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Up in the Air with Mommy - traveling solo w/ 3yr old twins

I'm not going to lie.  Although our initial flight w/ Mommy and Dada went pretty well, I was still nervous about my solo flight with the boys.  After two weeks in the semi-wilderness, they were a little stir-crazy and we'd watched every single movie and Elmo show until our DVDs wore out (seriously).  I was pretty sure they would spend the 5+ travel hours climbing me, screaming and eating one another. 

I was (happily) SOOOOO wrong! 

My mom joined us at the airport and was able to get a gate pass to help us with security.  Frankly, I could maybe have made it through without her, but it's nice to have an extra adult til you board the plane.  I suspect that next time I fly solo, the airline will be less willing to give the gate pass, but I'll keep trying until both boys are able to say "Yes, Mr TSA officer, I am more than happy to submit to your unnecessary pat-down.  But I'm not totally potty trained, so smoosh at your own risk." 

On our short flight, the boys quietly watched Elmo on the iPad.  I had accidentally sent the headphone splicer back home a week earlier, so grabbed one at an airport giftshop.  Turns out the cheapo one from the airport worked much better.  Although they sat right next to one another, shockingly, no fights, no hitting, no biting.  This was shaping up much better than I thought.

We traveled w/ our double stroller, checking at the gate and retrieving for our layover.  Again, in a pinch, I could have done without, but I wanted the ability to do a complete lock-down on the layover if needed. 

We had a short layover in Kansas City - about 40 minutes - long enough for a quick potty break.  Honestly, not the most ideal airport for travel with kids.  If you want to access any concessions, or the family bathroom, you have to leave the secure area and then re-screen to get back to your gate. 

So without access to the family bathroom, we squeezed into line with all the other women in our multi-gate area to vie for one of the 3 stalls.  While waiting, I quick-changed Baby B's diaper and then got Baby A to start whining about having to go potty - which got us quickly to the front of the line. 

Now I have no magic formula or advice for what happened next.  On our long flight back to home, Baby A watched movies and played games on the iPad the whole way.  Baby B slept.  The Whole Three Hours (after a quick cream cheese and jelly sandwich).  When Baby B was a baby, he was a snuggler.  But for about a year or so, he has resisted the Mommy Snuggle, so I was thrilled to share my lap with him for this flight.  I got to read a book and even nap a bit.  He slept all the way to our home gate (the extra super nice flight attendant let me keep him on my lap through descent, touchdown and taxi as long as he was sleeping). 

One little note about air travel while potty training.   Your child-unless a perfect, never seen in nature child-will not like airplane potties and will only need to 'go' when the plane is in ascent, descent or heavy turbulence.  Baby A and I had a long chat (Me: "You may not be able to use the potty on the plane, so you're wearing a Pull-up."  He:  "ok".) about wearing a Pull-up which was fine for him.  I have heard of parents 'touring' the potty (including a flush) while boarding the plane.  This may or may not have helped us.  We were also not sure what to do w/ Baby B (who was of course sleeping in my arms).  We tried squeezing all 3 of us into the teeny tiny bathroom.  Awkward.

We'll be flying again around the holidays.  A better wife would let Dada take a separate flight since this went so well.  However, even with a little less perfectness, I'd rather take a second pair of hands.

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