Tell me if I'm crazy

My 20-year high school reunion is in August - at home in cool Oregon instead of muggy DC - and I'm torn. The idea of flying with these guys is scaring me. They definitely NEED to move around now, and they're very capable of communicating that need...loudly

We would likely travel one direction in the evening/night, but I don't think we can afford two extra seats for their carseats, and I'm not sure about carrying 22 to 25 lbs of baby on my lap for 5 hours even if they do actually sleep.

On the other hand, they always have a great time at Grandma's house and DH is looking forward to a little west coast weather in August....

So, horror stories? Or do you think it's doable?

 

Personally, I'd only do it if I could strap them in their carseats. They'd be more comfortable and possibly sleep. At that age, if they were in my lap they were trying to get down. If they were in their carseats, they knew they were stuck there until we unbuckled them. If it's lap babies or don't go, I'd probably still go and just hope for the best. Have fun!

 

Honestly? I think you'd be crazy to do it if you have to carry them on your lap. They will squirm and probably not be able to sleep. That means you'll end up entertaining sleepy cranky babies for the full five hours.

If you can afford seats for everyone, though, I would think it could be completely do-able. Bring some brand new toys they've never seen before and maybe even a portable DVD player with a colorful movie to hold their attention.

My favorite cheap airplane toy is plastic toothbrush holders. My girls will pull the two halves apart and put them back together for 30 minutes at a time.

 

I've done it to CO by myself with mine. Try to book the bulkhead so that you have a little extra room for them to play. I laid a blanket down and put toys on the floor for them to play with. Also, when you book your seats, book the aisle and window seat with the middle seat empty. Hopefully it will stay empty and you'll get a "free" extra seat or that person will want to move to another empty seat. You can also ask for a row with an empty seat at the gate if the flight isn't full. Good luck and enjoy your reunion. My sister lives in Corvallis, OR. I'd love to go out there for a visit. She says it's beautiful

 

I think you can do it!! If you can afford 1 extra seat you'll have plenty of space - otherwise travel when it's "off" times and you may get lucky to get extra seats anyhow. (That's how we managed Hawaii with 2 20 month olds!!)

GO ENJOY!!!!

 

If you are crazy, then so am I! :huh: We went last year to Serbia and the kids were 12 months old at the time. It took us 24 hours from our house here to our house there. It was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. Like the others said, an extra seat was great for us since we didn't get them their own seat. Plus if you can, getting them their own seat and having them sit in their carseats works wonders {so I've heard}. Ours "sat" on our lap, but we did alot of aisle walking and they were allowed to play on the floor {we got the front seats so there was lots of room} and we took toys with us and I'm alive to tell about it. :lol:

Good luck!!

 

I vote for crazy IF you do it while holding them on your laps. 8P

We flew from DC to Upper Michigan ( 2 flights, each around 1 1/2 hrs) in May (just after the girls turned one) and did NOT buy them seats and it was horrible. The planes were FULL, so no extra seats, the girls were squirmy (like trying to bathe a cat!), and didn't sleep at all. I so wish we had just spent the money to buy them seats.

That being said - if you do it without seats and aren't opposed to sugar - bring lollipops! They were our saving grace. The girls refused to nurse or drink from a sippy on the descent on the way there and we had ear pain screams. But, on the way back we gave them lollipops and they loved them. Sure,they (and us) were a sugary syrupy mess, but the girls were quiet!

Thankfully, most people see you have two and are very courteous and helpful on the plane (I ended up sitting next to someone whose granddaughter had triplets!), but still, I wish we had had seats for them.

 

Another thought... in the past, it was really common to get an empty middle seat if you booked the aisle and the window. I travel a lot for work and I've noticed in the past few months that there are rarely empty seats on planes anymore. Airlines are cancelling so many flights due to the rising costs, that it's no longer a safe bet to count on getting an emtpy seat so you can spread out.

 

We just went to LA from Miami with 13 month olds. We purchased one extra seat and we managed to get naps out of both of them, both ways. One napped in the car seat and the other in our laps. I wouldn't do the trip with 2 lap children. It was doable with one lap child and one car seat tho. We read the Sky Mall catalog a lot -- looking for pictures of teeth and then for eyes and the picking out all the dogs. Same way with colors. It kept them interested.

My one other piece of advice is that I think it helps a lot to introduce yourself to the row in front of you and tell them you'll try to keep things down to a dull roar and that if the kids are bothering you, please let me know. People always say "oh no...I had kids too" or something like that...and I say to them...well you say that now, but after 3 or 5 hours of flying you might feel differently! I think it helps to keep them from getting too upset with the children.

Good luck to you!

Sotto

 

I would probably only do it with seats for both babies, plus carseats. I honestly can't even fathom two lap babies at this age....or any age, LOL.

So, start looking for deals, off-peak times, etc. -- and if you absolutely can't afford seats for them, then I'd try to book the bulkhead seats, so they can at least play on the floor. (As long as the extra person in the row moved somewhere else, I guess.)

Good luck! I would hate to miss my 20-year reunion, so I hope you figure something out!


ETA -- a friend of mine has 5-year-old twins and a 3-year-old, and they've flown often. She always brings a big box of chocolates for the plane, and offers them to everyone sitting around them -- and apologizes in advance for any bad behavior, LOL. I think that's brilliant!

 

If you're crazy, then so am I. :8714bumper:
I'll be attempting a 5 hour flight this August - from Southern CA to NJ. I have no idea what to expect. The airline has assigned separate rows for my DH and I - since we have one kid assigned to each of us, they said we can't sit together not even on the same row.

 

If you are crazy then we should be institutionalized! We are not only flying from CO to CT next week but we are flying from CO to Spain (15 hours) in September!

Seriously - what is the worst that could happen? Yes, the flight might be a nightmare but you will eventually land so it won't last forever. I say go for it. If you can swing an extra seat great, but if not you should still go.

My new way to view things is that if Jon and Kate can do it (fly, shop, have fun, etc.) with 8 kids we can certainly do it with 2!

Gook luck with your decision!

 

QUOTE(Hillybean @ Jun 20 2008, 08:35 PM) [snapback]837316[/snapback]
If you are crazy then we should be institutionalized! We are not only flying from CO to CT next week but we are flying from CO to Spain (15 hours) in September!

Seriously - what is the worst that could happen? Yes, the flight might be a nightmare but you will eventually land so it won't last forever. I say go for it. If you can swing an extra seat great, but if not you should still go.

My new way to view things is that if Jon and Kate can do it (fly, shop, have fun, etc.) with 8 kids we can certainly do it with 2!

Gook luck with your decision!


I've done 5 hours by myself with toddlers, and last year we did 11 hours (LA - London) by ourselves. As a previous poster said - I always figure I'll forget about a difficult flight and the travel is always worth it. But really, flying hasn't been that miserable. I actually prefer the back of the plane, since you can stand and walk around in the back. If you're in the front and there are serving carts in the aisles blocking your way to the back, you're stuck in your seat because you're not allowed to stand in front of the plane anymore. Also, I would buy just one extra seat - that way the four of you have the row to yourselves. You'll have to have one car seat at the window, then the other three of you can lift your arm rests (something you can't do if you're in the bulkhead) and have the other toddler between you during the flight.

Best,
Mia

 

I was too chicken (and too poor) to try anything like that at that age -- we still are, really -- but I agree that it is doable if they have their own seats. After mine started walking, I couldn't hold them on my lap for even 15-20 minutes if they did not want to be held. I can't imagine doing it for 5 hours.

That's a good point about being in the back of the plane, though. And if you are pretty sure the rest of the trip (other than the actual travel) will be good, it's probably worth whatever might happen for those 10 hours.

 

Such great advice here! Thank you. I should have said that we've done this trip before, at 2 months and 6 months. Both of those were surprisingly easy, but both times we used miles to get one extra seat for the boys. If we do it, we'll try to get at least that one extra seat again, but will have to weigh a fourth seat against being split up into two rows...if only they still used that big trans-Pacific 777 for this route...

LOVE the idea of chocolates and apologies in advance for everyone around. I think I'll be using that tip for years to come.

 

We did it at Xmas (boston to CA) when mine were 15 months and it was HORRIBLE. We flew at night too thinking they'd sleep, AND we got an extra seat (3 seats for 4 of us). AND I brought new toys and new snacks. Sadly none of it worked either way.
It was AWFUL. They were AWFUL. They just wanted to run up and down the aisle and grab everything off everyone else's trays. They grabbed iPods, DVD's, knocked a drink on someone's lap, etc. The flight attendants were awesome, but my kids were the worst. And they didn't sleep. We swore they are not getting on a plane until they at 18 yrs old. Seriously.

I honestly think that it depends on the kids. Some are GREAT; some not. I think mine are the worst ever. I am sure yours will be better!