Twins/Infants Travel Tips

I’m no expert when it comes to traveling with kids. I’m just writing from our experiences so far. But a reader asked, and I’m answering. Because I care.

Compared to the trip to Colorado we did back in July, when the girls were eight months old, this trip went considerably better. Plus, we were better prepared.

This advice is probably most helpful for kids between ages 6 months (eating some solid foods) to 2 years. Our first plane ride was with eight-month-old twins; our second was with 13-month-old twins.

Layover vs. non-stop flight

Bottom-line advice
If it’s a trip of three hours or less: non-stop flight. Longer than three hours? Layover. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).

Details
We did a non-stop flight to Colorado in July, when the girls were eight months old. It was a total nightmare. However, considering the flight was only 3 to 3.5 hours, it was the best, most logical option.

This time, we didn’t have the option of a non-stop flight to California from the Tampa airport, so we had a layover in Houston. For a trip that long, I was very glad we had a layover. It gave us all a break to get a change of scenery, stretch our legs, change diapers in a more spacious environment, let the girls run around, find some decent food and generally regroup, mentally and physically.

I believe a big part of the difference had to do with the girls’ age. With a few more months under their belts, I think they were just better equipped for such a dramatic change in their surroundings.

Strollers, carryons and security

Bottom-line advice
The three-ounce rule doesn’t really apply with little kids. Have your liquid-y foodstuffs in big Ziplocs. If traveling with twins, take the regular double stroller and check it right before you board.

Details
This was actually the easiest part of the trip. We brought our regular double stroller and checked it right before boarding. If you do this, a stroller travel bag isn’t necessary at all. Plus, it’s free. Plus, if you bring two single strollers, who’s going to lug all the suitcases?

The airports we went through all had family lines, so we didn’t feel like we were being rushed through. Then again, we’re assholes about it now, so we wouldn’t have rushed anyway.

They made us each take a baby and walk through the metal detector with her while they inspected the stroller separately. Chris and I made sure we had easy shoes to take off and had our boarding passes and IDs at hand. I had a backpack and a purse for my carryons. Chris just had a backpack.

A couple of other points:

• Make sure you have any of the baby’s liquids (breastmilk/formula, juice boxes, etc.) and food in easy-to-retrieve Ziploc bags for security. I didn’t even think about it and they gave me a little bit of a ribbing. (By the way, you’re allowed a “reasonable amount” of liquids and foods for kids above the regular 3-ounce limit. Basically, don’t worry about how much you have — just be prepared to allow extra time for them to inspect all of it.)
• I highly recommend a backpack versus a shoulder-strap carryon for the kids. MUCH easier to make it down the airplane aisle, stow under the seat, and find things in a very cramped airplane. Trust me, if you have a lap child under 2, you have zero maneuvering room.

What to take on the plane

Bottom-line advice
Bring the baby’s favorite and/or usually off-limits food, toys and drinks. Bring wipes and dipes in an easily accessed compartment.

Details
When you hear people tell you to bring snacks on the plane, take it seriously. A constant (and I do mean constant) supply of food was our saving grace on our second plane trip.

A sampling of what I packed in extreme excess:

• Goldfish
• Gerber yogurt melts
• Nilla wafers
• Cheerios
• Fig Newtons
• Cereal bars
• Juice boxes

It was minimally nutritious and that was okay with me for the occasion. We paid for it the next day with some serious intestinal productions. Just plan to feed the kid(s)  something semi-decent during the layover or when you land.

Other thoughts:

Bring foods/snacks they normally don’t get and/or foods that they love. The plane is a special occasion and you have to pull out all your tricks. The juice boxes and yogurt melts were especially helpful. We fed the girls a juice box each for takeoff and landing (much easier than nursing, let me tell you, which is what I tried on the Colorado trip. Yes, with twins). This was a big hit because they normally don’t get much juice and they LOVE drinking out of straws.

Only bring foods that the child can self-feed and that preferably don’t have individual wrappers for anything. Baby food jars are a JOKE on a plane. We tried that on the Colorado trip and it was a total mess.

Pack toys they normally don’t get to play with. Get creative. If your baby’s obsessed with TV remotes, shoes, paper, and chewing on books, then bring that stuff. On the plane, you’ll also have the safety brochure, the Sky Mall catalogue (good for ripping apart), the barf bag, and napkins and plastic cups from the flight attendants for emergency distractions.

Plan for delays by bringing extra snacks and distractions. Seriously, bring way more than you think you need. We were stuck on the tarmac for an hour at one point and I was so tired, I didn’t even notice; unfortunately, the baby did.

Other items I found necessary:

• An empty plastic bag for trash (okay, I actually wasn’t organized enough to use it, but if I had been, it would have been helpful)
• Wipes — specifically, travel-sized wipes in a VERY accessible pocket in the backpack — for the inevitable mess you’re going to make
• Diapers in a very accessible area of the carry-on. Both girls pooped during the 30-minute descent on the first leg of our California trip. Chris managed to change a diaper before we weren’t allowed out of our seats; I wasn’t so lucky and had to apologize for the smell to my fellow passengers.

How to dress the baby

I always remembered planes being freezing. But the last 4 or 5 times I’ve flown, it’s been kind of uncomfortably stuffy. I think they keep the air vents closed nowadays. Dress the baby in layers. For a California winter, we did lightweight, long-sleeved cotton shirt, leggings, socks, shoes and a lightweight, hooded sweatshirt. Also keep in mind that on longer flights, even the baby’s feet can swell. Make sure any shoes are VERY easily removed to relieve that.

On the plane for reals

Read this shit for reals.

This is where the shit hits the fan, where the rubber meets the road, where we’re all work and no play.

After our first high-strung experience, Chris and I were a bit more relaxed — or at least, presented ourselves that way — throughout this trip. I think that, along with the twins being a little older,  made a big difference. This time around, we:

• Changed the girls’ diapers before boarding
• Smiled at everyone down the aisles, waved the baby’s hand at anyone who would look, and generally capitalized on baby cuteness every chance we got
• Pre-apologized to our immediate neighbors and assured them that we’d do as much as we could to make sure everyone was cool during the flight

Here are my serious, for-reals, on-the-plane tips that were a HUGE help:

We were among the LAST to board the plane. Screw that family-first seating. That means you have to get up 80,000 times and deal with people dropping shit and making a big racket around you for an extra 30 minutes. When you’re traveling with kids, every second counts. No need to prolong the plane trip if it’s not necessary.

Stuff the seat pocket before you sit. Since we were among the last to board, we didn’t have sweaty mouth-breathers behind us.  So, when I got to my seat, I stuffed the seat pocket with snacks, toys and wipes. I hardly had to lug out the carry-on at all.

Plan for terrifying diaper changes and bathroom trips. Invariably, when the girls needed a new diaper on the plane or I needed to pee, it was just when turbulence hit. The planes all luckily had mini-changing tables, but the girls were freaked the hell out because the plane noise was so loud in the bathrooms. When I had to go to the bathroom on the plane, I took my assigned child with me and did everything one-handed (the baby was too freaked out to be set on the floor because of the crazy plane vibrations).

Chris, on the other hand, just didn’t use the bathroom on the plane. Good luck there.

Stay calm. Make friends with your neighbors. Don’t count on flight attendants being nice to you. Remember that the plane’s ambient n0ise drowns out a tremendous amount of screaming (from you and the kids).

Remind yourself that you have a right to fly — yes, even with children. That child might be the next president. RESPECK.

When you arrive

Bottom-line advice
If you don’t co-sleep, rent a Pack -n- Play — and any other VERY necessary baby items you can’t easily travel with. If you have two or more kids and you need to drive with two or more adults at your destination, rent a mini-van and find a deal online. Don’t bother renting toys.

Details
Baby equipment rental: Traveling with twins, we need stuff. We don’t co-sleep. We just don’t have that luxury, not even occasionally, and not even now that the girls are older. So, after very serious thought, I knew we needed Pack -n- Plays for both girls, car seats, high chairs and safety gates (to fence off a fireplace and some stair cases at my mom’s house).

I browsed and got a rough estimate for baby equipment rental from travelbabees.com. But holy mother of all that is holy, that service is WAAAYYYY overpriced, even with a twins discount. Holy smokes. Don’t even go there.

We used babysaway.com for our Colorado trip and used them again for our Cali trip. They have safe and clean equipment and offer delivery and pick-up (for an extra fee — either to the home/hotel you’re staying at or the airport), pick-up, and set-up and break-down of equipment. Mind you, this isn’t all fancy-schmancy stuff. But it’s clean and safe and worth every single red cent it costs to rent. (As an example, travelbabees quoted $96 for two Pack n Plays for a week; it’s $80 for both at babysaway, plus potential discount.)

P.S. No one has reimbursed me for any of those mentions.

Car rental: I’m a big-time comparison shopper. After a lot of research, my online reservation at Alamo had the best rates for a week-long rental of an eight-passenger minivan, including rental of two full-sized carseats. (Google around for coupon codes.)

We got an eight-passenger, 2010 Toyota Sienna (with 17 — yes, seven-fucking-teen — cupholders) for  a full week for less than $600, including two carseat rentals, taxes, fees, etc. (Sidenote: That’s a lot of money any way you slice it.)

(By the way, I’d read bad things online about crappy carseats from rental car companies, and we didn’t have any such problems at all.)

P.S. No reimbursement for this mention either.

Baby proofing: If you’re renting equipment, find out about safety gate needs at  your destination and rent accordingly.

Bring a cheap-o pack of plastic outlet covers.

Keep an eye on the kids. <– probably important overall