Double Trouble: Navigating a Cross-Country Flight With Twins

Sharon Francis is the blessed mother of two spirited 9-month old twins, Zachary and Zoe. While watching them grow may be twice the fun, traveling with two babies can be a double nightmare. Learn from Sharon’s experience below, narrated exclusively for Momaboard.com and cut your own stress levels in half!

Sharon says:

This holiday season, we flew United from San Francisco to Newark, NJ airport. The booking agent advised me that I could not travel alone with twins until they were 2 years old. Her reasoning was in case of an emergency, disembarking with two babies would be a safety risk. However, I was unable to verify this on their website and the flight attendants were not sure of the policy. Regardless, it would be very difficult to fly alone with twins. Zachary and Zoe were nine months and they needed the full attention of an adult during the flight.

We opted to keep the babies on our lap to save money. Most Domestic aircrafts have a 3-3 seat configuration. Those type of planes are only equipped with 4 oxygen masks per seat bank, so 2 adults with lap babies can not sit next to each other. Luckily, we booked early enough so that we had aisle seats across from each other. This was ideal for getting in and out of our seats easily and the twins liked looking at each other during the flight. If you are traveling internationally, and the airplane has a 2-5-2 configuration, there are enough oxygen masks for two lap babies in the 5 bay. But as I mentioned, the aisle seats are most convenient for getting up to change diapers and stroll down the aisle.

In terms of gear, we had lots of stuff. It’s best to try and bring as little as possible on the plane but with twins you are packing for two. Each of us had a well stocked diaper bag which we kept at the base of our feet for easy access. I am so glad I packed extra clothes, plastic trash bags, cereal puff snacks and their favorite toys. It all came in handy. I prepared 6 bottles in advance and kept them in a bottle cooler also stowed under the seat. It is just too complicated to mix formula while juggling a baby in coach. In addition we had one larger bag that we stowed overhead with extra formula, blankets, diapers, water, clothes for us as well as the babies. Boy, I was glad to have that extra T-shirt when Zachary spit up on me.

Traveling within the airport was a good experience. The security checkpoint personnel were very courteous at both SFO and Newark. We had to walk with our babies through the metal detectors and put everything through the x-ray. They had to test all the liquids by hand and scan the double stroller separately. It took about 20 minutes, so allow extra time.

We are still using the double snap-n-go with the carseats. We were able to bring the stroller all the way to the gate, and they checked it prior to boarding. We received the stroller and car seats back immediately after disembarking. They were waiting for us in the breezeway. Prior to boarding we took Zachary and Zoe out of their car seats, let them crawl around a bit to stretch out. We strapped them in baby bjorn carriers for the final walk onto the plane, so our hands were free during boarding. It worked out great. We were able to keep them in the baby carriers most of the flight which helped them sleep.

All in all, an interesting journey during which we learned a lot! Next time around, piece of cake

Leave your comments and questions for Sharon below!