Traveling to Florida with 14 month olds

Hello all,

I know this question has been posted many many times, but I tried to search and came up empty.

We are planning a trip to Florida with the babies. This will be their first flight and it's about 4 hours. We have purchase one seat on the plane for a car seat and one on lap.

My questions are:
We will be able to site next to each other in this scenario right?

How do I know I can Gate Check the other car seat and the stroller.

How do I keep them entertained on the plane?

Do you recommend two cheap umbrella strollers over my sbs combi? The umbrella strollers don't recline right?

What do I need on the plane?

I'm really freaking out about this, so any advice is appreciated.

I'm sure I have more, just can't think of them right now.

TIA

 

I have not traveled yet with my twins on a plane, so those questions I did not answer. I wish you all the best! When we drove out to Michigan, we purchased two umbrella strollers from BRU, they do not recline but they did not take up a lot of room in the car and were light enough to carry around. I would recommend them as they worked out great for us.
Good luck on your trip and have a fabulous time!

 

Call the airline about the seating arrangements and gate check procedures. In my experience on NWA you would be able to all sit together (4 airmasks per 3 seat row), and we've always been able to gate check the strollers without a problem. But call just to be sure.

Honestly I'd bring your double stroller since the kiddos will be more comfy in it. I'm a short person (5'1") and pushing the single umbrella stroller was hard on my back... I can't imagine average height people hunched over.

As for entertainment on the plane- new toys, favorite loveys, new books (I got puppet books and they were a huge hit!), snacks, sippies, patience and a sense of humor. Its only 4 hours out of everyone's lives. We've flown with our girls many times and the most difficult was at 14 months. They wanted to get down and walk around (don't let them!!!), they didn't have the attention span to watch a movie (but you can try to bring a dvd player if you think they'll watch), and they were just squirmy. However, we survived and so will you!

Oh and some practical things for the plane- change diapers right before boarding. If they let you preboard, consider having one of you go in and set up the carseat and deal with the carry-ons, while the other hangs out with the kiddos. They less time on the plane the better. Be the last on the plane with them! Bring a change of clothes for them and also a clean shirt for you just in case (I speak from experience here). Gl!!!

 

QUOTE(San12 @ Jun 29 2009, 05:28 AM) [snapback]1373378[/snapback]
My questions are:
We will be able to site next to each other in this scenario right? Yes! The infant seat will have to go in the middle seat or the window seat. It cant be on the aisle but since you purchased the 4 of you can sit together, That was a smart move!
How do I know I can Gate Check the other car seat and the stroller.

How do I keep them entertained on the plane? You buy a few new toys before you go. Books etc and bring them out as the plane ride progresses. You also pack alot of snacks. If your kids will watch any videos etc now is the time to let them watch

Do you recommend two cheap umbrella strollers over my sbs combi? The umbrella strollers don't recline right? Take your regular stroller, its what you & they are comfortable with. No sense in spending more money on something else.

What do I need on the plane? Patience and a big smile ! Kids will be kids. Make sure you have something for them to drink/suck on for takeoff and landing.


TIA


We've flown with our kids 3-5x by now. The biggest thing is to allow yourself extra time, and dont get stressed. Go with the flow. Kids are going to be kids and you can only do so much. The kids will feed off your stress if its there. You're going to do great if you go with the right attitude! Have a fun time!

 

We just got back from our 1st flight (though I flew with the boys alone!) I second the check with your particular airline on seating arrangements. On the plane we were on we would have been able to all sit on a row. Their only limit was 1 lap baby per row due to oxygen masks. Also check with your airline on gate check items. Ours would let us gate check one additional item (stoller, car seat, etc.) per paid seat.

As for entertainment we took new books - their favorite thing of all time, and a handful of other small non rolling toys, as well as a DVD player. We got really lucky - both kids played for about an hour and then slept the rest of the flight.

As for stollers I would probably prefer to have a single double stroller, but I would be a little hesitant to have the airline toss my nice double around. We took a fairly inexpensive double umbrella like stroller instead. But I also probably wouldn't buy anything just for the flight.

As someone else mentioned it worked really well for us for one person to cart all the luggage, gate check items, car seats etc. on to the plane, and get it all stowed, installed and checked while someone else stayed with the kids outside until the very last minute. Luckily my husband was able to come to the gate with us to entertain the kids while I got everything settled as the flight attendants were absolutely no help. Then I boarded the plane with the babies. I wasn't even strapped in when the plane started taxiing (again, thanks flight attendants... ). So we didn't sit for a long time doing absolutely nothing. They were able to look out the window and watch other planes and the scenery as we took off kinda like in the car.

As for what else to take? Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. You will want to give them something to suck on during landing especially to help them clear their ears. We took straw sippes with water that worked really well. I didn't let them drink between breakfast and when we took off so they were thirsty on the way down. An on our return flight when they started fussing I offered them food - always a hit.

The trip was really pretty uneventful. There was very little fussing. When we were packing to get off one of the other passengers commented that she didn't even know we were behind them because the kids were so quiet.

Leave yourself plenty of extra time to get through security, everyone including the babies will have to take off their shoes so think slip ons. Strollers and car seats have to go on the belt if they will fit. Kids tend to come with lots of liquids, too (diaper cream, the special diaper cream, oragel, saline for noses, etc.) so don't forget to get all those out and have them a ziploc to get through security. Ours also didn't let us take sippies pre-filled (unless they had milk). So we filled them on the other side.

That's about all I can think of. Be patient - it will probably be a zoo. A little sense of humor will go a long way, too. Good luck!

 

I agree with the PP's. One thing I did was pack a diaper bag for each baby. Inside I had supplies separated into gallon sized ziploc bags. One bag was bibs, spoons, snacks. The other was diapers, wipes, disposable changing pad, another had change of clothes. So if it was time to eat, you just had to grab that one bag, not try to go shuffling under the seat, around the car seat while baby pulls your hair. Same with a diaper change. It also kept things dry in case of a spill.

I'm not a huge germ phobe but planes gross me out. So I carry antibacterial wipes and wipe down everything baby might touch. The tray both sides, arm rests, seat belts, buckles etc.

GL with your trip!

 

we just got back from a great plane trip - our first! It was really good! Our trip was only 2 hrs.

on Southwest you can gate check carseats and a stroller or other baby item. we were also able swap out one of our baggage allowances for 2 baby items - like a Pack n Play etc. you should just call and check with the airline, they will explain lots on the phone. Also check out the website.

You need to tell the airline that you will have the 1 lapchild ahead of time.

Also, with Southwest they assume if you have a lapchild booked that if there is extra room you will be allowed to bring their carseat on and use the extra seat... in which case you wouldn't be able to sit together...

I tried to pack 2 separate snack bags etc. b/c we were going to be sitting separately. But I like the pp idea of packing things in gallon ziplock bags.

Ours didn't have any issues with their ears popping... so that was lucky.

Good luck, hopefully you trip is awesome! and I hope you enjoy our very hot & sunny & rainy land here in Florida!

 

No advice, except one request. Please don't let your lap child kick the seat back of the person in front of you. I had to tell the lady behind me 3 times (overseas!) and thank God the kid fell asleep finally.

 

You have had lots of great suggestions from others! The one thing I wanted to add is that it's best to travel at a time when they would normally be happy (after a nap, etc.) and to ensure they are properly fed. If they get overtired or overly hungry, it will spell disaster. We flew at 13 months and made the mistake of thinking that they would sleep overnight on a red eye, and that didn't happen - they screamed hysterically the ENTIRE 4-hour flight. On the return flight, we flew first thing in the morning after they woke up, and they did much better (though still very fussy).

Good luck - let us know how it goes!!