15:26:06
Matthew Krekeler
So what has been the hardest transition for you or something that you heard like or like you've never heard before, before you became apparent that, like, you had to learn on the job, so to speak, who? And you're still like in a very new stage of it, which I think is awesome. Like my, my youngest is 18 months right now and so she's like just starting to walk, which is really amazing.

00:15:26:16 - 00:15:47:07
Matthew Krekeler
And she babbles a little bit like she knows words like mommy that, but she's not quite putting like full words or sentences together, but she's very responsive. Like she has sign language for wanting water and more food and that kind of stuff. So that's all really cool to see those milestones as a parent.

00:15:48:23 - 00:16:20:03
Ben Bashinski
That I would say, Yeah, you know, when I I'm learning to be present more, I would say, you know, that's where you're kind of going with that question like before, you know, before I we had, you know, I can come home from work and, you know, if I needed to, I just, you know, go chill on the couch, you know, make a drink, play video games or whatever and just zone out or, you know, I phone just, you know, Doomscrolling for hours and it didn't matter.

00:16:21:18 - 00:16:45:07
Ben Bashinski
But now, you know, now with tiny eyes watching, you know, even now, like we don't we don't like we don't really let her do screen time yet so we don't give her an iPad or a phone to play with or anything. Like literally the only time she's on the phone is to face time. But even then, she still and we, we try to limit ourselves like we don't allow phones at the table.

00:16:45:07 - 00:17:06:07
Ben Bashinski
And, you know, with her we try not to be on our phones at all. But even then, like, she'll still she still like dives for our phones like in the morning. Like if we bring her in, she'll see our phones on the bedside table and she just, like, lunges for them because she knows they're important to us. Or at least they appear important, right?

00:17:06:14 - 00:17:40:14
Ben Bashinski
So, you know, I have to be way, way more cognizant of of one just being present in general, making sure I'm a big part of her life, even if I feel like I have other stuff going on or if I feel like there's something important I got to do. But but also, you know, while I'm with her making sure that her perception of me being present is of me actually, you know, being with her and focusing order and not just sitting there, but I'm on the computer or scrolling on my phone or whatever, trying to, you know, do whatever.

00:17:40:14 - 00:17:59:18
Ben Bashinski
And I am lucky because, you know, I don't have a bunch of emails I've got to reply to or anything like that. You know, there's no work emergencies going on that I've got to immediately resolve while I'm at home, which is an absolute blessing with this career field. But I would say that's that's something I'm definitely still working on.

00:18:00:12 - 00:18:15:06
Ben Bashinski
And, you know, that she's really teach me is like, hey, like I see you with your phone, like, no, no, no, I'm over here. And then she'll come take it from me and run away or well, you know, model away. I guess.

00:18:15:20 - 00:18:38:20
Matthew Krekeler
So. That's clear. But yeah, it's amazing how perceptive kids can be with things that we put our attention to, with even the way that we communicate, like phrases that I tell my wife. Like they start trip for better or worse. But that's why I think it's really important that we have to be careful about what kind of words and what kind of phrases we use.

00:18:38:20 - 00:19:04:08
Matthew Krekeler
And so, like, I'm trying to always be appreciative of my wife and like in front of my kids and thank her for all the things that like she does and say like, yeah, like, look at how wonderful it is that mommy like, is going to work and she's going to help people today. My wife's a social worker and so, like, being trying to be present too, and ask in front of my kids, like, how is your day?

00:19:04:08 - 00:19:32:21
Matthew Krekeler
And like, what did you do today? And so that they see that those things are important to me. And then when I ask them of my kids, like they're more receptive to sharing those kinds of things. And, and then like I always try to tell them like how proud I am of them and then trying to it's also kind of hard too, because like I, like I work in video production and so sometimes it's easier for me to take work home with me.

00:19:32:21 - 00:19:44:16
Matthew Krekeler
It's probably less like it's like something that you don't really like. You can't really fly a plane remotely. And imagine I don't know, maybe in ten years you can.

00:19:46:23 - 00:19:51:16
Matthew Krekeler
At least when I fly, I want to make sure that there's somebody in the plane that knows how to fly it.

00:19:51:16 - 00:19:54:17
Ben Bashinski
Yeah, that's that is that is good job security for me.

00:19:54:17 - 00:20:23:07
Matthew Krekeler
So please. Yeah, but I often can fall into the temptation of following up with emails or like uploading videos from home and things, and to then give my daughters the attention like, okay, I can do this when they go to bed. Or I can, like, at least if it's something urgent, say, daddy has to do this, I need the next 20 minutes to finish this, but then to vote like the time so that I'm fully present.

00:20:23:07 - 00:20:32:06
Matthew Krekeler
Phones are away when we're doing storytime and all those kinds of stuff, and I'm not perfect at it, but it's definitely a good reminder. Something that I need to strive for.

00:20:32:18 - 00:20:51:05
Ben Bashinski
No, absolutely. And Hannah's really good at calling me out, too, because, you know, when I'm on my when I'm on the road, you know, my phone's my only connection back to anyone, you know? So it's kind of a lifeline, I guess, and I can just pull it out and, you know, send a quick text or whatever. And, you know, it's it's not a big deal.

00:20:51:05 - 00:21:16:03
Ben Bashinski
But I get in that habit and I'm like, come back home and do it. And it's like, Oh, no, phones don't stay in the corner or whatever. And it's that's a it's a big habit to break. But, you know, to that point of of them being perceptive in general, I mean, it's you know, she's not talking yet, but she's in the parent phase and it's, you know, will you make noise?

00:21:16:05 - 00:21:27:13
Ben Bashinski
Is that what our energy like immediately will we'll paired it back like she'll you know, we'll sneeze. And then she actually just started doing this, I think like yesterday or two days ago. They will sneeze in our arm or whatever and she'll go.

00:21:29:03 - 00:21:30:00
Matthew Krekeler
Oh yeah.

00:21:30:00 - 00:21:55:05
Ben Bashinski
Five or six times. And it's just funny what, you know, what they think we're doing and then immediately parroting it back to us. And Johan and I, you know, we, we disagree or whatever, you know, to your point of making sure that we, you know, make a show of, you know, this is how we talk about things. You know, if we disagree about something, you know, we'll make sure that Allah sees us.

00:21:55:05 - 00:22:16:09
Ben Bashinski
Oh, you know, we try not to do anything in front of her, but to, you know, if we say anything to each other, it's, you know, we make sure that like this, you know, resolve it and talk about it. And then at the end of it, you know, no matter what it is, you know, we make a big show of hugging each other afterwards and things like that family hug.

00:22:16:09 - 00:22:38:04
Ben Bashinski
And we always bring her in afterwards to Ellie thinks that family hug is hilarious. Like she she just always laughs and we're like, all right, let's hug it out. And she's like, what's great is, you know, a great kind of cherry on top. And so like, okay, I guess, you know, that is that is the best possible outcome to, you know, to any do anything.

00:22:38:07 - 00:22:51:13
Matthew Krekeler
So I love that. I love the family hug, too. Like, that's so cool. And like my older kids, like we do like handshakes and high fives and knuckles and like, and even like the youngest is like learning how to do knuckles.

00:22:51:13 - 00:22:52:02
Ben Bashinski
Yeah.

00:22:52:02 - 00:23:03:08
Matthew Krekeler
And then sometimes the oldest will, they'll initiate it where they'll, they'll be like high five and to each other just on their own. And it's so cool to see.

00:23:04:14 - 00:23:34:05
Ben Bashinski
Yeah. You know, with her being our first, we're still like, we'll catch ourselves doing stuff like Jenna said that or or or whatever. You know, we can't just say whatever we feel like anymore. So we're, we're still sanding down those rough edges around her and hopefully yeah, hopefully not making too bad of an impact as a result. But, you know, second time will be perfect, I'm sure.

00:23:34:12 - 00:23:34:19
Ben Bashinski
So.

00:23:35:12 - 00:23:43:18
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah. Yeah. With each kid, like, you're like, okay, let's refine different things. Like, I remember we were. Yeah.

00:23:44:06 - 00:23:59:20
Ben Bashinski
Oh sorry. I was gonna say or you know, the flip side is, you know, you just stop caring and then you think, oh, wait, no, we, we, we actually this is something we did have to pay attention to the first time. We need to make sure we we do that again so that yeah, yeah.

00:24:01:03 - 00:24:29:18
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah. It's it's interesting how yeah each kid you change your perception and we were kind of similar where we're like, yeah, no screen time and all these kinds of things. And like by the time we had our third, we're like, okay, like Disney Plus is your parent now like, right, I just need an hour to connect. Yeah, but yeah, but it's, it's, you know, people, kids turn out all right.

00:24:30:15 - 00:25:09:17
Matthew Krekeler
I, I think, like, I'm not going to criticize, like, anyone else's style of parenting and things, but, but I love having conversations with other dads and learning from them. Like, that's the whole reason why I wanted to start this podcast is to just take it in as much advice and you know, people like yourself who are new on this journey, just like I am too, then I've had like dads who are now grandads and kind of learning from them where they're like, Yeah, the way that like I interact with my granddaughter or now is different than I raise my kids.

00:25:09:17 - 00:25:34:03
Matthew Krekeler
But like they're like, I wish I raised my kids like this and different things. So it's really cool just to like have this collective knowledge and learn from other people and then adapt because everyone's family situation is different, your kids are different. And each of my kids, even though they all come from me, each one is different and I have to adjust to like what their individual needs are.

00:25:34:19 - 00:26:01:11
Ben Bashinski
No, absolutely. Yeah. And I think, you know, I love that. You know, you know, these days at least there are resources like this. And, you know, we can go to whereas, you know, I don't know how long ago, but, you know, guys looking for information to become better dads may just not have been, you know, if it existed at all.

00:26:01:11 - 00:26:41:05
Ben Bashinski
It's not not as prevalent. Right. So like, you know, I have the the the new father book, you know, that just is, you know, based on the premise that there's all these books for mom. But yeah, dad. So, you know, all these questions that we have that directly answer our questions as opposed to us having like pass information out of, you know, what to expect and then, you know, you're doing podcasts like this, you know, just having guys talk about being dads and being able to, you know, just talk about how proud they are and, you know, share advice.

00:26:41:05 - 00:27:05:18
Ben Bashinski
You know, I think we in general probably are not very good about seeking advice or, you know, asking questions or, you know, admitting that we don't know something. But to, you know, sort of have this resource that at least, you know, can start the conversation and help each other out. You know, I think it's it's awesome. So thank you for kind of leading the way on that.

00:27:06:11 - 00:27:37:17
Matthew Krekeler
And I appreciate that. And then, yeah, you also were in the Army. Thank you for your service there. And and I think about like, you know, men, like we're naturally wired, I think, to like train and have this like duty and service, whether it's to our country or to our family. But like we, we put ourselves through, like, training and hardship, like, you know, when we're working out, when we're like in sports, when we like are trying to get a job like all of these things.

00:27:37:17 - 00:28:04:22
Matthew Krekeler
And how much more so should we be like putting the effort in to our role as fathers? And there's this great I had this the founder of this organization on my podcast, it's called Boot Camp for New Dads. And I've talked about it before on the podcast, but I had the privilege of being able to go through the boot camp before my first daughter was born.

00:28:05:04 - 00:28:33:07
Matthew Krekeler
It was offered through our local hospital where we would then give birth, and it was totally new to me. And I just am so fortunate that like it was presented to me as this opportunity and it's, it's the way that it's run is like on a Saturday typically. And for a couple of hours, new dads come and then these veteran dads, like they were, you know, in the program just a couple of months before.

00:28:33:07 - 00:28:53:19
Matthew Krekeler
But now they bring their kids who are like, I think between like six months and 12 months, but like these new dads, after a couple of months of being dads, come in and they it's a it's a peer to peer training boot camp. And you just get to ask them like, yeah, tell me everything that's in your diaper bag and like that.

00:28:53:21 - 00:29:17:14
Matthew Krekeler
Tell me the shopping list before my child's born. Like, like what do I need to do? You know, like packing for a trip with them or changing diapers. And then, like, whenever a kid needs a diaper change, like, the whole room stops and everyone's focused and watching a dad's, like, take out things from the diaper bag. You're, like, learning how they change the diaper and then what to do with the dirty diaper.

00:29:17:17 - 00:29:44:22
Matthew Krekeler
And like, all that stuff, it's such a cool program, but it's I feel very blessed that these things are available now and I feel honored to be in a similar space as the Girl Dad Nation podcast to like offer these resources to other dads. And then I'm often like the first to be like benefited from like these conversations.

00:29:44:22 - 00:29:50:19
Matthew Krekeler
So I'm like, I do this mostly for me as a new dad. And then it's great that it's recorded and offered for other dads.

00:29:51:02 - 00:30:15:03
Ben Bashinski
That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah, I was. While you're talking about the the boot camp thing and it's made me think like, you know, probably normally, you know, I don't again, I don't have any prior experience to compare it to, but you know, probably before it, guys probably just mostly ask, you know, their dad like, hey, well, what do you what do you do here?

00:30:15:03 - 00:30:35:04
Ben Bashinski
But, you know, for a lot of people, that may not be the best reference at best case scenario, but to like have yeah, like scenarios like that where, you know, you have this instant community where you have all these brand new dads, you just learn this stuff through a very steep learning curve, kind of share. That knowledge is awesome.

00:30:36:02 - 00:30:56:21
Ben Bashinski
We do not. We do not get a chance to do that. When Ellie was born, she was born six weeks early. So I actually I missed her birth because I was out of work trip because we weren't expecting her to show up for another month and a half. But so she had to stay in the year for six weeks to do some new, some growing.

00:30:57:05 - 00:31:19:20
Ben Bashinski
But so my boot camp, I guess, was the nick you nurses being like, here's how to change a diaper, here's how you feed a baby. So we had they had they were, you know, almost literally holding our hands while we were, you know, trying to do this with a very small child. So that being said, I would not wish that experience on anybody.

00:31:21:13 - 00:31:23:05
Ben Bashinski
Opt for the boot camp now.

00:31:25:08 - 00:31:50:19
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah, I remember like first time going home with the baby, like from the hospital and I didn't have that nurse call button three, like, all right, like the baby's crying and like, I've tried everything and but you have to learn quickly. Like, it's totally on the job training. But, yeah, it's, it's great if you have the opportunity to like, prepare yourself before.

00:31:50:19 - 00:31:56:08
Matthew Krekeler
But then the reality is like, there's so much that you just can't prepare yourself for. Absolutely.

00:31:57:08 - 00:32:15:23
Ben Bashinski
It's I mean, like you're like we were talking about earlier, you know, there's a lot of training of all, you know, to fly or whatever. And, you know, before they let you fly it with people in the plane, you know, you get there's hours and hours of, you know, simulator and there's an actual, you know, check ride where you either pass or fail.

00:32:15:23 - 00:32:34:06
Ben Bashinski
And, you know, there's a lot of gates that you have to go through in order to actually fly people at the end of the day to have a baby. You just you just have it. And they're like, all right, go forth and do great things like, oh, man. Okay, thanks.

00:32:35:15 - 00:32:38:10
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah. You don't really get, like, certified. You're like, okay.

00:32:38:15 - 00:32:41:02
Ben Bashinski
Oh, yeah, there's no completed basic training.

00:32:41:02 - 00:32:42:06
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

00:32:42:06 - 00:32:51:16
Ben Bashinski
Yeah. There's no certificate of of competency that you can hang on the walls. So yeah, man, yeah, now. Well.

00:32:52:12 - 00:33:01:01
Matthew Krekeler
Now, when your daughter has flown, does Southwest give out, like, the little, like, pins to the wave?

00:33:01:01 - 00:33:24:00
Ben Bashinski
So it works. It looks like this. This is actually not from that flight, but this is from when the I was flying southwest after my interview and I told them I got the job. They said congratulations, but very cool. I think of it, we should have gotten a certificate that flight with with L.A. that have been awesome. But there is a lot of stuff going on.

00:33:24:07 - 00:33:46:01
Ben Bashinski
But yeah, so we got a little, little tiny plastic wings, a little southwest hard on it. So they can be their own little pilot, but oh, that's great. Yeah. So, yeah, Southwest is awesome about, you know, you know, fun stuff like that by giving your certificate for your for your flight and stuff and making you feel part of the family.

00:33:46:01 - 00:34:04:18
Ben Bashinski
And, you know, we were flying with her. It was you know, I brought her down early, of course, and introduced her to the for the captain in the crew. And it just they all going to be couldn't be nicer and more inclusive and excited for us. Honestly, it was a lot of fun.

00:34:05:17 - 00:34:46:02
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah. I love the reaction to when you brought your daughter, just like even, you know, the passengers coming through and being greeted by a baby. That's just all smiles and then it puts a smile on your face and just the the welcoming community behind that. And we had a very similar experience, like the times that we've flown with our daughter is not 19 times, but but yeah, but every time like we have flown Southwest, like the flight crew is always just super nice, very accommodating, which is very reassuring as a young parent, especially because you're like, Oh man, like we typically have more stuff to pack.

00:34:46:02 - 00:35:16:15
Matthew Krekeler
You got all the bottles and diaper changing things and like too much stuff. And yeah, then you, you just hope that they're going to be behaved during the trip and not get fussy and, and everything. But usually like, yeah, everyone's super nice and that's been really cool that like and then the other people like on the flight much older than I was that they were like, yep, like our kids are all grown now, but we remember like back in the day.

00:35:16:15 - 00:35:29:16
Matthew Krekeler
Yeah, they're like, this is just part of life right now as a parent. And most people are very like respectful and accommodating and yeah, it's like they get it, which I appreciate it.

00:35:30:02 - 00:35:50:02
Ben Bashinski
Yeah. I mean, we've had Hannah flies with her hour by herself a good amount and you know, it's a lot of that would not be possible without, you know, people in the airport being willing to help her because, I mean, like you said, it's as a ton of stuff. And whether I'm there or not, it's the same amount of stuff.

00:35:50:02 - 00:36:15:02
Ben Bashinski
So you can see her just like trudging through the airport with, you know, just like a pack mule, you know, a car seat, stroller, diapers, everything. And it's yeah, a lot of goodwill from from flight crews kind of making sure she can get seated and comfortable. And, you know, so a big shout out to all of them for for all they do, they work really hard to help out.

00:36:15:02 - 00:36:17:01
Ben Bashinski
And we could not be more appreciative of all that.

00:36:18:04 - 00:36:31:12
Matthew Krekeler
That's great. Well, yeah, this. This interview's coming to an end, but I do want to have you back to do an episode about your tips as a pilot for flying with kids.

00:36:32:00 - 00:36:32:18
Ben Bashinski
Absolutely.

00:36:33:12 - 00:36:48:16
Matthew Krekeler
So I'd love to get to that interview. But to wrap this up, I wanted to give you an opportunity as a dad to Ali to leave a special message for your daughter and like, I'm not here. Anything you want to tell Ali?

00:36:49:06 - 00:37:33:17
Ben Bashinski
Okay. Hi, Ellie. This is your dad. I want to apologize for not being there at the very start. It was not my fault, but I did try to get there as quickly as possible. And I wish I could say that would be, you know, the only life event I'm going to miss. But, you know, due to the career choice, probably not the case, but know that when I'm home, I cherish every moment I get to spend with you and I look forward to you know, making tons more memories with you, you know, either by being your pilot or by just, you know, getting to to jet set around the world with you and make all

00:37:33:17 - 00:37:56:08
Ben Bashinski
those awesome memories. By now, you've probably seen the video of us online. Again, I will say that is not going to be the only time I'm going to embarrass you in front of people. So just get used to it. That's what your mom and I are here to do is have a good time sometimes at your expense. Sorry, but we do it because we love you.

00:37:56:13 - 00:38:19:05
Ben Bashinski
So I would say I'm sorry for those moments, but I'm not. It's just kind of part of it. So we love you. We're excited to see the person you become and getting to, you know, travel all over the world with you love you.

00:38:19:05 - 00:38:20:00
Matthew Krekeler
I love that.

00:38:20:06 - 00:38:20:23
Ben Bashinski
Was that okay?

00:38:21:16 - 00:38:46:13
Matthew Krekeler
That's great. Thank you so much. Has it been it's been amazing talking to you. It's so cool to get to connect with you. And yeah, I'm sure like that video is just one of many amazing experiences that you're going to build with your daughter. Yeah, you have so much to look forward to. Thank you for being part of Girl Dad Nation and I want to thank all of my listeners out there.

00:38:46:13 - 00:39:08:12
Matthew Krekeler
Thank you for the support. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing this. If this has impacted you, please share the podcast with a friend also like and review on Apple Podcasts. All of your reviews just help get the word out for this podcast. I really appreciate that and you can reach me directly at Girl Dad Nation podcast at gmail.com.

00:39:08:20 - 00:39:33:07
Matthew Krekeler
Also in the description you could click Send me a message and you can text me a comment, a show. Sometimes like I'll do a shout out. But yeah, you can reach me that way and in the description. And then if you'd like to support the show as a monthly supporter, click support the show in the description and your donation of $3 a month goes to support the show and there are some other perks.

00:39:33:07 - 00:39:57:13
Matthew Krekeler
So I also have some merch available on the website. Girl Dad Nation dot org so you can rep girl dad nation. It's also a great way to give a gift to a new girl dad, but thank you so much. I do because I love my daughters so much. I try to be the best dad I can. And then I am honored to share these interviews, these conversations with the other dads out there.

00:39:57:13 - 00:40:14:05
Matthew Krekeler
So thank you so much. And until next time, go be a dad.