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Traveling with Toddlers

klee73010

klee73010

I might have a thing for drummers
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Apr 25, 2015
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I am buying myself a Christmas/birthday gift of airfare for myself and two toddlers to visit a friend of mine in Texas. The times are garbage, but cheap, going on spirit airlines. I flew with my daughter when she was 9 months old to st louis (I was also 6 months pregnant, but she wasn't mobile!)... that was 3 years ago, so I don't remember any of my "lessons". Lol.

Anyone traveled with two toddlers before?
 
look for gramma peeps to sit next too...(someone like me) and they will help! lots of little bags of food, bring a straw to let them drink to pop ears, ask for early boarding, ear phones to connect to your phone and little new to them videos or Frozen..bhahhaha
and take photos and ENJOY the time. Stress will vex everyone, if things blow up...sit down and hug her and laugh, take a selfie and vow to scrap the insanity of getting there! The journey is part of the fun!
 
One thing I did was get some new toys/things for them to do on the flight - even dollar store stuff works great. Leave it in the package and let them open things one at a time and play with it for a bit before moving onto the next. When my boys were little we had a five hour flight to get to family and I remember this being helpful!
 
have them chew gum or drink when taking off and landing, tiny ears pop something horrible on aircrafts and it HURTS!
I agree with little games or new toys for the plane.. also pack tons of little baggies of snacks
use the bathroom before you board as ones on aircrafts SUCK!
request seats towards BACK of plane, if possible.. they tend to have best spaces for storage of carry ons. and close to rest room.. if needed. YES, you board last most of the time, and your last off.. but it may be for best

some airlines let family's with young children board first.. TAKE advantage of this if possible..
 
I traveled with Sarita since she was 8 months old, every year, over seas...that means 14 hours flights..... she was always amazing.... I don't have many tips... (more like am so old and my memory doesnt work LOL) but the most important is that you have something they enjoy to keep them occupied...
 
I did a transatlantic sans DH when mine were 3 & 5. I put one in a mei tai and pulled the other behind on a Trunki. That's pretty much all I remember other than being glad when it was over. Helpful, I know.
 
lorryfach said:
I did a transatlantic sans DH when mine were 3 & 5. I put one in a mei tai and pulled the other behind on a Trunki. That's pretty much all I remember other than being glad when it was over. Helpful, I know.
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Lol!!! There's no way one of mine would allow a Mei tei carrying at this age. Lol! I do have a Moby wrap somewhere. I think they are still under the weight limit. .. have to research that. :)
 
I hadn't worn either of them in ages and they thought it was fun to pretend to be a baby for a while. :giggle Weirdos.
 
Somehow I imagine carrying a 30lbs toddler, restraining another 30lbs toddler, pushing a double stroller with two car seats, and a large suitcase is going to prove difficult.
Lolol!
 
Is it a direct flight? Hey, at least you don't have to do passport control and customs. Uuuugh. I've never taken a car seat on a plane, though.
 
It is a direct flight. It is red eye, which either means they will be completely asleep or completely rowdy. :/
I will be checking the car seats, but I can't get away with not taking them, because they will be necessary at our destination. The flight is about 5 hours, from Phoenix, AZ to Dallas, TX.
 
You may want to reconsider checking the car seats. If the airline will let you put both kids in one, in the same row, it might be easier than wrangling the kids. For my kid, he knew he was restrained in a carseat so it was more like a long car ride than a flight. And if you can, some airlines will let you have a helper go through security with you to get yourself and children to the gate. Especially with 2 carseats.
 
Especially if your kids fall asleep in their car seats. If they scream, then forget my suggestion.
 
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My car seats are not the FAA approved ones. something about needing a stamp on it to verify, which mine don't have. :(
 
Boo! Silly regulations. At least you should be able to check them before security.

I love the idea of dollar store toys. And food. Even if they don't normally snack, feed them. ;)
 
Fun! (hopefully!) My daughter just booked her flight to TX yesterday, on Sprint! She is heading to TX for Christmas to see her husband who is in the Air Force
 
don't panic. it's generally piece of cake. Lynette's advice is one of the best thing you can handle easily. a couple of "new" and little toys are really great on flights. On the other hand, you can get a set of color papers, stick glue and paper scissors, some crayons and one or two box little play dough. They are really time killer. by the way, don't forget to upload a couple of videos of her favorite cartoon. they will really work. If something goes worse, don't panic. let her to walk and talk with the crew. I regularly travel every month 1-2 times on 5-6 hours flight with a toddler for 3,5 years. The flight itself will entertain her more than anything. let her to look outside and be ready to answer almost every item & vehicle and person she saw :) If it's possible wake her up 1-2 hours before usual so she can sleep at least an hour on flight and this can give you some time to breath and have a cup of coffee. And don't forget your computer. Because the best place to scrap on earth is not on earth. She will give you lots of times to scrap on your flight.
 
we are flying cheapo - spirit airlines - no wifi, so I don't think my online will work, But.... we buy digital versions of movies these days, and i plan to download them for offline viewing on my tablet. (I wish I had a working scrapping laptop still, but honestly, it'd be just one more thing to carry :( )

TV/tablet with headphones, dollar store toys, and snacks, that's about what I've heard. haha. We are flying Red Eye. like, 1am-5am, so my littles will either be asleep or rowdy. I think i've read somewhere, getting cheap ear plugs for those around us.... haha.

Bottom line - enjoy the journey, and don't stress when they start acting crazy. New thing for them, being on an airplane. My son, specifically (he's 2.5), is going to flip when he figures out he's on a plane. He loves airplanes.

the most horrible part, I think, is going to be lugging them and everything around. I have to bring the two car seats, because we need them in Texas. I also have to have the double stroller, because I'm hoping to corral them in the airport that way. And leashes/harnesses. (yes, I know those are a hot topic, prone to controversy... but I'm going to accept it in lieu of my toddlers running off [as prone to do] or being randomly snatched.)

So... they will each have a backpack of their things. I will have a carry on. We have two car seats (which I'll check at ticket counter), a double stroller (gate checked), and one large checked bag (also dropped off at ticketing counter)... in addition to the two toddlers. by myself... two ways. LOL. apparently I have a one way ticket to crazy-town, with my round trip to Texas. hahahahahah

oh, and this isn't counting the 3 hour road trip to and from the airport in Texas to our final destination. haha. WHAT. AN. ADVENTURE.

I am excited though, and I'll maybe I'll remember to journal about it the whole way for ease of scrapping later. Lol!
 
Lynnette said:
One thing I did was get some new toys/things for them to do on the flight - even dollar store stuff works great. Leave it in the package and let them open things one at a time and play with it for a bit before moving onto the next. When my boys were little we had a five hour flight to get to family and I remember this being helpful!
Click to expand...

I did this as well. I even wrapped them so they were like little gifts to open.
 
How old are your little ones? If you have one that will need a car seat I highly suggest a Go-Go Babyz! It easily attaches to the car seat so you can just leave your little one in it and wheel them through the airport. It stores in the overhead bins, so you don't ever need to take baby out of the seat! I have had one since we lived in Germany and it's lasted through all 3 kids! Best travel purchase ever!

This is the model I have, but they also have newer models now.
http://www.amazon.com/Go-Go-Babyz-QRKIDZ-Travelmate-Black/dp/B000JJK9EY
 
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