Need Travel Tips for 17 Month TWINS

What do your twins sleep in at home? If possible, replicate that on your trip, at your family's home.
If they've never slept in cribs now, they won't there.
Why not try the tents again?
OR, simply put a mattress on the floor of your room where you will be sleeping (or in the room the twins will be sleeping) and have them sleep on that. Meanwhile, making the room "kid safe" so they don't get hurt or break anything.

I would get 4 seats...unless, you can imagine having 1 child on your lap for the whole trip. How many hours is your flight?
Keeping in mind, that a child can't just be cruising around on the plane... AND if the seat-belt signs are on for most of the trip...well, your kids HAVE TO be seated.

When on your trip... I STRONGLY advise that you try to keep to your twins "schedules" just as back home...ie: nap times, bed times, etc. OTHERWISE... when you come back home, you may have a problem and your kids won't sleep the same way, the same times, again. This happens many times with babies or young children. SO... try to keep things routine in that sense. Or, you may/will have to get them back on "schedule" or back onto their usual routines... once you get back home. And it isn't always easy to do that. Keep that in mind.

At this age, just have them sip on something, or chew on something at take off. They are older now... so it should not be AS bad for them. If not at all. Or, ask your Pediatrician.

HOPEFULLY, if the flight is at their usual nap times or bed times... then perhaps they will sleep on the flight. If not, well it will take concerted efforts to entertain them... keep them busy. Talk with them prior, and tell them you are going on an airplane, how to act etc. They are young and may not understand like a 5 year old would...but you never know... some kids once on a plane, will behave well. Unlike at home. My friend's kids are that way.

Bring their favorite toys, their lovey's, their comfort things, books, all the usual. Play-doh is a nice quiet activity, paper and crayons.

Also make sure your kids are fed beforehand... some kids get real fussy when hungry. My daughter is that way. And bring snacks on the plane with you.

Make sure you visit the TSA website, so you know what you can/cannot pack on the carry on bags. www.tsa.gov

good luck,
Susan

Purchase 2 Kiddie Kangaroos, soft pocket travel systems for the twins to use on their car seats, strollers etc. giving each of them a place to store their stuff while traveling. Put a little surprise each day in one of the pockets. Your babies can store their sippy cups, snack packs and toys in the pockets and retreive them as they wish. Also allows you and Dad to keep your eyes on the road while in a strange new area as you don't need to retrieve their things off of the floor. Go to www.kiddiekangaroo.com for a store near you or puchase online and hurry! Nana

Hi J.,

Good luck with the trip! I have only had to travel with one child but hopefully this helps.

I would always buy a seat for my son. I think you are better off with seats for both your sons so you can put them down after take off. My son ALWAYS fell asleep as soon as the plane took off... hopefully you'll have the same luck. We usually fly from CA to NY so TX is about 1/2 that trip so maybe they will sleep most of the trip. My son would sleep 2 or 3 hours sometimes.

Check out the configuration of the plane. If it is 3 and 3 or 2, 3, 2 - you may have to split up as 2 and 2. If you are in a plane that has 5 seats across the middle, try to get 4 together.

I have never traveled with a car seat on the airplane. I always have someone on the other side pick me up with a seat or I rent a car with a seat for my son. You can rent a minivan or SUV if you need more room but you can fit 2 car seats in a large or premium car. My mother gets 2 in the back of her car for my son and my niece and my bigger niece sits in the middle. We do check the stroller at the gate though so it's waiting for you when you land.

I would always change my son's diaper just before we boarded the plane so we would hopefully only have to do one change on the plane.

Bring lots of books, snacks, and small toys that can't get lost easily. And bring extra antibacterial wipes for cleaning up the toys they drop, etc. Just because your sons don't watch TV or DVDs at home doesn't mean they won't do it on the airplane. The DVD player is a lifesaver. They may be interested in it if it is not something they do at home - especially if it is a DVD of a favorite character like Mickey Mouse.

Your sons can drink water from a sippy cup for take off and landing to help their ears. As long as they are swallowing their ears should be fine. Sometimes a little benedryl helps too.

Hope this helps! Have a fun trip!

When I traveled on an aiplane with my young children, we always bought them a seat and brought on thier car seats. It is an added expense and a bit of a pain, but always worth it. Just like in a car, my children new that when they were buckled in their car seats they had to stay in them and sit nice and usually would take a nap. They were also amazed that Mommy or Daddy got to sit right next to them! A lot of airlines have a discount when you are buying a ticket/seat for a child under 2, but you have to call the airline directly, usually can't get the discount online. They will also let you bring a small amount of milk or juice on the plane for young children. I usually bring 2 juice boxes or Horizon milk boxes for each child and put them in a gallon size zip-top plastic bag. Then remove the bag at security and explain it is for your young children. I've never had any problems! Also, don't forget to bring lots of snack for them, the airplane won't have much!

J.,
I have 24 month old twins and we flew to NY with them on our LAPS last month because we couldn't afford the extra seats. If you can afford the extra seat/s- do it, it's dreamy. We were going to rent car seats with the rental car but we found out it was going to be about $60 per seat for the week- so I just went and bought 2 car seats- and checked them. (So easy!) Also I travelled with 2 pack & plays- that's what my kids sleep in when we're not at home. If you're staying with family-can they locate things like that you can borrow from friends? You just have to figure out what's right for you. Most important is lots of snacks, we brought 4 individual cups of milk (2 per kid) for the flight. Milk is their comfort drink and always saves the day for us. DVD's don't work for us either. Also I put snacks in lunch baggies- so I packed lots of separate lunch baggies filled with cheerios/raisins/dried fruit/goldfish. Then when they want a snack I hand them the baggy and that entertains them for a while (and really-who cares if you leave a trail of raisins behind you). We had separate 'fun packs' for each kid with new toys they had never seen before. Mini figurines (like happy meal size), cars, etc. My kids love Yo Gabba Gabba and played with little versions of those characters for quite a while. Also big picture books are fun for them to page through and identify things-might be fun to get ones about planes.
Last but NOT least-attitude. Yours. Grin and bear it. Realize that it doesn't matter what anyone says to you or thinks, it's all about surviving :) and keeping your kids on track. I hope you ENJOY yourself and ENJOY the journey. It's awesome you are even taking this opportunity to travel-I know parents of twins who refuse to venture on to a plan "at least until the kids are 5"!! Have a great time, be flexible, and YEA for YOU for taking them on this adventure!

On the airplane, they will not allow more than 4 people in one row of three seats. We learned that the last time we flew with our twins, so buying the whole row might be the way to go. Then they can sit in the middle with the armrests pulled up. I would check the car seats. It's easier to have the kids in your lap. Then your not trying to lug carry ons, and giant car seats through a narrow airplane aisle while holding your twins. Also on take off and landing, as long as they are drinking or eating something they should be ok with the ear thing. Good luck with entertaining them on the plane. We had a tough time last summer, and ours were only 10 months old! Toys, DVDs, books and you distracting them as much as you can, for as long as you can. If there's not a lot of turbulence, I would walk them up and down the aisle even if the seatbelt sign is on.
As for sleeping arrangements in TX, see if your family can borrow cribs, high chairs and toys from neighbors or friends. When we visited my in-laws in FL, this worked out well and was cheaper than renting them! Another route is to see if your family can find that kind of stuff at yard sales. If you're thinking of renting a car, I would go with a sedan (Camry, Malibu) or a small SUV (Escape, CR-V). These cars tend to have more room in the back seat.
Best of luck to you, and God Bless you for attempting this! I'm sure your family will have a wonderful time=)