Airplane Travel, Alone, with Two Kiddos

There are two places that give me the most anxiety when dealing with mobile, judgement impaired children: the beach and the airport. Both are fascinating places for children and their first response in these areas is to run away in opposite directions. So when I booked a trip to take a 5 hour flight to see my parents, I tried to be hyper-prepared.

Here are the things I brought to the airport/plane:
1. Lotion/chapstick - because plane travel makes me uncomfortable and shrivel up.
2. Empty sippy cups - because when the airline worker gives me an open cup and a can of juice, I can avoid a splashy situation.
3. Books/Activity books
4. Candy/snacks
5. A kid carrier - so I can at least attach one kid to me when navigating through a crowded airport or a narrow plane aisle.
6. Two tablets with new games/movies and two headphones
7. Light jackets/comfort blankets - to help the kids sleep if they need it.

I thought I was sure to have a smooth ride, but there were a couple of things I did not anticipate...

I booked an evening flight that left Orlando at 6:15 p.m. and pulled into Salt Lake City at 9:00 p.m. (which is really 11:00 p.m. EST). With this timing, I thought the kids might spend half of the plane ride sleeping, because their bedtime is 8:00 p.m. anyway. Whether it was the extra stimulation or the fact that we were flying into more light, they were wired and hopped up THE WHOLE 5 HOURS. Some of this energy was disseminated through voracious video game consumption. But it kept them occupied for much less time than I had expected. When they weren't playing their tablets, they were climbing over each other, buckling and unbuckling their seatbelts, kicking the chair in front of them – I thought, "This is actually a thing? I thought only intentionally mean kids did this."

The next thing that I did not expect was how tight two seats for three people would be. Simon was one week short of two, so he could legally sit on my lap, but no one told him that. He saw his sister have her seat, so he thought he needed one too. There was lots of climbing and shoving and me squishing over. This is how tight it was:

Also, I didn't anticipate how long the gap from put-your-device-away-time to you-can-use-your device-time was. It was a good hour! This is also the gap of time where we are suppose to be buckled and your tray table is supposed to be up. That was hard for the little ones. Something that saved me was slipping Simon a piece of candy every 5 minutes or so. Also, the books and activity books I had brought? They were stuck in the overhead compartment!

Snacks saved us. They excited the kids.

Here we are, landing in Salt Lake City. The sun is finally setting, at 9:00 p.m. My eyes were twitching and bleary at this point.

So it wasn't the smoothest flight, but we had made it alive! The elderly lady next to me, who constantly had Simon slipping to her side or me accidentally elbowing her, said, "Your kids did so good. You are a good mother." I laughed, a little embarrassed because I wasn't sure if she said that because I had struggled a lot or I had actually done a good job. In any case, we stumbled off the plane and didn't look back.

Now if you're wondering how the flight back to Orlando was, it was ironically the easiest flight I had ever taken. It was ironic because my husband was there with me to help. He didn't need to help at all, because the kids decided to sleep the whole red eye.

Rosie slept from the moment we sat her down in the seat till the moment we lifted her up to leave the plane. The people around her were chuckling at her because her zen was so complete. 

In any case, I'm so glad I survived both plane flights. There are moms out there that travel alone with more than two kids, and to them, I stare in admiration and awe. As for me, at least I know I can travel with at least two crazies.