Twins on a Plane

Travelling with twin toddlers. It's enough to challenge the toughest and strongest of mind and body. Quien es mas macho? Parents of twins, that's who.

We just returned from a long trip home, to Texas. It was a nice trip except for a few details which, in hindsight, make for a good story but, while you're living it, really bite. But every time we travel with Lola and Locke (and we've been doing it since they were four months old) we learn new tricks and survival techniques. I'll pass a few of those along now.

First of all, never travel to Texas in August. What were we thinking? The highs were in the 100s almost every day while we were there, which makes for a lovely time between the hours of 11pm and 7am. Which is precisely the hours we're all sleeping. We did, however, manage to have some fun in the wading pool in the morning and after dinner. The rest of the time was carefully calculated for climate control.

Next, always take the first flight out on a weekend morning. That's right, that 7am flight that requires you to wake up at an hour at which you've more often fallen asleep than woken up. It sounds crazy but the first flights are less likely to be delayed (trust me, you do not want to be delayed when travelling with toddlers) and aren't nearly as full so you can often get a whole row to yourself. Plus, when your toddler actually falls asleep in your lap on the flight, it's worth all the pain that you endured getting up and out the door. Of course that's if you're lucky enough to be holding a toddler like Lola. If you've got one like Locke, it's another story. Although he did extremely well except for one episode of the noodle when I tried to hold him in my lap for a short ride through a little turbulence.

And finally, always have a pediatrician lined up in case of emergency wherever you travel. Locke had several days of high fever, which turned out to be a virus that went away on its own but was very scary for a while. We were able to get in to see a doctor in our old pediatrician's office after trying another office that was closer to where we were staying, only to be met with the verbal equivalent of a slamming door in our faces. From now on, I find the name of a doctor ahead of time. And being that prepared will certainly increase our chances of never needing it.

Overall, it was actually a nice trip. Locke and Lola got to spend time with their grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousin, and we got to see several good friends, although we missed out on seeing others because of the heat and Locke's illness. Kelly and I even got to see a movie (if you haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine, I highly recommend it -- however, since I've only seen three movies this whole year, my judgment could be a little lax). But we only ate enough Mexican food to stave off our cravings for a few months so we better plan another trip soon. Actually, I just found out my friend Stephanie is getting married in Texas next month so I may be going back sooner than expected. I don't think we're going to get to do another family trip, though. Even though it was a good trip, we'd be pressing our luck to take the twins on a plane two months in a row.