I've had a couple people ask me how I survived a flight alone with a toddler and a baby, so I've decided to dedicate post to my best tips and my experiences with flying.
I have flown with kids in all different stages of life. I've done the baby, the toddler, the pregnant with a toddler, and now I've done the two kids by myself. Every single time it has gotten easier because I always come away with something I'd do differently next time.
Some flights have been easy, others have not really been. I think the hardest flight I have taken was the pregnant with a toddler flight. There just isn't much lap room for a lap child, and it's nearly impossible to reach down into your bag to get anything.
I think that flying alone with two kids is the easiest flight I've taken. Maybe with the exception of Tennyson's first flight when it was just me and my mom and a four month old. I was talking to Mike the other day and I was telling him about how much fun I had flying with Tennyson, and how I felt bad that Mike wasn't there. He turned to me and said, "Let me get this straight. You flew alone with two kids and you are saying you had... fun?" But it's true. I had a blast. I was well prepared and things went so smooth. Here's how I did it.
1. It's all about the wardrobe choices.
For me, I wore a t-shirt, my easiest to take on and off shoes, and a scarf. That scarf was the best idea ever. I used it as a cover when I pumped on the airplane (yes, with two kids I still found time to pump!) and I used it as a blanket as Maggie was drifting off. She also loved playing with the tags.
For baby, I highly highly recommend babylegs. Diaper changes when you are alone with two kids are just a pain in the butt. No matter where you are. Babylegs made changing Maggie so much faster and easier.
For toddler, I just put him in something comfortable.
A lot of blogs I read recommended spare outfits. Perhaps had I been taking a longer flight, or had a layover I would have. But I figured if someone pooped on me, I wasn't going to have the time to run to the plane bathroom to completely change. Once I landed I was going straight home (or to Mike's parent's house) anyway. So I made the choice that if poop happened, it happened, and I could deal with it. I did bring one extra outfit for Maggie because I always have one on hand no matter what we are doing, but I took the gamble with me and Tennyson, and things ended up being fine.
2. Think long and hard about how you want to navigate the airport.
This time around, I used the baby bjorn and an umbrella stroller. It turned out to be the right choice. I could wear Maggie through security (we'll get to security later) and Tennyson could get in and out of the stroller as he pleased. I gate checked the stroller so it was waiting for me right as we got off the plane, and I could use it right up to the minute we boarded. And if my 20 dollar umbrella stroller got broken, it was no big deal. I wore Maggie all the way until we got into our seats, and then took off the bjorn for the flight, and strapped it back on when I was ready to get off. When we only had Tennyson, I was a big advocate of my sling. It was easy to take on and off and stowed away easily in my diaper bag, but I found that it didn't free up my hands like I would need if I also had to deal with Tennyson, which is why ultimately I chose the bjorn. I know some people are big fans of using the double stroller, but I think that would have been next to impossible to navigate through security at Midway. Too many people, too little space, and too much stress.
3. Don't overthink entertainment.
Every time I fly, I find myself bringing less and less with me. This time, I did the entire flight with only a diaper bag as my carry on. The only thing I brought with me for Tennyson was the iPad and his iPod and a book for those times that you can't use electronics. I brought Maggie one ball. I find there is nothing more annoying than having to reach under your seat every five minutes for a new toy, and my bag somehow always goes from neatly packed to overflowing with mess and junk. I knew with two kids, I couldn't deal with all that, which is why I packed very little. Babies are easy. When Tennyson was four months old, he played with a teething ring for the whole flight. When he was eight months old, he played with the safety instructions that are in every seat pocket. When he was one and a half, he played with the sky mall magazine and my phone. So this time I decided I'd skip packing all the toys I knew wouldn't get used and stick with the basics. Maggie used a ball that I could strap onto her binky clip (side not about the binky clip, don't think about using a binky without one, unless you are really in the mood to go digging around your feet for a binky that probably already slid three rows back). Tennyson played with the iPad and his book.
I find the same theory goes with snacks. Don't overpack snacks. I brought Tennyson's favorite cookies and that was it. And you know what? He was more than happy to be eating those for the entire flight. My final tip that kind of goes with this is to make sure that if you still have anything in the sippy that they are drinking it during take off. I brought a sippy one time and I didn't unscrew the lid or let him drink it during take off and you know what happened when I went to get it out midflight? It sprayed all over my lap. If they aren't drinking it, make sure you at least loosen the lid a bit to let it pressurize with the plane. Same thing goes for bottles, but I always try to feed during take off to help with their ears.
4. Sit over the wing.
Tennyson spent about half an hour of each flight mesmerized with the wing out his window. When your flight is only two hours long, that's a big deal. Especially because the times that the wing is doing the most, is also the time you can't use electronics, and being able to point out the window to what was going on kept the tantrums to a minimum when I had to take away the iPad in the middle of a Mickey Mouse episode. A bonus is that this is a seat people rarely want since (1) it's one of the loudest places to sit and (2) on most flights, the seats don't recline. I like the noise because it drowns out cries, and who has the time to recline when they have two kids in tow?
5. Plan on security taking a long time.
This means two things: you are going to have to get to the airport earlier and you are going to need a way to entertain your kids. I think the hardest part of both these flights was the security lines at Midway. There were a ton of people, and Tennyson was getting bored in his stroller. The iPod saved us for the most part, but we still had a couple little meltdowns. Luckily, security has gotten easier for moms recently. Now kids under 4 don't have to take off their shoes (yay!). I was able to bring through breast milk and juice, but they had to take the bottle and sippy cup to run a test on it (meaning more time spent at security). And I was able to wear Maggie through the metal detector, but they had to swipe my hands with cotton to test (meaning more time spent at security). Luckily, TSA agents are all very helpful, and usually very good with dealing with kids. They also understand that you have your hands full and they don't judge you when you drag your toddler through the metal detector by his arm, while he kicks and screams, or when you forget that your phone is in your pocket. Both of which may or may not have happened to me. I also recommend that you know what you need to pull out of your bag in advance so you aren't scrambling. I don't ever bring liquids other than the bottle and sippy to avoid the hassle, but I did have to make sure I had both those items out of my bag for them to take to test.
6. Ask questions.
The most important question is "is this a full flight?" Ask it when you hand your ticket to be scanned. They'll know. If you are lucky like me, their answer will be no. And if it is no, take your kids and sit in the aisle seat and the middle seat. Chances are, people aren't going to want to climb over you to get that window. On my first flight, I actually took the window seat and middle seat, and I had a stewardess stand in the aisle seat. On my second flight, I was a good Samaritan and I slid in to the window and the middle so that a lady could sit across the aisle from her teenage daughter. I figured if I had to share a row with anyone, she was probably the person to share with. The second question to ask is "do you mind if I go on early to feed my baby?" Chances are, they are going to let you board early. Before our first flight Maggie was getting all sorts of hungry, and my boarding number wasn't until the end of the As. But when they started boarding the A passenger, I politely stepped up to the attendant, let her know that I was aware it wasn't my turn yet, but that I was hoping to get on early to feed my baby. She let me on no questions asked. They don't want to listen to a crying baby any more than you do. The third question to ask is "can I just get the can?" There is nothing you want less than a drink spilled all over you. They are always more than willing to just give you the can, and those cans are a lot less of a tip (or knock) over risk than the cups are.
7. Have awesome kids.
My kids are natural born travelers. We've trained them well. They often take the 4 hour drive to my parent's house and this was Tennyson's tenth (tenth!) plane ride. You know what they say. Practice makes perfect.
It really is easy to have a great flight even if you are alone with two kids. It's fun watching how excited a two year old gets with everything, and the time sure goes by a lot faster than when I used to spend my flight flipping through a people magazine for the umpteenth time.
(How could you not have a great flight with these clowns?)
