Am I Crazy?

The army is sending my DH to school for five weeks this summer. This is actually a wonderful blessing because his school is where ALL my family lives, so the plan is for us all to go. For many reasons, we have decided the best way to do this is for DH to drive (Florida to Arizona) with DS and for me to fly with the twins.

So, it looks like at the end of May I will be flying from Tampa to Tucson alone with the girls. They will be 7 months old. I am buying two seats, one for me and one for the girls, so one can be in the seat and I will hold the other, switching as necessary. I won't have much luggage since DH can bring it in the car.

Tips / advice? What is the best way to do this with strollers / car seats?

 

Nicole, I am still thinking about what you can do and I even got DH working on the logistics. Hopefully you can get some great replies of people who have BTDT. You know I can help you anyway I can! Let me know!

 

You're not going to like me after this, but I heard they won't let you fly w/ 2 infants and 1 adult. I hope I heard wrong! You can come to my house and we'll set up a mock airport. We'll practice!

 

I am glad you asked this. I am thinking about flying from Pennsylvania to San Diego with 6-7 month old twins solo. I would love to read the advice you get.

 

Definitely confirm with the airlines about flying with two babies alone. The other thing the car seat will need to be in the window seat (can't be blocking anyone) and you will have to sit with the other girl in the middle seat. Hopefully your flight won't be full so maybe you can have the whole row. If they still fit in infant seats, bring the sng and gate check it. Consider wearing one baby in a carrier though. Also see if you can have help with you in either side of the trip in the gate area. Change diapers before boarding and hope there aren't any delays. If I were you, I'd see if there was someone who can fly with you. We flew with the girls at 5 and 8 months and even though it was two of us, Dh and I were still exhausted by the end. GL!

 

QUOTE(mommymeg @ Mar 18 2008, 10:32 AM) [snapback]674482[/snapback]
You're not going to like me after this, but I heard they won't let you fly w/ 2 infants and 1 adult. I hope I heard wrong! You can come to my house and we'll set up a mock airport. We'll practice!


I double checked on the American Airlines website (our airline) and they have a two infant limit per adult, you just have to buy at least one infant a seat, so we're good :good:!

Thanks for the offer to practice!

 

United only allows one infant per adult. And to answer your question...yes, you're crazy! But, I'm crazy too and I'd probably do the same.

 

Book yourself the aisle seat and the baby the window, if you can. It's much easier to persuade someone to move from the middle seat to an aisle somewhere else if the flight's not full! Otherwise, pray for a grandparent in the seat next to you, because you will need someone to hold the baby while you're transferring into the car seat.

Practicing in tight quarters would be a great idea!

 

I just wanted to say--you are one cool mom!! :a_smil09:

I've been getting the travel bug lately, and as much as I wouldn't exchange my two for the world, I am a little envious of moms of single babies that can plop one in their lap and fly.

 

I would do it only if I could bring two carseats and gate check the double stroller. It would be too much stress trying to hold one baby while caring for the other. I just flew with one infant holding him the entire time and it was tough enough let alone trying to care for another. Do yourself a favor, but another seat and strap them both in the carseats. If you need to take one out, you can, but you won't be juggling them. I know it's a pain to pay the extra money, but it would be worth it. Good Luck!

 

I Would call your airline and make sure its ok to put two infants in the same row, cause i just flew from alaska to florida week ago and they had to switch our seats cause u cant have two infants in the same row, so i would call and make sure its ok...and it was very hard on me and my mil and my twins are 4months the first part was alil diffucult cause my daughter was so tired and fussy but once she fall asleep it was smooth sailing and my son did an awesome job on the whole ride..

 

Well, you might be a little crazy! All joking aside, I've done it twice, it wasn't easy and I was exhausted but you can do it! The first time I did it, I flew from LA to Seattle, the boys were almost 9 months and the second time was LA to Seattle (shorter flight than yours) and their were just about 11 months. Here is what we did:

-had two seats, one baby in car seat, one in my lap
-had DH get a gate pass to go through security with me in LA(this is a MUST, you have to carry your babies through security and put the stroller through the xray, so you need help!!) and had a gate pass waiting for a family member in Seattle to meet. When you check in, ask the airline to do this, they will take the name of the person meeting you and issue a pass they can pick up at the check in counter at your destination. having someone at the gate when you get off the plane really helps, since you'll probably have to change diapers, feed, etc., etc.
-we kept the stroller with us and gate checked it, for getting on the plane, I had one baby in the baby bjorn sling and one in the infant seat, plus diaper bag on my shoulder...start building those biceps!
-if you can, find a flight that is around their nap time
-have bottles ready and pop them in their mouths as you are taking off, helps with the ears
-my boys were a little older and were eating cheerios and puffs, so I had a bag full ready to go and that kept them happy
-take help from strangers! on our first flight, both boys were crying and a nice older lady took Nicholas and walked up and down the aisle until he fell asleep on her shoulder so I could comfort Jackson and get him to sleep.
-have a bottle of water and snack for yourself in the diaper bag because you will likely not get a chance to eat, drink or pee during the flight!

Good luck!

 

QUOTE(Stephanie27 @ Mar 18 2008, 01:32 PM) [snapback]674863[/snapback]
I Would call your airline and make sure its ok to put two infants in the same row, cause i just flew from alaska to florida week ago and they had to switch our seats cause u cant have two infants in the same row, so i would call and make sure its ok...



My understanding of this is that airlines only have one extra oxygen mask per row, but if you are buying a seat, that seat has an oxygen mask and holding the second baby - that baby gets the EXTRA one. So, if you are buying two seats, and holding one baby, you should be ok as far as this goes. When my DH and I have flown, we've had to sit in different sections - just across from each other or in front and back of each other. But when the plane was almost empty, there were three seats and we could sit there with all four of us because of the one extra mask - does that make sense?

Good luck. The pp had some great suggestions - I think the biggest is have someone help you through security, because I really don't know how you would do it alone.

Erica.

 

QUOTE
When my DH and I have flown, we've had to sit in different sections - just across from each other or in front and back of each other. But when the plane was almost empty, there were three seats and we could sit there with all four of us because of the one extra mask - does that make sense?


I think most airlines have this sort of policy and issue with the O2 masks, because we had to do the same thing when DH and I have flown together with our boys. We usually try to get seats directly in front/behind each other so we can pass toys, snacks, wipes, books, etc back and forth with ease.

 

If you are crazy, so am I! I am flying alone with my boys in June when they will be 8 months old. Like you, I have a seat for myself and one seat for one car seat.

United does NOT only allow one infant per adult, because we already have our tickets and are flying United. It's that they only allow one LAP infant per adult. And as for how many babies in a row, again, it's one LAP child per row because there is only one extra O2 mask per row. A child with a seat is fine because the seat has its own mask.

I figure I do stuff alone with my boys and 4.5 year old all of the time, flying shouldn't be much different. Hectic, but manageable.