First of all my kids couldn't get to New Jersey without a total meltdown so an international flight should be interesting. With the time zone issues we will be off our schedule by 6 hours.
Secondly my folks live in the middle of nowhere and the nearest motel is a rather shabby affair (however it is on the boarder of a little market town). We do have the option of staying at a service station motorway motel that was just built for the truckers. Ah the choices.
And finally, I am used to traveling with one bag for an indeterminate amount of time. What in the world are we going to have to schlep for a two week vacation (and I use that term lightly) in the UK?
Here is my list so far
Sent ahead of time:
- pack and play
- two single strollers
- clothing
- poop supplies
- eating supplies
With us:
- two car seats with converter handle thing
- two ergo carriers
- ready to eat formula (can we take that thru security ??)
- teddies, blankets and binkies (many, many binkies)
- Toys - disposable non noise making but light flashing ones
- clothing changes x6
- Tylenol for kids
- mylcon
- zantax for kids
- benedryl for kids
- pain killers and anti-anxiety drugs for me.
Help me!! I need some sage advice in order to prepare for this trip. What should I do to prepare, what should I take, what should i get there or order my folks to get ;-)
Wow. I would see what you can send ahead and what you can borrow while you are there. For example, do you need to travel with the car seats? Can you carry the twins in your lap/ ergo and rent the car seats ( prearranged with rental car place in the UK? Or would it be better to buy a used double snap and go that you can take it with you as a carry on?
ReplyDeleteYou can carry on meds and premixed formula. As for borrowing I am assuming that the UK has mother of multiples groups. Can you contact them ahead of time and appeal to borrow things? I would be happy in a similar situation to lend items. The other thing that was helpful for me when we took the kids to TX at 3 months...make sure they are eating or sucking a paci on take off and landing. It made a huge difference. Send most clothes by Fedex ahead of time and pack a light bag to chrck through. Good luck to you! I'm sure that other people will have brilliant suggestions
We traveled by air (but not internationally) w/ the kids when they were 6 months. I have some ideas that helped us: we had one "personal item" that was a backpack that contained all the toys, books, etc that was organized into sections (books in back, soft toys in front, etc.) and a section for extra diapers. In the baby bag, we packed all the "wet" items in ziploc bags: baby food in one; premixed formula in another; dry pre-measured formula in a third. Everything else was in zippered bags as well. Extra binkies, disposable spoons, easy access clothing. We had plastic disposable bags (grocery bags) that we would use to put trash into and then throw away as necessary. Everything was as organized and as neat as possible so that we could find it easily when we were handling the kids. As far as taking on liquids for the babies, I was told personally by a TSA agent that anything for the kids is automatically OK. That doesn't mean it wont get checked. I pulled each bag out: formula, ointment, baby food, etc and placed it in the scanner. One flight it was actually swiped, but because it was all organized it was easy to check and put away.
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't put shoes on the kids or at least don't put shoes on them that are hard to get off. You can carry the kids through the scanners.
Ask your Pediatrician about giving the kids Benedryl for the trip. Our Pedi said that only trips 6 hours+ did she recommend it. It doesn't make them sleep, but it does help them stay asleep.
I agree w/ MAJ Bryen: pacis or bottles to suck on during takeoff and landing are a must. Do you have the holders that attach the binkies to their clothes? I am sure you do. If not, RUN to the store and buy those. Clip them on them so that they can be popped in at a moments notice.
Also, borrowing cribs from friends/neighbors is truly a help.
Organize the baby bag at the begining and end of every day to make sure you have everything you need for each excursion.
Hmm, that is all I can think of for now. It will probably go better than you think!
Do you know "K" at Invitro Veritas? She and her husband traveled overseas with their twin boys and she wrote a whole post of "Assvice" on traveling with babies, complete with lots of recommendations. Go see her post at http://invitro-veritas.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it will help!
I second what bwub said about K. :)
ReplyDeletethanks guys - yeah, I have stalked K at IV and got great feedback. I am less panicky now - thanks!!
ReplyDeleteWe just flew with our twins for the first time and they were AMAZING on the flight there and back. We fed them on take off and landing to help with the pressure change, but they slept the entire trip other than that. We unstrapped the babies from the car seats as we got close to the front of the line. I remember seeing how irritated people got as other moms were struggling with straps etc and holding up the line so that was a smart move on our part. We got through security much faster as a result. Having teething toys with us (Sophie the giraffe) kept them entertained for some time in their seats as we were going through the airport and waiting for luggage. Have your bottles and any liquid formula or breast milk in one ziplock bag because they are going to ask you to take it all out and test them with strips at security. HAve you seen these baby food spoons? When you are on vacation you are always out and about at random times, so it helps to have these spoons loaded up with food (it has a lid) . Here is the link. LOVE LOVE LOVE them:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WEHO76/ref=oss_product
Also since you are packing meds, have you seen this bottle? It makes dispensing meds so much easier on the go!:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WZV3IG/ref=oss_product
Good luck with your trip!