before we went on our family vaca to sanibel island, i spent every spare moment researching how in the world to get through an airport + flight with two wee ones.

i asked everyone i could who had twins and scoured every twin blog i frequent to see what advice they had to make it manageable.

i prepped. i packed. and repacked. researched.

really, i may or may not have been being slightly crazy about it. as is most of my first time big parenting happenings…surely i’m not alone?

the end result really was much better than i ever could have imagined… but. i give full credit to the tips i gathered from other mamas who have been there.

not every tip will work for every family…so do your research and modify for what works best for you!

if you have any tips to add to this list, please comment!

1. southwest airlines. southwest made it soo easy to fly with kids. you get to check a free bag + gate check carseats + strollers. the flight attendants were SO helpful, kind, patient, + super super accommodating.  walking on a flight with two babies in hand, hitting every person with bags as you squeeze through… it’s bound to be a disaster, but every flight attendant was amazing! graham has a pretty severe peanut allergy and they were so great to our family, letting us board ahead of time to clean the seats + they didn’t serve peanuts on our flight. awesome.
2. direct flight. the least amount of packing, unpacking, loading, boarding, taking off and landing you have to do, the better.  trust me.
3. cardimom. where was this when i had two babies nursing full time?! i am so sad i’m just now adding this amazing staple to my wardrobe, but have no fear. this gem is going to get lots and lots of use even as we wean out of nursing! the cardimom is a 10-in-1 nursing essential that can be worn from maternity to the fourth trimester and beyond.  it can be styled as a poncho, baby wearing cardigan or used as a high chair/stroller cover, plus more.
4. stroller. this was a big one for me.  i had no idea how to get through the airport with the amount of stuff. after talking to all of my twin mamas, this is what made sense for us.  the girls were contained, we could use the bottom of the stroller for storage + the bob duallie only takes one hand to steer.  that left us with 1.5 adults with hands free. gate checked as soon as we got to the terminal and it was ready for us when we go off the plane!
5. car seats. lots of debate on this one.  i didn’t trust the car  seats that the rental car company provided, nor did we probably know how to use them properly.  i was scared if we checked them with our other baggage they would get damaged or lost… theeeen we’d be in trouble! so we brought our graco snugride click connect seats and gate checked.  it worked for us. it is certainly the safest to use the car seats on the plane, but we made the choice to check them. like the stroller, they were ready for us as soon as we got off! done and done.
6. diaper bag. two words: game. changer. a diaper bag is everything and when i’m needing to travel with two littles, i need it to wear 15 different hats. enter: The Division of Labor Mom + Baby Tote by multiwear.  pockets. changing pad. mom tote. baby tote. key fob. water resistant (or coffee if you’re me). stroller strap (or regular straps that fit on a double stroller – twin bonus!!). shoe covers for the gym (or sand on vaca). design. have i gotten to 15 hats yet?! i was able to carry all of the toys, snacks, diapers, clothes…everything i needed. and the best part? when i got to the beach and only needed some towels and a snack, i unclipped the mom tote and had a compact diaper bag for the girls! two bags carried as one. and double bonus…zach even wore it!.
7. distractions. toddlers. goodness gracious we have gotten busy lately!  one of the best tips i received was to bring one or two favorite toys and then bring out the big guns with brand new toys (or at least toys they haven’t played with in the last week). toys only last a couple of minutes with our attention spans so the new excitement tacked on an extra 5 minutes of excitement which was huge.
8. snacks. snacks. snacks. snacks.  we consumed enough snacks in a 3 hour time frame for the entire weekend. it’s fine. really.
9. schedule. this tip was given to me and it just didn’t work out for us.  luckily the girls did fine and were super troopers.  but, i heard it enough that i feel like i should pass it on.  if you have the ability and the choice, try to stick with as much of a ‘normal’ schedule as you can. and if you can’t, pray for happy babies!
10. do your research. this is huge! did you know for a lap child (under 2), you have to have a copy of their birth certificate?! i didn’t until i called southwest asking for every detail i needed to know.  they were super helpful and gave me all the info i needed.  do your research and have a plan. ask if you need documentation or any other specifics.  the last thing you want to do is show up and not be able to get past security!!
11. smile and laugh. you have babies. or toddlers. or children. something is bound to not go your way… welcome to parenthood.  a good sense of humor will get you further than any tip above (except the documentation.. you will need that to go anywhere!). so smile, be friendly, and try to enjoy this new adventure!

**lap child: after talking to our pediatrician, we decided to fly with the girls on our laps.  this means we didn’t have to purchase an extra two (story of my life) tickets. each row of 3 only has 4 air masks that come down in case of an emergency. this means that if your flight is full, you will need to split your family up.  when we boarded, a flight attendant told us that there was one (yes, only one) extra seat on the flight so he told us to take our chances and all 4 of us sit in one row. plop a baby down in the middle seat and tell people it was taken.  it was like this both ways and we totally lucked out.  so we had an entire row for the four of us.  which was super helpful for playing, holding toys, passing babies, etc.

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disclosure: this post contains affiliate links to where if you, the reader, click the link, i will receive a small commission off of what you purchase. i appreciate you reading my blog and hope you don’t mind! as always,  all opinions are 100% my own!

question: what is your #1 travel tip with kids?!

xoxo,

Lindsey