Flying alone with 2u2?

LJR 84 · April 2011

I'm getting a little ahead of myself here- but I'm just curious.

DD and this little guy will be a little over 12 months apart. I currently live in MS, but all of my family lives in PA. I'm strongly considering SAH after this LO is born so that I can fly up to visit family and go on family vacations as I please. (I strongly dislike living this far away from my family now that I have the little ones!)

So, my question is, how doable is flying with 2u2 by yourself? My fiance would be coming along somtimes, but certainly not all the time as he can't take off that much work. I'd have help up until boarding time and once I landed...but all the time in between kind of freaks me out! Any experiences?

kcisthebombdotcom · April 2011

Mine are the same gap as yours will be, and at the ages they are now, the thought of doing that alone is terrifying to me, honestly. The baby likes to be worn in a carrier, but she doesnt like for me to sit still while I'm wearing her so I'd have to hold her in my arms, and I cant imagine my toddler and the amount of energy he has handling being on a plane well.

Maybe when they're older it will be more managable? Or you could take the red eye and hope they're both able to sleep and their ears don't bother them?

Telyco · April 2011

Totally depends on the kids. I would never ever ever ever do that right now. The last time we tried music class all three of us left early in tears. But we can handle play stuff just fine without DH.

But people have done it and lived to tell about it.

You could also have one of your family members fly down and meet you guys and then fly with you as an extra pair of hands - if $ wasn't an issue, of course.

NavyPilotWife · April 2011

It definitely wouldn't be a picnic, but you could do it, if you had to. Getting through security without an extra set of hands would be tricky. If you have connections, that will make for even more of a headache. You'd have to buy at least one of the kids a seat, since you can only have one lap child.

I flew with 2u2 with my mom, when DD1 was 17 months old and DD2 was 2 weeks (we were moving across the country and I was not going to drive 44 hours with 2 small kids). DD1 was pretty awful on the flight. She only wanted to sit with me, which didn't work well, when I needed to nurse DD2. I think she would have done a lot better if I would have purchased her a seat and had her sit in her car seat.

I'm thinking about flying alone with both girls this summer. The only reason I'm considering it is because it's a direct flight.

smerka · April 2011

My kids are over 11 months apart and I've been dreading having to fly to CO to see my grandma who is 93. And that's with 4 adults (my parents would be with my DH and I). I mean if you HAD to it could be done, but I don't know that I would do it voluntarily.

12bailey18 · April 2011

My kids will be 19 months apart and I plan on flying alone with them a few times a year. DH is military so if I want to see my family I gotta do what I gotta do! The thought is terrifying to me but it can be done and I'm certainly not the first mom to do it. It's pretty normal in my circle of friends and all of them have lived to tell about it. I can imagine getting a direct flight would be best so you don't have to worry about layovers, shuffling the kids on and off the plane numerous times, etc. Good luck!

Court0026 · April 2011

No way unless it was necessary. We went on a trip in November with DH and my parents and it was still a ton of work. LOL. I just think about thinks like how you couldn't even fit in the bathroom on the plane to change a diaper with both kids or if both were fussy or who knows. Maybe I worry too much...

howleyshell · April 2011

Done it with 17 months apart spacing.

Doable? Yes.

Something I'd consider doing regularly? HELL NO!!!

It's exhausting.

I think a better solution might be to consider relocating closer to your family if at all possible.

And if that's not do-able I'd get a good air mattress (if you don't/won't have a guest room) and fly them to you instead.

LJR 84 · April 2011

howleyshell:

Done it with 17 months apart spacing.

Doable? Yes.

Something I'd consider doing regularly? HELL NO!!!

It's exhausting.

I think a better solution might be to consider relocating closer to your family if at all possible.

And if that's not do-able I'd get a good air mattress (if you don't/won't have a guest room) and fly them to you instead.

Haha- I know this much is true! I'm still trying to convince my fiance to consider moving. He always says not right now, but that he'd be open to it in the future. It's definitely frustrating.

But anyway- thanks for the replies everyone! We would definitely have a direct flight, it's about 2 hrs 15 minutes. I've flown a lot with DD and she's great. She usually just falls asleep when we're in the air. I know not all babies are like this though! The thing that really irks me is that we'd have to buy an extra seat like a PP said. (Since I obviously can't put two lo's in my lap).

kcisthebombdotcom · April 2011

LJR 84:
howleyshell:

Done it with 17 months apart spacing.

Doable? Yes.

Something I'd consider doing regularly? HELL NO!!!

It's exhausting.

I think a better solution might be to consider relocating closer to your family if at all possible.

And if that's not do-able I'd get a good air mattress (if you don't/won't have a guest room) and fly them to you instead.

Haha- I know this much is true! I'm still trying to convince my fiance to consider moving. He always says not right now, but that he'd be open to it in the future. It's definitely frustrating.

But anyway- thanks for the replies everyone! We would definitely have a direct flight, it's about 2 hrs 15 minutes. I've flown a lot with DD and she's great. She usually just falls asleep when we're in the air. I know not all babies are like this though! The thing that really irks me is that we'd have to buy an extra seat like a PP said. (Since I obviously can't put two lo's in my lap).

My DS was good with traveling as well-until he learned to walk/run.

howleyshell · April 2011

KC_13:
LJR 84:

But anyway- thanks for the replies everyone! We would definitely have a direct flight, it's about 2 hrs 15 minutes. I've flown a lot with DD and she's great. She usually just falls asleep when we're in the air. I know not all babies are like this though! The thing that really irks me is that we'd have to buy an extra seat like a PP said. (Since I obviously can't put two lo's in my lap).
My DS was good with traveling as well-until he learned to walk/run.

Ditto this.

Flying with a 9 month old is a whole different ball game than flying with a kid who can walk.

I spent most of my flight time walking the isle at one point or an other with them from the time they could walk until about age 2.5.

It's exhausting.

And if you need to take one to the bathroom?

Hardly space for all 3 of you in the restroom doing a diaper change.

Do you burden a fellow passenger/stranger with tending to one of your kids while you deal with the other? Nope - you have a VERY difficult bathroom trip.

The toddler needs to walk? You've gotta strap on the baby and bump into every person on the aisle as you try to navigate all 3 of you up and down the aisle.

The toddler needs to be held and soothed? Where do you put the baby? You hold, rock and sush both of them in a VERY confined amount of space all the while worrying about just how pissed all the people around you are. Car seat in the 2nd seat? Even less room to maneuver.

Again - not impossible but not something I'd want to do regularly either.

LJR 84 · April 2011

howleyshell:
KC_13:
LJR 84:

But anyway- thanks for the replies everyone! We would definitely have a direct flight, it's about 2 hrs 15 minutes. I've flown a lot with DD and she's great. She usually just falls asleep when we're in the air. I know not all babies are like this though! The thing that really irks me is that we'd have to buy an extra seat like a PP said. (Since I obviously can't put two lo's in my lap).

My DS was good with traveling as well-until he learned to walk/run.

Ditto this.

Flying with a 9 month old is a whole different ball game than flying with a kid who can walk.

I spent most of my flight time walking the isle at one point or an other with them from the time they could walk until about age 2.5.

It's exhausting.

And if you need to take one to the bathroom?

Hardly space for all 3 of you in the restroom doing a diaper change.

Do you burden a fellow passenger/stranger with tending to one of your kids while you deal with the other? Nope - you have a VERY difficult bathroom trip.

The toddler needs to walk? You've gotta strap on the baby and bump into every person on the aisle as you try to navigate all 3 of you up and down the aisle.

The toddler needs to be held and soothed? Where do you put the baby? You hold, rock and sush both of them in a VERY confined amount of space all the while worrying about just how pissed all the people around you are. Car seat in the 2nd seat? Even less room to maneuver.

Again - not impossible but not something I'd want to do regularly either.

Haha, you really make it sound like a nightmare!

We just need to move. Stick out tongue

howleyshell · April 2011

LJR 84:

Haha, you really make it sound like a nightmare!

Like everything else with 2u2 it won't be like that for long.

We just did a 2.5 hr flight at ages 3 and 4 and I actually got to read a book while they watched a movie.

I'd forgotten what it was like to not be working my @ss off trying to keep them entertained and quiet for the whole flight!

It was heaven.

mlf625 · April 2011

Not sure if you'll still check this, but I'm a little more optimistic on the matter. I've flown solo with my two quite a few times. Does it sort of suck? Yes. Some flights have had me in tears by landing time, others have been merely a PITA. But it's doable. My parents spend part of the year out in SoCal and the kids and I love to visit, so we do it.

You'll want to invest in a GoGoKidz Travelmate so you can bring a car seat on board. 100x easier if you can confine one child. My kids sleep better if they're in a car seat and I felt okay to get up and go to the bathroom with just one kid if the other was sleeping in the seat. Also, don't bother with the CARES harness, waste of $ and my son wiggled out of it in 10 minutes or less. We just flew yesterday and I had the kids in our double stroller, the carry ons stowed in the basket, pulling the GoGoKidz behind. Again, not fun, but it was fine. Be prepared for lots of stares and people looking at you like they've never seen a woman travel with two kids before.

And you'd have a direct flight, which makes things SO much easier. Have someone (DH or a friend) take you to the airport, there's a good chance they can get a gate pass from the ticketing agent allowing them to bring you all the way up to your gate. Boarding is tricky but I've nearly always had someone stop and offer to carry our bags or one of the kids.

Anyway, just wanted you to know it can be done and it's worth it to get more time with your family. And it's WAY easier when your #2 is tiny and you can wear him/her, so make use of that time!

mlf625 · April 2011

Two more thoughts:

1) you can't worry about what people are thinking. Whatever. They can deal, and if they can't, they should've flown 1st class.

2) I think the car seat gives you MORE room, actually. DD's Britax Marathon left me with a bit of room on her seat to use - DS sat half on my seat, half on hers.

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