Last week I talked about travelling by car with your young children. This week let's tackle planes and trains.
Let's just say, get ready...it won't be easy no matter how well you plan, how many toys and snacks you bring, or how kind you are to fellow travelers.
I'm not a negative person. But with all the current travel restrictions and requirements that you arrive early, travelling by planes is downright brutal with small children much of the time.
I just flew to visit relatives for Christmas. The flight there with my 10-year-old and my two 9-month-old twins was seamless...no crying, no ears popping from altitude changes, no meltdowns. Perfect on the way down!
But the return flight was a living nightmare because of the blizzard down south and all the flight cancellations and delays. I had moved our flight up 12 hours earlier, called the airline to confirm that the flight was on time...and arrived early for checking in and security. Everything an organized parent can do.
I had packed supplies for my twins, bottles, diapers, wipes, etc. for 5 hours.
But with weather conditions deteriorating faster than even the airline could react to...it got challenging quickly.
Our flight was delayed a dozen times and ultimately cancelled. I rebooked us on a connecting flight. That one took off, but then dangerous winds kicked up as we were on approach to land in Philadelphia...so the airline flew us all the way back down south. It was brutal! But then I was out of diapers, baby food, trying to feed my twins water in their bottles and soggy bagels since they don't have many teeth. They were hungry, wet, dirty, sad, confused, frustrated and so were I and my 10-year-old (he deserves a medal for his kindness, help and patience that day!)
I ended up needing supplies for 30 hours and an unexpected hotel stay.
We took hot baths, got the hotel to wash our clothes where the twins' wet diapers had soaked through their outfits and ours...and had room service to dinner just to try to salvage our Christmas weekend.
The next day, we started trying to get home again...it still took 6 hours of waiting in line at the airport carrying 2 twins in our arms (our stroller and car seat had been checked on the first flight and couldn't be retrieved.) Ouch!
Clearly, you can't preplan for every scenario.
If, for example, I had taken enough supplies for young babies for 30 hours, it would require 2 more pieces of rolling luggage to hold it all. And there are no baby supplies sold at the small airport where we were stuck.
We finally made it home, exhausted, frustrated, cynical...with no real lessons learned for next time.
So it's just one of those unforeseen brutal circumstances.
But let's assume that won't be the norm for me or you ever again. I'll just chalk it up to the travel gods having a good laugh.
In normal scenarios with planes and trains, here are some ideas to make your travel EASIER.
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1. Call the airline to see if your car seats will fit.
2. Have a friend drop you off at the airport so you don't have to add the hassle of car parking lots and shuttles.
3. Buy tickets for everyone, even babies, on international flights. You'll be happy to have the extra space for the 7 hours plus of travel.
4. Arrange for car seats at your destination if you don't need them on the plane (children under age 2 must be in a car seat on most airlines.)
5. Bring birth certificates and other emergency information. One of my children has a different last name than me, so I need this just to get through Customs hassle-free.
6. Separate umbrella strollers are easier for each child as you maneuver through security checkpoint and other lines. Check them at the gate.
7. Dress babies and children with airport security in mind. A zippered outfit, socks only so you don't have to tie and untie their shoes, a sweater for chilly airplanes.
8. Allow extra time to move all your group through security.
9. Get the gate staff to help you...they're usually terrific. The same is true onboard the plane.
10. Pack quick meal bags if you get stuck overnight at an airport that is low on food. Better that your children aren't hungry...that adds to their crying and makes your trip harder.
11. Bring earplugs, pacifiers, bottles, cuddle toys. Tether the toys to your stroller so you're not losing them in the airport.
12. Bring a change of clothing per child in case of accidents.
13. Choose the window and middle seats so other passengers aren't brushing past your children and knocking into them.
14. Use stroller connectors to tie up the strollers if you're pushing them alone.
15. Bring aspirin.
I hope you'll have a similar positive experience.
But, until your children can walk and sit up by themselves, it's a real challenge!
Good luck.
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