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twins r fun
06-23-2002, 07:26 PM
I posted these questions in another thread, but I think they got lost amidst someone else's questions-at least I'd rather assume that than that no one felt they were worthy of answering :), so I'll try again! We are flying to LA (from the east coast) with our 8 month old twins next week. I have a few questions, but would also love additional advice (I have read most of the travel related advice on this board).

1. Are babies worse with the air pressure during take off/landing when they are teething? Mine are in the process of cutting their first teeth.

2. Has anyone tried bungeeing their careseat on one of those foldable luggage racks? I thought maybe I could do that with one or both Roundabouts to get through the airport. Do you think it would work? I hate to uninstall the carseat just to try it ahead of time.

3. I would like to hit the beach for one day. But since it's only for a day, I don't want to bring to much beach stuff. Are there any "must haves" to make a day at the beach enjoyable?

Again, I'd love any other advice you have.

Nicole

egoldber
06-23-2002, 08:15 PM
I'm not sure if teething pain makes cabin pressure worse or not. I can't speak to this for 2 reasons. One, my 10 month old still has ZERO teeth! (The ped said they don't worry until babies are TWO, but I am a little sensitive about this :) ). Also, Sarah has NEVER had any trouble with cabin pressure changes on take off and landing. When flying with her the first couple of times (6 and 12 weeks) she would eat pretty much whenever, so I gave her a bottle or breastfed her. But as we got older, if she wasn't hungry, she WOULD NOT eat during those times. On our flights to and from Europe, she would not drink during those times and had no discomfort. So, you twins may not be affected by the changes. Every baby is different.

When we went to France, we took a truly fiercesome quantity of baggage. DH bought an inductrial size (like used by professional to carry heavy equipment) luggage carts for our bags. We "bungee'd" the Britax Roundabout to the top of the heap and it worked just fine. If you have a smaller cart and would like it to to hold your bags PLUS the carseat, try it out well ahead of time so you have time to explore other options if it doesn't work. I have also successfully just loaded the carseat onto the stroller. BUT you eould have two carseats, hmmm....

There was a recent beach thread (which I am sure you probably read).

Were you the person who wanted to go hiking also? And sightseeing? And the beach? Hmm... Have you traveled like this with your twins before? I am not trying to be facetious, but in general, travel plans need to be scaled back quite a bit with a baby (or two) in tow. We were pretty miserable in France for the first 3 days and then we finally convinced oursaelves and my in-laws (who we were traveling with), that we COULD NOT see everything, do everything, like we did in the days before baby. We were all MUCH happier after that. Each day we would pick ONE thing that ALL OF US really wanted to do. We made sure to do that ONE thing, and then anything else was gravy. The trick to travel with baby (at least fro us), is slow down, relax, and cherish the moment.

I don't know if I answered all of your questions, but hopefully this was some help.

HTH,

twins r fun
06-23-2002, 09:32 PM
Thanks for your help. It's reassuring to know that your baby had no problems with cabin pressure- my mom is freaking me out about how they're going to scream! I'm actually thinking about buying a luggage rack and taking it to BRU to see if I can bungee their Roundabouts on it, rather than take mine out of the car!

And I am the person who's planning to hike (which probably won't happen because I don't want to lug our backpacks out there), sitesee, and go to the beach, but you forgot to include my sister's wedding and rehearsal dinner! :) We're actually only planning one thing each day and I'm one of those stay at home moms that CANNOT stay in the house, so my babies are used to being taken all over the place. We'll see how it goes! Thanks again for your help.

Nicole

egoldber
06-23-2002, 09:51 PM
I am also a SAHM who doesn't SAH. :) We go out, lots of places every day. Somehow it's different when it's just Sarah and me (or being out with my friends). But it could just be me and my MIL being oil and water. She really is a nice woman, but boy are we different....

Have a good time. :)

trumansmom
06-25-2002, 10:59 AM
I can only answer the first question, but I just got back last night from flying with a teething 7 month old, and I don't think it made a difference. The cabin pressure didn't bother him at all on take off, and only briefly on one of the four flights during landing. By briefly, he only cried for a minute or less.

As far as the car seat goes, I just turned it upside down and attched the straps on the side of the handle of his stroller. (Okay, so my husband came up with this idea, but it worked so nicely I wanted to claim it for myself!) It was a bit unwieldy getting through restrooms and such, but for the most part worked great. I know it would be harder with twins though...

Also, most airports now have family restrooms. Seek these out! If you have a layover they will make your life much easier than trying to squeeze through ladies rooms for diaper changes.

Good luck!

twins r fun
06-25-2002, 02:54 PM
Thanks for the teething info-that makes me feel better! I'm trying to picture how you did the carseat stroller thing and can't quite figure it out. I hadn't thought about trying to attach the carseats to the strollers and still have the babies ride in them. I'll have to play with it and see what I can do. Did you have any problems with your stroller tipping?

Nicole