Transatlantic flight with 4 mth old TWINS!

[Anonymous]

Any tips would be very welcome. What to take on board the 7 hour flight, how you dealt with stroller (we are thinking of checking stroller in and carrying both babies in ergos), how you dealt with sleep issues both away and back at home. Babies are on a perfect schedule at home and both STTN. Honestly we almost cancelled when we thought about how disruptive this trip would be to their schedule but we know our families will be too disappointed.
I really would appreciate any advice.
Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

You should be ok. This is the best age to fly transatlantic.

[Anonymous]

We flew on a transatlantic flight with our then 6 month old DS. He was pretty good. The overnight flight was hard as he didn't sleep the whole time. We pretty much walked and bounced him the whole flight. Hopefully you can get the bulkhead row as that gives you a lot more room to stand up and bounce.

[Anonymous]

Considering how weak is a baby's immune system and how many things they will be exposed to during the 7 hour flight I would have no problem
to dissapoint the family. Babies might catch much more then just a flight. People travel with babies all the time, babies get sick on the plains all the time as well.
Not even getting into the whole discussion of ear infection and possibility of deafness in young babies due to the air flights resulted from a preassure build up.
Babies have no ways of depressurizing their system as older kids do. Some suggest nursing or having them to drink from a bottle as a preventive meassures
but just be aware that there are issues that might spring from the flight.. all kinds of issues. Btw.. do check what kind of deseases are in the area you ar flying to..
there are countries where Polio, Tuberculosis and other things are in swing and your babies probably have no immunity to. Furthermore - the level of UV radiation on the plain is far greater then on the ground and almost equal to X ray exposure. You might want to reasearch all things before you decide. Again, many people do take babies on the flight but most would take them only for emergency reasons or relocation purposes with no other option to travel.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and turbulences. They mgiht be quite violent at times. Aside from being hit by something that drops from the overhead compartment there is always a chance for other internal head injury similar to shaken baby syndromme.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering how weak is a baby's immune system and how many things they will be exposed to during the 7 hour flight I would have no problem
to dissapoint the family. Babies might catch much more then just a flight. People travel with babies all the time, babies get sick on the plains all the time as well.
Not even getting into the whole discussion of ear infection and possibility of deafness in young babies due to the air flights resulted from a preassure build up.
Babies have no ways of depressurizing their system as older kids do. Some suggest nursing or having them to drink from a bottle as a preventive meassures
but just be aware that there are issues that might spring from the flight.. all kinds of issues. Btw.. do check what kind of deseases are in the area you ar flying to..
there are countries where Polio, Tuberculosis and other things are in swing and your babies probably have no immunity to. Furthermore - the level of UV radiation on the plain is far greater then on the ground and almost equal to X ray exposure. You might want to reasearch all things before you decide. Again, many people do take babies on the flight but most would take them only for emergency reasons or relocation purposes with no other option to travel.

Wow, way to be a downer! OP was asking for advice, not for reasons why she shouldn't do it.

I suggest getting bassinets for them on the plane. We flew to Italy with our then 17 mo and sat next to a family that had a 3 mo with them. Granted, they only had one, but having the bassinet was great because the baby was able to lie down to sleep and mom and dad were able to sleep some without holding the baby. Definitely nurse/give bottles during take off and landing because swallowing will help relieve pressure in the ears. As far as sleep schedule, I found with my 17 month old who was still taking two naps a day it wasn't so bad. Because the are used to sleeping during the day anyway, the time change isn't as hard on them. Try to stick to your schedule but according to the new time. It will be a little bit of adjustment but hopefully it won't be terrible. We went traveled overseas last Christmas to see my family and there was a 12 hour time difference but DD handled it really well. Good luck and have a good trip!