Prepare me for travel with a 2mo old and a 2yr old (airport)

[ryan840]

I'm nuts, I know. We are going to WDW in May and our baby will be about two and a half months at that time, our son will be two and a half. So how the heck are we going to do this??? We will have the double stroller, carry on and each of their car seats to bring on the plane, plus the time before and after checking/picking up our luggage. I know to pack as light as possible, but let's face it- with an infant it's not that easy... So what tips do you have for me? We will already be leaving diapers behind and buying them there, along with anything else of that sort that we can get away with. We will still be bringing lots of suitcases I'm sure, to hold all the baby gear and all of our stuff. We are lucky that our luggage all attaches to make a train, making it easy to pull all of it with one hand (until you come to a sharp/crowded turn or an elevator...) but we still have to lug a huge stroller, two kids, two carseats and our carry on plus part of the time the luggage through the airport. How do you do it? Thanks!

 

[lil.disney.princess]

erm...........**scratches head**............... its not very often im flummoxed but i have to say you got me there!!!..........i have been sitting for ages thinking of all different ways but i just dont know...........i am assuming you are flying from somewhere within the US!

how about a baby sling for wee-man so that you could put the car seats on the pram?unless you could get some assistance from an airport worker?then i thought well how about just a single buggy and the sling-but i wouldnt fancy carrying a babber in that heat all day.........i guess the only way i can think is to take the minimal amount of stuff and hit wal-mart when you arrive!!

i dont envy you at all.............i really dont know what would be the best way to juggle everything!i havent had that dilemma with my lot as we never flew with them when they were small....good luck tho!!-i think youll need it!

 

[sharibrat]

We have a bag that we put our carseat in and it can be worn as a backpack. Maybe you can each wear one of those? It also has wheels if you wish to pull it, but it sounds like you'll have enough to pull......i can't remember where I got it though......Sears? Pennys? One Step Ahead? it was definately online.

Good luck. We are going now or we'd be going in May with a 3 year old and a 2 month old.....you are way braver than us!

Another tip......pack even lighter and just spend an afternoon while they nap doing laundry. Hubby can only pull so much luggage and you'll need to keep your eye on the 2 kids in the airport!

 

[Lulu's Mom]

Are you checking both of the carseats or does each child have their own seat. If they do not have their own seats then I would check the carseats when you check everything else and then gate check the stroller.

I would also carry the 2 month in a sling or carrier.

Good luck and have a great trip

 

[ryan840]

Thanks for the replies. I will definately be bringing a sling, but I don't think it'll help too much overall, mainly when we have to get the stroller folded up and I have to keep an eye on both kids, or if I have to feen the baby. To answer the car seat question, my 2 year old will have his own seat, and we will try to see if there is room on the plane to use the baby's, so that'll have to be gate checked. The baby's isn't as much of a problem as far as transporting it because it fits in the stroller seat.

Here is what I have planned so far- We will pack all removable parts of the stroller in a suitcase so they don't get lost/broken and the stroller is quicker/easier to fold, and we will also pack the infant carseat base in a suitcase, leaving the carrier part in the stroller as a travel system. sharibrat-The backpack case for the other carseat sounds like a great idea, was it expensive? If we can find one and afford it, we'll use that. Next, both kids will be in the stroller and I will be pushing it while my husband pulls the luggage train until it's time to check it. He will be in charge of the big carseat as well. Once the baggage is checked we will only have to worry about the carseat until it's time to fold the stroller down, at which point I will put the baby in the sling and a leash on my 2 year old (yeah yeah, but I don't feel like running around chasing after him) and my husband will again be in charge of the car seats and the carry on. I know that is a lot for him to do all at once, but it will only be while we are in line waiting to board the plane, so he'll live . All the while, the kids will have been perfectly well behaved, and we will not have run into a single problem (including breaking the stroller down for security- they'll just tell us we look honest and go right through). The flight will go perfectly, not a peep out of either one and we will land in FL and reverse the process, sending one parent to pick up the car with the kids while the other gets the luggage. What a wonderful vacation- easy as pie!

So how does it sound, doable?

ETA- lil.disney.princess- your post just made me laugh! Yes we are from the US, and is it safe to assume you aren't? You speak a bit differently...

 

[lil.disney.princess]

yeah sounds doable......just take plenty of valium

im from the UK from a little place called stoke on trent............erm.......home to some little pop singer called Robbie Williams-you may have heard of him -if you havent arent you the lucky one

 

[lovehoney]

Give yourself lots of time. You can do it!

Just realize when you go through security "People are laughing with you, not at you."

Here are some things we've done:

When my DS was 3 (other DS was 7 months) he was able to pull his own rolling bag (unfortunately your 2y/o prob isn't ready for this yet-maybe a backpack?). DS has a monster rolling back pack from ebags. When he got tired of pulling it, I was able to hook it on one of the handles of the umbrella stroller. It rolled just fine. I did have to step back from the stroller a little bit to push.

We always check our other luggage at the curb.

I know it sounds weird but you could have your husband push an umbrella stroller and balance the car seats on top of the umbrella stroller. It's amazing how much stuff you can hang, balance or stuff on a stroller. However, It might be too hard to push the stroller and pull the other luggage. Try to limit your carry ons. We usually bring a bag for DH, bag for DD4(which he carries) and I carry a diaper backpack.

I purchased a carseat bag at Babies R US. We actually checked our carseats and it was great because after the car seat was in the bag we stuffed the seat with diapers, wipes and other essentials.

Good luck!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Hey! Good to "see" you again! You are getting close, how exciting! Well I wanted to tell you that you don't really need to bring the base for your infant seat, it's just one extra thing to lug and you can just buckle the seat into the seatbelt. I would leave the base home if I were you. Then you put the baby in the sling on you, hold your two year olds hand, DH pushes the stroller that has the infant car seat attached, the other car seat flipped upside down over it, and all the luggage in the back seat (reclined all the way to fit as much as possible) That is what we did when we went to Michigan, then you don't have to get the kids in and out of the stroller, DH is in charge of the stroller and luggage, and you have your hands free for your older son and don't have to pull them both out to go through security. It worked great and we didn't have to buy anything extra!!!!

Just wanted to add I finally had the baby, he decided to come 2 weeks early! Ended up having an natural VBAC even though I had the c-section planned! It was great, Nathan was born on October 20. I can't believe he is three weeks old already! Hope the rest of your pregnancy goes great. Did you ever buy that travel bouncer yet? Take care!

Andrea

 

[HaleyB]

Curbside check in is a life saver. And gate check the stroller. They tag it right before you get on the plane and send it down, then when you arrive they bring it up to the front of the plane for you- like how they do with a wheel chair.

One of you has the kids and stroller and a back pack (carry on) and if the stroller has storage maybe another carry on (avoid too much carry on, but do bring a change of clothing for YOURSELF as well as the kids...). The other parent has the car seats and any other carry on.

On the plane my #1 tip for your older child is play dough. It will not roll off the tray like most things and it is fun to play with .

I did an international flight with a 6 month old and 3 year old, alone. You have to bring everything with you (including checked bags) through coustoms. That was big fun. But I am alive to tell the story!

 

[IwannaseeMickey]

Been there, done that...I suggest car seat bags, I got mine at Babies R Us, they can be hung from a stroller or your back.

 

[ryan840]

These are great ideas, thanks! I love the play dough idea, never would have thought of it. Also not putting the kids in the stroller sounds like it might work out easier.

MATTERHORN- CONGRATULATIONS! And may I add that he chose a GREAT day to enter the world- MY birthday! I've been meaning to check on you, I just haven't had much free time. It's insane how fast time goes, isn't it? I hate that part! Glad to hear everything went well. I had a c-section with my son, and I haven't planned another one yet, I'm just going to see how things go... (Until I have that first big contraction ) I ended up getting a Graco TraveLite Bouncer on eBay, $19 brand new, still in the box! It doesn't recline very far so it won't be good for a newborn, but by two to three months I think it'll be fine.

And now back tot he thread...