We Took 4 under 4 on a plane!

We survived!

​Flying with two sets of twins, new three year olds and eleven month olds, from PDX TO ATX, for my sister’s wedding shower, seemed like an eternity! We planned it out for months. We needed a huge rental vehicle at the other end (4 car seats!) It was a like poetry in motion and complete craziness all at once... we did survive.

Here's how:

     We did all of our panicking and worrying ahead of time.

     We brought lots of quiet toys in the big kids' backpacks.

Great for traveling and keeping the kids quiet!

Adorable backpacks!

​     We had (grandparent) help on the way to the airport and from the airport.

     All four had access to suck on the ascent and descent. The bigs had small baby bottles with  water and the littles had breast milk, pacifiers and a bottle with breast milk for options. This is so important for the pressure change on their little ears! 

    We gave in with a movie for the bigs on the flight home. We used these awesome, kid-friendly headphones.

    We tried to stick to our regular schedule and routines as much as possible. We picked          flights around the babies' schedules. It made a HUGE difference but I know this is of course not      always possible.

    The flight home was after bedtime and the littles slept for most of the four hour flight.

    We were extremely nice to the flight attendants and passengers onboard. Everyone was so kind and helpful when they saw we had four babies between the two of us. One flight attendant even held a baby in a pinch when we had to maneuver switching seats. She called him "a tank" which we still laugh about, today. People really do give the positive energy back, most of the time.  

    What we did wrong:

    Underestimated how long packing would take and didn't get enough sleep the night before.

    We brought the wrong kind of snacks. 
​​​​​We have a hard time finding snacks that everyone likes so I tried to bring as much variety        and plenty of everyone's favorites. What I didn't think about ahead of time was how                  inconvenient and messy they would be on a plane! DUH! We were so grossed out by the squished bananas and puffs container that ended up completely dumped out by a baby! We learned that choosing easy, non messy snacks on a plane is extremely important! Haha... such a rookie mistake!

Some snacks that work well on a plane are:

• small bags of nuts 
• cheese cubes
• pre-sliced cucumbers, red peppers, carrots or broccoli
• pirate booty
• trail mix (small bag so a big mess is less likely)

Items to bring (I used to travel light!):

• Umbrella Strollers
• Extra stuffies, quiet toys, quiet books, pacifiers, blankets, new books, sticker boards (Melissa and Doug), Magic Coloring Pads, Dimple Toy, Fidget Cube. Make sure everything is new or they haven't seen in a few weeks so that they're excited when they open their backpacks for travel day! So much of keeping the kids happy and occupied is having appropriate and quiet activities and PLENTY of them! 
• A small lunchbag cooler with easy, non messy snacks
• Cups to fill with water. (Buy the water or use a filling station, after you pass through security)
• Cleaning Supplies: Hand sanitizer, baby wipes, clorox wipes, tissues, mini first aid kid, and paper towels... you're bound to need them.
• A backpack for all of the parenting supplies to stay right by your feet. You don't want to be reaching for your carry-on bag in the bin overhead for wipes or a pacifier at the wrong time! Make sure you pack the bag logically and know where the most important items are (outside zippers).
• Bjorns
• Zippered Onesies with the footies. I like them because they're the easiest and the littles can't get their feet too dirty when they inevitably take their socks off. Another twin mom friend of mine recommended zippered onesies when I was pregnant with the bigs and I've been a believer ever since! Just make sure they're big enough for their feet as they grow out of them.

My favorite baby carrier

Zippered-footie Onsies- a twins must!

• Your arms, back, positive attitude and love! I've learned, the best thing you can do is bring  a loving and kind spirit and excitement for the trip. We held our littles and played with all four for the entire time. It's exhausting and we felt like we ran a marathon, trying our best to keep all four kids so quiet and entertained, while cooped up for four hours straight. Somehow, we had so much fun and we laughed a lot! I've learned whether you have one kid or four, your attitude makes all the difference. You can feel miserable, scared, tired, and nervous the whole time or you can laugh at the craziness and know it will not last forever. Kids, especially babies, will always feed off of their parent's energy. So the next time you are traveling with your kids, don't forget to take some deep yoga breaths, stretch and meditate before, during and after your flight/drive and to laugh as much as possible!

We made it to NYC!

​Photo By: Carey MacArthur

---