Over 50 flights & counting.
Travel has been a big one for me. We live in Cork but I'm from Spain and all my family lives there. So the last few years we have done A LOT of travelling.
Prepare
I never really spent a lot of (extra) money picking the expensive brands for their clothes or equipment, but when it came to travelling, investing in making it as easy as possible was always a priority.
I didn't travel with the double buggy as I had one in each location. This worked really well for me but obviously it’s different when you’re going on holidays and you might need to bring it with you. However there’s many companies that let you rent double buggies and car seats for the duration of your holiday so that could be an option.
I also bought everything I needed for them in my mum’s house so that I never had to bring luggage other than the nappy bag. I didn’t even bring clothes – I had a full set of everything over there as well just to save me hassle. Overall it made more sense for me to spend that extra money so I could travel light, Travelling with babies and children is always going to be a challenge, so you might as well do what you can to make it as smooth as possible. We did these trips back and forth so often that having everything in both places was the easiest way to be organized.
Once I was texting my uncle a few days before we went to visit and I was telling him I had made an online order so that pull ups, wipes, body wash, etc. would be there already when we arrived, and he responded with the statement "The greatest battles were won through logistics". True story.
From 0 to 2 years.
On the first flight we took they were just 2 months old. For the first 2 years I always needed a second adult for trips as you can’t travel by yourself with 2 children under 2. Most airlines require one adult per every child under 2 years old. So when my husband couldn’t come, my mum, dad or brother would take turns to fly over to "pick us up”, fly with us and then fly us back again (& fly back themselves after). We did this numerous times during the first 2 years until I was allowed to fly by myself with them. So, logistics really are key when travelling (and just living) with twins.
For the trips we did during the first 11 months, we would use one carrier each. My twins have always been on the small side so they were light enough to do this for a good while. It also depends who you’re travelling with. My brother and me were able to use the carrier for longer than my mum or dad as we found it easier.
When they became too heavy for my parents to use the carrier, they used an umbrella stroller for their designated twin. The light stroller is easier to manoeuvre than the carrier once they get a bit bigger.
From 2 years old.
As soon as they turned 2, I travelled by myself with them all the time. I used the carrier and umbrella stroller once or twice so I would have the lighter twin in the carrier and the other one in the stroller. This wasn’t practical for long, but it worked well for a short period of time.
After that, they would just walk with me. My girl started walking at 9 months and my boy before 1 so by the time they were 2, they were well able to run through the airport. One of the trickiest parts was going through security as you all need to go through the scan individually at that point, but I was lucky to always find staff to be helpful and patient.
We've had easy going trips and chaotic trips, which is to be expected. You can't always pick the times that will suit their routine so sometimes you're going to have to go with it.
Important to know – when they turned 2 I toilet trained them so when I travelled alone with them I found the staff on the flights would give me trouble for going to the bathroom with both of them. Although tight enough, I was able to fit the 3 of us in the cubicles to use the toilet but the plane staff would tell me 3 people aren't allowed to go in together.
They would suggest I left one outside and they’d watch them, but this wasn’t an option for me or either of the twins.
They’ve always been very aware of stranger danger and never did well with people who they don't know (after all, they are COVID babies). While some of the staff eventually let me do it and looked the other way, in a couple of occasions I had to bring them to the bathroom without closing the door of the cubicle (in these instances I obviously did NOT use the toilet for the entire duration of the flight). Since they've been over 3, I always book the seats at the very back so we're next to the toilet, and I can bring them (quickly) individually while the other one stays in the seat watching something on the tablet.
My travel besties (apart from them).
VIP Lounge – This might not be an option for everyone but I find the investment is well worth it. Lounges at the airports have been a lifesaver when travelling, both alone with them and when other adults were there. Although it may be expensive, having a safe, clean, quieter space to spend the time between or before flights was worth every cent. If you’re travelling with someone else, it’s so easy to take turns to go grab the food and drinks. If you’re travelling on your own, you can safely leave your bags and jackets at a table and easily move around the buffet with plenty of space without crashing with chairs, tables, other people, struggle to find your purse while carrying jumpers, coats and bags, and I didn't even mention babies/toddlers hanging off you. The bathrooms are significantly bigger and cleaner. The space is quieter for naps, and cleaner and safer for them to crawl, walk or move around. You have plugs for your phone, tablet and other devices. There's a microwave for heating up their own food/bottles, or even ask for boiling water to make up their formula. Overall it’s just a much more peaceful and comfortable experience than the stress, noise and business of the airport common areas.
Airport hotels - For long waits airport hotels are also a good option, more space, better restaurants and facilities, helpful staff, etc. There’s also some hotels that do day-rates. I’ve only done this a couple of times when our flights were a good few hours apart, but it was also worth it to have a bed for their nap and a shower for me. We felt better prepared for the 2nd stretch of the long trip!
Neck pillow - I bought these for a Cork-Dublin bus trip and they were great for a comfier nap. They also love just playing with them in general! Inflatable travel pillows are also super handy.
Headphones and tablet - My twins are extremely active, love to move around and play all the time so flights are challenging when they're awake. This got significantly more difficult when they turned 3 so I gave up and started bringing the tablet with episodes downloaded. I bought headphones and a headphone-splitter and it just made everyone's life much easier.
Snacks - SO.MANY.SNACKS. Drinking alcohol at any time at an airport is socially accepted. Same applies to snacks for kids. Anything is valid to keep them happy. Crisps at 5am? No problem. Jellies for breakfast? Sure. Whatever keeps you going. Lollipops are helpful for little ears during take-off and landing.
Sticker books - Easy, mess-free entertainment. It won't get you through a whole flight but you may get a whole 6 minutes of feeling like you have things under control.
Busy books - More suitable for over 3 when they're not going to be dropping the pieces every 2 seconds (they'll drop them every 4), and you have to do contortionism to pick them up off the floor or in between the seats.
Drawing tablets - LCD writing tablets are a great alternative so you don't need to ask the person behind and in front of you to please hand you over another crayon that has fallen on their feet for the 3rd time in 7 minutes.