flying with 2 kids

[dana b]

can someone please tell me how this works. i like bringing the car seats on the plane b/c they can both sleep in them comfortably. i *have* to bring one for ds (almost 2), but do i bring dd's on the plane as well (she's 4)? and how? any other tips or words of advice wil be greatly appreciated!

[jennylou]

I'm interested in this b/c inevitably, I will, at some point, be traveling, alone, with DD and the one on the way. :)

As for the carseats - I think I would take the one on for the four year old. Then you know it will arrive at the destination and will be safe. :)

Nothing else, but good luck! :)

[Jen1098]

I flew by myself this past Nov. with my two kids. Josh was almost 3 1/2 and Kyle was 18 months.
It was only a 3 hour flight and to be honest it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I didn't bring a carseat for Josh b/c I just couldn't handle carrying that plus Kyle's seat and diaper bag and purse. It was hard for Josh to sleep b/c he just couldn't get comfortable in the regular seat.

Actually now that I think about it-car seats have to be in a window seat. Will you be traveling with someone so that both car seats will be at a window?

[Grenouille]

I have flown alone with my kids (4 and 2.5 at the moment) and it was hectic, but we all survived ;). I gate checked the car seat for my older child and brought the younger one's seat on the plane in hopes that he would sleep. He did not :rolleyes: but I think he had an easier time staying in his seat knowing he was in the car seat vs just a regular seat. Plus it was a safety thing for me. Since each child had their own airplane seat I could bring on a carry-on bag for each of them, so I brought lots of activities for them to do.

I used the stroller to carry one car seat and wore the other on a pac-back on my back. I also put our bags on top of the car seat that was in the stroller. The kids carried their backpacks part of the time, but they were heavy. I gate checked the stroller and one car seat and carried the other one on the plane.

The best thing was that a woman, who has a daughter herself and recognized that I seriously had my hands full, offered to bring the car seat on the plane for me and set it on the seat. That way I didn't have to carry that AND wrangle the kids. I still had to install it, but at least I didn't have to carry it on. That only happened on one flight, but man was it nice. Since there is no family pre-boarding on many flights, I had to get us in our seats rather quickly. I dumped our stuff on our seats, got in, and had the kids get in the row next to me. Yes, they were whiny and complaining that they wanted to sit down. I (nicely) told them to chill out and let me install the seat and then we could sit down. Luckily they got the message and waited.

I sat my son (in car seat) next to the window and sat DD (not in car seat) in the aisle. I brought the DVD player and sat it on my tray, and each child had headphones. They watched movies part of the time. I also brought lots of snacks for us, that seemed to help.

[dana b]

oh, it'll be both dh and i. the window seat thing, i didn't think about that , i assumed that they'd have both of the car seats next to each other next to the window. i was planning on getting 2 of the go go kidz, but the reviews aren't that great. i don't think our stroller will hold a marathon. maybe 2 backpack car seat carriers with wheels - dh can wear his, i can pull mine, ds will be in the stroller and dd will be on the board and i'll gate check the stroller?

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[twainny]

I will be taking 7 flights in a span of 5 weeks just me and my two kids :eek: (we have three other flights, that DH will be with us). (going from africa to multiple locations in the US). I am going back and forth on the car seat thing. Neither of my kids have ever slept in them, but I might take one for my DS2. I just hate having to haul it through the airport. Plus, most of our seats aren't even next to each other, so I know I will end up holding DS2.

I just plan on taking the double stroller and packing all our crap on that and pushing DS2 and having DS1 walk. Hopefully he goes along with that plan. :o

I am really laid back, and I don't think it will bother be being alone... Then again, I have no problem strapping both my screaming kids in the stroller and haulin' ass through the airport to get to the gate! LOL It will be an experience, that is to say the least! LOL

[portlandbride]

About the window seat, that may depend on the airline/airplane you are flying. For example, you don't have to have a car seat in the window seat on Delta. Here is what their website states:

Where to Sit with a Child Restraint
When you're using a child restraint, do not select seats in the following areas:

Emergency exit rows
Any seat one row forward or one row back from an emergency exit row
Aisle seats
Bulkhead seats when the car seat is a combination car seat and stroller
If a child is placed in a restraint occupying the middle seat of a single-aisle aircraft, the accompanying adult has to sit at the window seat, unless the window seat remains vacant throughout the flight. This is so other passengers can easily access the aisle.

Similarly, if a child is placed in a restraint occupying the middle seat of a dual-aisle aircraft, the accompanying adult has to sit next to the child in such a way that other passengers can easily access the aisle.

A row may contain more than one child restraint device if the children are from the same family or travel group.

Good Luck!

[Winter Biscuit]

We flew in February with a 4yo and 1yo. The 1yo was a lap baby, so I didn't have a seat on the flight for her.

I didn't bring a car seat for my 4yo because we weren't going to need it at our destination.

My 4yo didn't sleep at all on our way to Mexico, but did sleep on the return flight. FWIW, she had no problem getting comfortable enough w/o a car seat when she took her nap.

[Taurus]

We are traveling with our 2.5 y/o and 8 mos old and I am bringing the older one's seat bc even though our flights are just 2.5 hours and then 50 mins, I want him to get "used to" sititng in his car seat on a plane bc later this summer we are doing a 4+ hour flight. (ETA and i def want him in his seat for that one, so i don't want him to think it's OK to be out of it on a plane.) Also, we are bringing a double on the first trip bc we have a short layover and need to get them quickly through the airport. For the second trip, no double stroller. I'll prob push a single, DS1 will walk (it's OK if he's slow as we can take our time on this one, and no layover) and DH will carry the two car seats. We already have one Eddie Bauer bag for one seat and will probably get another. Oh, and I think we are taking my parents' Scenara instead of the Britax bc it is smaller and lighter. If DS2 is no longer in the bucket, we'll be taking my parents' two Scenaras.

[gf&js]

i was planning on getting 2 of the go go kidz, but the reviews aren't that great.

Dana - we have the gogo kidz and have travelled with both of our kids using them for their own carseat. They have made our trips so much easier even with minor issues. The hassle that we have had has been sometimes getting the airplane seat belt through the contraption. Even though they say that the gogo kidz attachment can stay on - occassionally we have had to unscrew it to get the seatbelt through. The only other thing we have had issue with has been some planes weren't big enough to roll the stroller through the aisle. Even with those issues - I won't consider taking the carseats without them. I figure most places I can rent a stroller if I need it at our destination but I don't feel comfortable renting a carseat.

There have been times that I've sent my dh on first to get the seats ready and then I come on with the kids later - it certainly helps for the non-existant family pre-boarding.

[magdesilver]

I have one gogo kidz and use that. It works great! For the other seat (a marathon but this also works well with a cosco scenara) I put it in my maclaren volo. I use a bungee cord around the back of the stroller to hook the carseat in there and it's very secure. Then I put the kid in the carseat (in the stroller) and there you go. Very easy setup and the kids are contained and on wheels. If you don't have a volo you might want to invest in 2 gogo kidz, but I already had the volo so I didn't want to buy a second gogo if I didn't have to. DH and I each wheeled one of the kids around, and we both had a backpack with toys and food and whatever we needed. I think DD had a little backpack too with a few things in there as well.
For travelling with 2 by myself, I only do one carseat on the plane because I can't get both kids and 2 carseats on (and I have to connect flights usually). It is doable, but not with 2 marathons IMO. A Scenara you could strap onto your back and that would work while you use the gogo or volo setup with the other one.

[dana b]

thanks for the review of the go-go kidz, i bought 2 of them last week, so i'm glad that you like them. from what i gathered of the reviews, it's the people using them with britax seats that like them.

[dana b]

update never again will i take a car seat on a plane. it worked well when it was just dd, but was such a major pita to do it with 2. i was happy with the go-go kidz, but getting the seats down the aisles (last row!), getting them installed, having one kid at the window where i can't get to them, the seat taking up so much space, the person in front reclining their seat on their legs, etc, it was just bad. i put my ds down in an empty seat at one point and he was so happy to sit like a big boy and play with stuff on the tray.