Dont 'Fly Me To The Moon,' Just Let My Flight Be On Time
This past Easter holiday my wife and I decided to take the kids to Chicago, IL. It was mainly to see Grandma Annie, their maternal great grandmother, who was not in the right condition to fly, but we thought we throw in a baptism as well. (More about the baptism in another post.) You would think that this was one of the most stressful times I have had. No secret here; it was hella stressful. But not only did we get to "the Chi" in one piece but we also got back to NY and I didn't even have to curse anyone out... aloud.
Do you want to know what the secret was to get this done successfully? Well, there was actually a few factors, which I will mention below, however, I will state that I would not have been able to get this done with out a bomb-ass wife. So just get yourself a bomb-ass wife and you would be good to go.
Planning
While it may seem obvious that planning is definitely key to getting anything done, well, it is especially needed for a trip with two 9-month olds. This is all because there are so many factors to consider. What time should the flight be? What will they wear that will be warm enough for a plane cool enough not to over heat? How many bags to bring? Where will they sleep when we get there? All of these questions we had to answer well in advance so that we gave ourselves enough time to pack.
Not to bore you with all of the insane details of our decisions, here is a list of everything we brought with us or shipped.
Our Bugaboo Donkey Stroller
People said to get umbrella strollers for this trip and I can see the reasoning, but with the amount of traveling we did and the convenience of the stroller, I was against parting with it. This was a good choice for all that we did on this trip.
Travel Case for the Stroller
We got an off-brand cheaper case for the stroller to see how we would manage. It packed up fine but was hella heavy when I needed to carry it and a kid at the same time. Next time I will get the Bugaboo branded travel case since it has wheels.
Both Car Seats
We thought about renting car seats but then we were like "Nah." Instead, we purchase car seat bags with back pack straps and checked them.
Baby Carriers
Yea, 'cus' when you have a stroller you need to carry onto a plane or you are walking through security, you need can be bothered with making sure your kids don't fall and break his head.
A Replacement Nursery
Yes, we bought two more cribs, two more mattresses, more sheets, diapers, wipes, soap, lotion, food and white noise. We shipped this to Nanna Kathy's and set up shop like we never left home. Luckily we could do that, however, when we plan to stay at hotels we will have to think of a different option.
Timing
This goes hand in hand with planning. However, when I say "timing" I am speaking of just that; time.
We knew that we wanted the kids to sleep on the plane since this was the best way for us to have a decent flight. So we bought a plane ticket when the flight was during their usual nap time. Once we got on the plane, we prepared a bottle for them to consume while the plane was taking off. It was the best time because the sucking action allowed them to avoid their ears clogging due to the pressure shift. Once that bottle was consumed we were in the air and the kids we off to sleep. They didn't wake up until about 10 minutes before landing.
This happened both ways so our flight was actually the best part of traveling. I was even able to take a nap so I should pretty much get brownie points.
Patience
Man oh, man! Now, I have patience. I am probably the most patient person you have ever met. If we got into a patience competition, I would wipe the floor with you. (Mind you I said I have all the patience in the world, but I lack humility, lol) However, this was on another level. I mean the number of things that I needed to do to make sure we go from home to my mother in law's front door was crazy. Here is pretty much the list of everything I needed to do, while my bomb-ass wife managed our kids:
- Pack, unpack and re-pack the car with two carry on suit cases and a double stroller. (Not everything fit the first time)
- Drive to the airport. It was LaGuardia but we left out of terminal a which I have never visited so it took me a while to find.
- Unpack the car, assemble the stroller, remove the car seats and pack them into their respective travel bags.
- Get all of that luggage onto one of those push carts because there was no one to help us at the curb. I stole one of their flat beds to do this,
- I mentioned that I was in terminal A, right? Wel terminal A is hella far from long term parking. So I had to drive over there park the car and jog back to Terminal f%*^#@g A.
- When we got to the gate, I have to do a compact disassemble of the stroller. This involves removing the wheel and stuff so that the stroll can fit into the travel case.
- Carry the case (because it didn't have wheels) to the plane so that it could be checked.
- When we landed, I had to reassemble the stroller, which involved putting wheels back on. Bugaboo is awesome for how it allows you to remove and attach the wheels.
- Pack two checked suitcases, a car seat onto one of the $1,000,000 dollies that the airport rents. Then carry the second car seat on my back using the backpack straps that the travel case came with and take everything to the shuttle stop.
- Once the rental car shuttle came, I had place each child onto my wife's lap as she had to hold them while I packed all of that stuff previously mention on to the shuttle. I was doing this all while people are standing behind me on the line to get on the bus and making dumbass remarks like "looks like you got your hands full, ha ha." That was one of the time when cursed the man out....in my head.
- Once we get to the car rental and get the car. I had to put the car seats in and pack, unpack and repack the rental car (not everything fit the first time).
- Drive for 40 minutes to the house. We stopped at McDonald's on the way.
Whew! I did all this without jumping out of the plane when I had the chance. Like I said, I have all the patience in the world and it sounds like I have a ton of stamina too.
If you are planning on taking a trip soon and need help strategizing, just reach out. Chances are that if you are reading this blog, you have my number, but if not hen feel free to reach out to davis@davisfmly.com.