Flying solo with Twins

We had some unexpected travel come up. Sadly, Mary’s uncle lost his battle to cancer and we flew back to Philadelphia. We flew over together with the girls on our laps, but Mary had planned work travel on the east coast later in the week so I flew back with the girls on my own. We flew from Philadelphia to San Diego with a stopover in Atlanta. Here’s some tips for flying solo with twins.

1. Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask or make overly direct eye contact with staff members. Luckily, I had tons of people who offered to help me. From the people who checked in my rental car, the shuttle bus driver, the TSA staff, gate agents, to the flight attendants, they all offered to help me in some capacity. The whole “it takes a village…” phrase ran through my mind often. At one point, the gentleman who was sitting in our row held Leona for a few minutes. Later on, a flight attendant carried Quincy around because she missed her granddaughter.
2. Be organized. I had the girls, a stroller, a diaper backpack, a checked bag, and two car seats. Figure out how to get it all to the baggage dropoff with as much help as possible.
3. Because they were under two, we had one girl in my lap and another girl in a car seat next to us in a seat that we paid for. By far, the hardest part about the trip was bringing around the car seat. The benefit of having it was that someone could sit in a reclined position and sleep, which happened on the first flight and the first 60 minutes of the second flight. The downside was that it takes up a lot of space- both on the plane and being transported. A flight attendant suggested the CARES harness, which is FAA approved. I don’t think we’ll be doing much one parent, two kids trips, but is definitely lighter to transport than a car seat.
4. Constant Distraction Mode! Being stuck in a plane with limited space forced us to play LOTS of distraction game – peek-a-boo, looking out the window, looking at the flight safety card (of which we destroyed three, sorry Delta), and the headrest TV screens were used in a constant circuit of distraction. Luckily, we had no meltdowns.
5. SNACK ATTACK- in addition to constant distractions, the girls snacked their butts off- string cheese, fruit and veggie pouches, yogurts, pretzels, goldfish, etc. Because their sleep cycles were off because of the time zones, I fed them whatever I could find at any time.
   

   

   Gaffing off before the first flight

   

   30 minutes of distraction in that cup

   

   We made it back to San Diego

   

   peek-a-boo with the row behind us