Traveling to Europe with 18-month-old twins - worried about flight, jetlag, etc...

[Anonymous]

-also traveled w/ my twins when they were very young.
-did not buy extra seats.
-booked bulkhead, that way they can stand and bounce in front of you for part of the trip
-made joke pre-apologizing to people around us when we boarded (I swear, that helped!)
-tell flight attendants when you board it's your first trip with them
-check on the website when you buy tickets that you need extra help. have the cart waiting for you to take you between gates or to baggage claim
-check stroller at gate. i've never had a problem w/ that
-yes, you will have to walk them up and down the aisles when you can. also do some exercises with them on your lap. Try to get as much energy out as possible b/f you board, ignore others and let them go wild in the waiting area
--i've never had to use the 'leash' thing
--read what the parenting sites have to say about flying and ear pain, and follow the advice
--bring brand new toys as distractions

It is not awful. We found it totally doable. I'm sure it varies by kids as obviously each one is different, but although there were surely unpleasant moments it was not anything that would warrant me warning you not to go

[Anonymous]

OP, reserve the bulkheads. If you have two 18 month old lap babies kicking or even accidentally jostling the seats in front of you, the passengers ahead of you are going to quickly lose patience, especially if they are trying to sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, reserve the bulkheads. If you have two 18 month old lap babies kicking or even accidentally jostling the seats in front of you, the passengers ahead of you are going to quickly lose patience, especially if they are trying to sleep.

Yeah, agreed. You can grab your stuff from the bins just after take off - no big deal - and keep it with you. You and your kids will have way more space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, reserve the bulkheads. If you have two 18 month old lap babies kicking or even accidentally jostling the seats in front of you, the passengers ahead of you are going to quickly lose patience, especially if they are trying to sleep.

Yeah, agreed. You can grab your stuff from the bins just after take off - no big deal - and keep it with you. You and your kids will have way more space.

Oh, so the "no carry-on" rule is just for takeoff and landing?

[Anonymous]

Twin mom here. My rec is to try for one bulkhead aisle and the row immediately behind it. That way we had one kid down and playing and one behind on a lap playing with toys. We switched kids when tbey started to fuss, I could pass DH snacks and wipes as needed and the only seat that got kicked was DH's.

[Anonymous]

Yes - you can have your things with you unless you are taking off and landing. Bulkhead is awesome because there is enough room for them to stand and even sit in front of you.

[Anonymous]

I hate the leash thing--but take it because it is far better than losing a child. When you are standing at customs, etc. or using the restroom it might come in handy.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a miserable flight even with the extra seats. Cannot imagine two at that age with no extra seat. And I say this as someone who has been living overseas for 3+ years so have crossed the pond multiple times with little ones.

[Anonymous]

A twin dad. While we did not travel transatlantic, my twins traveled by plane at 11 months, 17 months, 21 months and 2 years (and 2 months, for reference). The first three times they were "lap children" and the last time, because they were too old, we bought seats. For the last flight, we traveled cross country to the west coast and the nonstop flight was 6 hours, so close to transatlantic. Here are some thoughts:

- We stopped using the stroller in the airport. If we bring one, we now baggage check it. When we get to the airport, we get a wheelchair and use that to get us to the gate. Plus, we request of the airline to have a wheelchair at the jetway to meet us after landing. It works much better for us and it's also much easier to get the wheelchair through security than the strollers which had to be folded up and put on the belt through the xray machine.

- Another useful tip I read on-line that helped when we went to the west coast. Starting two nights before the trip, we started to adjust the time they went to sleep by an hour each day and when we arrived, it only took us 2 nights to get them acclimated to the different time zone. The first night was difficult, the second night was moderate and the third night they were back to sleeping through the night and about on the right schedule. While I know that you are going more time zones than we were, but consider starting to gradual change their schedule a few days before you leave and incrementally adjust.

- We have one carry-on that is predominantly children's toys and necessities. In addition to quiet toys, we found the following items to be really, really useful. While stickers are really good, my twins prefer masking tape because they like to peel "stickers" off and reapply. They get frustrated with regular stickers that are one time use only and keep trying to peel them off but they don't stick anymore. So I have four colors of masking tape that are wonderful on plane trips. Easily an hour gone occupying the toddlers. Go to Michaels and they have an entire wall of decorator masking tapes for wrapping packages and such with many colors and designs. Also, the travel aquadoodles are a life safer. My wife has a lot of doctor's appointments and we see a specialist out-of-town and have to bring the twins with us. Aquadoodles have been lifesafers in occupying them in doctor's offices and keeping them out of trouble. And it only uses water which is easy to get for refills. Plus, if they decide to draw on things other than the books, it's only water. Also, Color Wonder markers and pages, again so that if they write on something other than the pages, it doesn't write.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A twin dad. While we did not travel transatlantic, my twins traveled by plane at 11 months, 17 months, 21 months and 2 years (and 2 months, for reference). The first three times they were "lap children" and the last time, because they were too old, we bought seats. For the last flight, we traveled cross country to the west coast and the nonstop flight was 6 hours, so close to transatlantic. Here are some thoughts:

- We stopped using the stroller in the airport. If we bring one, we now baggage check it. When we get to the airport, we get a wheelchair and use that to get us to the gate. Plus, we request of the airline to have a wheelchair at the jetway to meet us after landing. It works much better for us and it's also much easier to get the wheelchair through security than the strollers which had to be folded up and put on the belt through the xray machine.

- Another useful tip I read on-line that helped when we went to the west coast. Starting two nights before the trip, we started to adjust the time they went to sleep by an hour each day and when we arrived, it only took us 2 nights to get them acclimated to the different time zone. The first night was difficult, the second night was moderate and the third night they were back to sleeping through the night and about on the right schedule. While I know that you are going more time zones than we were, but consider starting to gradual change their schedule a few days before you leave and incrementally adjust.

- We have one carry-on that is predominantly children's toys and necessities. In addition to quiet toys, we found the following items to be really, really useful. While stickers are really good, my twins prefer masking tape because they like to peel "stickers" off and reapply. They get frustrated with regular stickers that are one time use only and keep trying to peel them off but they don't stick anymore. So I have four colors of masking tape that are wonderful on plane trips. Easily an hour gone occupying the toddlers. Go to Michaels and they have an entire wall of decorator masking tapes for wrapping packages and such with many colors and designs. Also, the travel aquadoodles are a life safer. My wife has a lot of doctor's appointments and we see a specialist out-of-town and have to bring the twins with us. Aquadoodles have been lifesafers in occupying them in doctor's offices and keeping them out of trouble. And it only uses water which is easy to get for refills. Plus, if they decide to draw on things other than the books, it's only water. Also, Color Wonder markers and pages, again so that if they write on something other than the pages, it doesn't write.

Good luck!

Not the OP, but this was super helpful. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I am appalled by the people who requested wheelchairs. You are trying to carry too much stuff with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A twin dad. While we did not travel transatlantic, my twins traveled by plane at 11 months, 17 months, 21 months and 2 years (and 2 months, for reference). The first three times they were "lap children" and the last time, because they were too old, we bought seats. For the last flight, we traveled cross country to the west coast and the nonstop flight was 6 hours, so close to transatlantic. Here are some thoughts:

- We stopped using the stroller in the airport. If we bring one, we now baggage check it. When we get to the airport, we get a wheelchair and use that to get us to the gate. Plus, we request of the airline to have a wheelchair at the jetway to meet us after landing. It works much better for us and it's also much easier to get the wheelchair through security than the strollers which had to be folded up and put on the belt through the xray machine.

- Another useful tip I read on-line that helped when we went to the west coast. Starting two nights before the trip, we started to adjust the time they went to sleep by an hour each day and when we arrived, it only took us 2 nights to get them acclimated to the different time zone. The first night was difficult, the second night was moderate and the third night they were back to sleeping through the night and about on the right schedule. While I know that you are going more time zones than we were, but consider starting to gradual change their schedule a few days before you leave and incrementally adjust.

- We have one carry-on that is predominantly children's toys and necessities. In addition to quiet toys, we found the following items to be really, really useful. While stickers are really good, my twins prefer masking tape because they like to peel "stickers" off and reapply. They get frustrated with regular stickers that are one time use only and keep trying to peel them off but they don't stick anymore. So I have four colors of masking tape that are wonderful on plane trips. Easily an hour gone occupying the toddlers. Go to Michaels and they have an entire wall of decorator masking tapes for wrapping packages and such with many colors and designs. Also, the travel aquadoodles are a life safer. My wife has a lot of doctor's appointments and we see a specialist out-of-town and have to bring the twins with us. Aquadoodles have been lifesafers in occupying them in doctor's offices and keeping them out of trouble. And it only uses water which is easy to get for refills. Plus, if they decide to draw on things other than the books, it's only water. Also, Color Wonder markers and pages, again so that if they write on something other than the pages, it doesn't write.

Good luck!

OP here - thank you, that's very helpful. So you used the wheelchair instead of the stroller to transport the kids around the airport?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Can anyone tell me what happens to car seats when you gate check them? We are considering bringing one or both car seats on our trip, and I wonder if in the lucky event that the plane won't be full and they will seat us next to an empty seat, we will actually be able to use the car seat we brought, or if by that time it will be gone somewhere in the baggage compartment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Can anyone tell me what happens to car seats when you gate check them? We are considering bringing one or both car seats on our trip, and I wonder if in the lucky event that the plane won't be full and they will seat us next to an empty seat, we will actually be able to use the car seat we brought, or if by that time it will be gone somewhere in the baggage compartment.

Depends on the airport- some places will have you collect them at baggage claim, some will give them to you at the gate. But I certainly wouldn't count on being able to bring it on board in the hope that there's a free seat. I doubt they will let you do that.

ALSO - don't bet on the free seat. There certainly won't be one in the bulkhead, and carriers are increasingly overbooking flights to make sure they get every $$ possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am appalled by the people who requested wheelchairs. You are trying to carry too much stuff with you.

Excuse me, but how do you suggest we carry 2 toddlers, all their food, all their diapers, some toys, changes of clothes, wipes and my own purse when we aren't allowed to use our strollers????
Do you have some arms to spare?

Thought not.