Have you attempted to venture outside of the city with your multiples yet? If you are worried about it being too difficult and not worth the effort, you might be in for a nice surprise.
Before motherhood I worked in travel for many years, but once I had my twins I didn’t even leave the borough–let alone the city or state–for a few months. But before I knew it, the travel bug crept back in and I needed some hot sun and sandy beaches. —
We booked some seats on a Jet Blue flight to Ft. Lauderdale–and then I started to panic. What if the kids didn’t sleep? How much sunscreen should I bring? Should I buy it here or there? Did I book the right seats on the plane? Did I book the right time? What if they cried the whole way? OMG, I was stressed out.
So, I made lists. Lists are a mother of multiples’ best friend…beside a glass of Merlot, of course. I made lists for what I needed to pack, what I needed to take on the plane with me and what equipment I needed to get when I got there.
Thank goodness for the moms of the Manhattan Twins Club–those ladies hooked me up! The ones that had just returned from trips told me what they wish they had done, what they forgot and how to best be prepared. A few of the awesome tips that stayed with me are:
1. Consider the time of day when you travel. If your twinnies are on a schedule, try to book the flight during a time when they nap. There is a good chance that if you are airborne during their nap time they might just fall asleep like normal!
2. Board last! Yes, I know that pre-boarding is geared toward families with small children, but think about this: if you pre-board, that is a heck of a long time to be sitting in your seats. If you have infants, then it’s not the worst idea, but if you have toddlers, letting them run around as long as possible in the gate area will tire them out all the more and give them a chance to rest during the flight.
3. Pack a small zip-lock bag with essential supplies for each kid. Instead of having to lug one giant diaper bag into a small airplane restroom along with your child, pack each kid’s clothing/diapers/wipes into a small zip-lock that you can pull out of the main diaper or travel bag.
4. How many seats do you book? Well how many can you afford? In a perfect world everyone would have their own seat, but if money is an issue, get at least one extra. Having a home base for at least one kid could make the difference between a bad flight and a good one. Taking at least one car seat on-board with you will allow you or your partner (that is if there are two of you flying) to be hands-free to do things like go to the bathroom alone, for example.
5. If you need equipment when you get there… If your hotel doesn’t have pack n’ plays or cribs, you might want to look into a baby equipment rental place or, my personal favorite, find a mother of multiples in the area and see if she will lend you what you need. To find moms in the area where you are traveling, to go to Twiniversity.com and you can sort our members by state. You can reach out to them directly or even call the local multiples club in that area. Many times members from the Manhattan Twins Club have helped moms from out of state. That’s just how we roll!
For more tips and information: There are so many tips and tricks to traveling with your twinnies in tow that there could be a whole book dedicated just to this subject. As a matter of fact, there is a whole section of our Twiniversity 201 class called “Traveling with the Circus.” We discuss plane, train, bus and taxi travel. For more information on our classes, visit our site. Also, our active forums list dozens of discussions on this topic, so check it out.
