Cross-Country Travel with Infant Twins

In June, we’re going to a wedding on the East Coast. The farthest that Eleanor and Miranda have traveled from their place of birth is 40 miles, so 3000 miles will be quite a challenge. I searched all over the Internet for information on traveling with twins, but there wasn’t anything very helpful, so we’re just going to have to play it by ear. Just like the blog entry I wrote during the pregnancy about what to bring to the hospital, this is a list of what we’re going to bring for airplane travel, which we will revisit after the whole trip to see how many mistakes we made.

Booking the flight:

1. Daytime flights only, arriving at a reasonable evening time, no red-eyes.
2. Four seats. Two for us, two for their car seats. Airlines allow infants to not have a seat, which means they sit in their parent’s lap the whole flight, but since Bernard and I would like to eat and go to the bathroom, we bought four seats.
3. Car seats cannot block anyone’s access to the aisle. This means that they need to be in the innermost seat. Because we’re flying an airplane that has three seats on each side and the aisle in between, the seating arrangement has to be baby, baby, parent, aisle, parent. We could have done baby at the window and parent in the middle and get two rows one behind the other, but given the number of times we’ll be getting up, we’d feel very sorry for the people in the aisle seats next to us.

Getting onto the plane:

1. If the kids still fit into their infant car seats, we’ll bring them in the car seats in the Double Snap-n-Go, then Bernard and I will each have a duffel and a backpack. Then we’ll check the Snap-n-Go at the gate and carry them in their infant car seats onto the plane. Easy.
2. If they don’t fit in their infant car seats, we’ll have to bring the Britax Marathon, which is the Barcalounger of all car seats. We’ll put both Marathons, the duffel bags, and our backpacks onto a luggage cart and wear the kids on our backs. Then, after we check in the duffel bags, we’ll have to figure out someway to bring two Marathons, the kids, and our backpacks to the gate and onto the plane. I have no idea how we’re going to do this. And I have a sinking feeling that Eleanor is already past the 21 pound, 27 inch weight and height limit of the Snugride. Any suggestions?

Sleeping on the plane:

This is going to be hell. We’ve succesfully trained our kids to sleep only in the cribs, not the swing, stroller, car seat, or in our arms. Now we’re going on a six-hour flight where the only choice for their naps will be their car seats or our laps. We’ll bring their blankets and stuffed animals from home to give them something familiar. And we’re considering handing out free earplugs for the nearby passengers, given the amount of crying and fussing I’m expecting. Or slip the kids a little Benadryl–bad mom!

Eating on the plane:

1. Four bottles
2. Four bottles worth of ready-to-feed formula. This will be easier than bottles in a cooler, which we’d have to find some way to warm.
3. Cheerios
4. Baby food. Given how messy the kids are at mealtime, the idea of feeding them on the plane makes me laugh. Maybe they’ll be better at finger foods by June, and we won’t have to bring all the pureed stuff. Then we can bring tupperware containers of pasta, veggies, bits of chicken etc. But then we’ll need a cooler anyway. Sigh. Maybe we can consider those Gerber “Graduates”–sealed packets of finger foods which look kind of gross.
5. Spoons
6. Baby cups for their water

Entertaining them on the plane:

The ideal distraction is something that they like playing with that is quiet. So no singing or music toy that repeats itself over and over. So far, we’ve come up with toilet paper roll, paper towels, straps made of webbing–they love putting these everyday items in their mouths.

Diapers and clean-up on the airplane:

1. Plenty of diapers and wipes
2. Burp-cloths
3. Bibs
4. Lots of Purell hand-sanitizer
5. Bottles of water to wipe their faces
6. Two extra outfits each for food, spit-up, and poop accidents
7. Portable changing pad
8. Plastic bags

Sleeping in the hotel:

1. We’ve arranged to have two cribs at the hotel.
2. We’re bringing their “Ultimate Crib Sheets” because that’s what they’re used to sleeping on and they’re waterproof, thus protecting the hotel crib mattresses from any “accidents”.
3. Their sleeping buddies from home. The duck for Miranda and the bunny for Eleanor.
4. Their Hello Kitty blankets from home
5. Earplugs for me since they’ve been sleeping in their own room since two months of age, and I’m used to not hearing all the noises they make while sleeping.

This is what their duck and bunny look like on their Hello Kitty blanket. Miranda’s is on the left; Eleanor’s is on the right.

Clothes etc.:

1. Jackets
2. Hats
3. Undershirts and onesies
4. Fancy dresses for the wedding–I really don’t feel like going shopping for these dresses which they’re only going to wear once, but I guess they can’t go to the wedding in jeans.
5. Jeans and other pants
6. Shirts
7. Shorts? Will it be that warm?
8. Shoes
9. Socks
10. Sleepers

Other supplies:

1. Bottle brush
2. Dish detergent
3. Ziploc bags
4. Quilted multi-use pads
5. Desitin
6. Aquaphor
7. Baby comb
8. Baby shampoo
9. Baby washcloths
10. ERGO baby carrier
11. Baby nail clippers
12. Log sheets–yes, we still track every bottle and every poop
13. Sunscreen
14. Insect repellent
15. Secure-me-seat

Stuff we’ll end up buying there:

1. More diapers and wipes
2. More ready-to-feed formula
3. More baby food in general