Travelling OS with 2 year old and 7mth old. Any advice appreciated..

[Beach Mama]

Eeeekkkk just writing it out like that makes my toes curl but is it feasible and not crazy to think about planning a trip OS with 2 littlies? We would be going to Canada, stopover more than likely in either Japan or Hawaii, so it would break up the trip to 2 roughly 10 hour segments plus an interstate flight of 4 hours or so once in Canada.

My BIL and his wife live in Canada, they are due in January, and he made an effort to come out to Oz to see Isabelle when she was 3 mths old, and just recently when DH's Pa passed away was out here again. We would love to go and see them and their new baby and are starting to toy with the idea of going in around May/June. DH thinks maybe it would be better for him to go alone (of course he does!) but as I've said to him, his brother wasn't leaving behind a wife with 2 kids, plus I want to go too!

We would try to go just before Izzy turns 2 to save $$$ or would it be better to have her own seat? What about logistics like car seats, prams etc. once there? Someone told me they got some cheapy stuff on ebay to use while OS - sounds like a great idea.

The thing that worries me the most is the flight itself....can 2 year olds sit/lie still for fairly long periods of time without driving everyone else and themselves nuts!

Love to hear from you seasoned travellers!!!

[~Trish~]

Wow, travelling to Canada sounds like an adventure! We haven't flown much since having kids so I'm definitely not a seasoned traveller LOL. We've only flown with DS1 a few times just before he turned 2. We did find that he needed his own space and we were lucky in that there were free seats that we could put him in. If he was stuck on our laps he would go stir crazy, but if he had his own little space he coped really well. That was just our DS though, all kid are different! It's so much more expensive if you have to pay for another seat though, is your DD really active contantly or is she happy to sit down quietly occasionally? Our DS has always been super active so I think that's why he needed his own space to keep busy in.

Sorry I'm not much help! I hope someone else with more experience will come in and help you

[C~Q]

I did one of my many trips to the UK when DS was two and a half and DD was sx months old, I found it hard but not too hard and I was by myself. DD had reflux and that was probably the hardest thing about it. Just make sure you get there early so you can have a seat with a bassinette then that will take care of the little one. I have always bought a seat for my kids (other then when she was 6 months old) because It's hard enough to fly with kids, let alone if they're on your lap. But saying that, you will have DH with you so that will be easier.

I, personally would get Izzy a seat but it all depends on finances.

From my experience you flying with a baby around 6/7 months is a perfect time. You can distract them with toys, they can sleep flat in a basinette and you can feed them when they're cranky! Older kids are harder but you'll know what Izzy likes to play with and there will be two of you to distract her. I was lucky that DS has always been a big movie watcher so he was happy to watch the tv for a lot of the flight, if not you could always buy a portable dvd player with and take some Wiggles movies or whatever she is in to.

Some great toys I have taken are little etch-a-sketch thingys, pens and activity books, felt activity scenes are great, packs of cards, books, puzzles. I usually take a carry on bag full of toys.

I have just come back from a trip to the UK with all three of them (7, 5 and 18 months) by myself so if you have any questions then fire away!

ETA - This last trip I gave DD2 something to make her sleep on the way back. A lot of people don't agree with this but it saved my sanity and the people around me so it might be something to look into.

Good luck, it's full on but lots of fun flying with kids!!

[Beach Mama]

Oh thanks so much for the positive post!! I know it will be hard but we would really like to do this and your suggestions are fantastic! I spoke to DH last night and we are going to play it by ear as far as when to go, becuase we still don't know when BIL and SIL will be moving. Their bub will be born in Jan and then they will move a few months later so we don't want our trip to coincide with that! I have a feeling it will happen once Izzy is over 2 so we will have to get her a seat anyway which will be fine.
Thanks again! and keep any other ideas and experiences coming people!