Littles in Flight

The first question people ask me about our trip to Africa is- how was the plane ride?!?
I will be honest.
The flight(s) to Addis Ababa were.....awesome.
Seriously.  Believe it or not, the trip across the world with two Littles was not just fine, it was fun.
I used all the tricks I've saved up from dozens of domestic flights with kids, my memory of flying with four on the same route long ago, and some great tips from a friend who is like, BFF's with international travel and children.  Would you like to know the trade secrets?

1) Trunki.

Missy Rocking Her Trunki

 We could do an ad for Trunki with happy hearts.  This little rolling suitcase is not only super cute, but super handy on long flights,

Little One toting Miss (these pics are from another trip)

especially if there is a lot of walking through terminals or long layovers.
It's easy for even small kids to pull by themselves, doubles as an entertaining ride-on toy, and can be hooked together with other Trunkis so that multiple tired children can be pulled through the airport with one hand. Hollering "Choo-choo!" to amuse fellow travelers.
I only allow Trunki to be used for travel, so the novelty value is huge and keeps even worn out Littles giggling between flights.  Plus, getting to be "in charge" of one's own luggage feels very grown-up and responsible, and helps Littles behave accordingly.

Also a good place to sit. And wait. 

2) Surprise bags.

Each Little has their own special Trunki as their personal carry-on.  Inside are a change of clothes, jammies and disposable toothbrush if it's an overnight flight, and their "surprise bags".
The surprise bag is a backpack full o' fun.  They contain one very special, familiar toy, and a bunch of brand new, never seen before activities.  Ours had color wonder markers and pages, crayons and new activity books, story books, stampers, stickers, a bag with pony beads and pipecleaners to make bracelets, little jars of play doh, magnet boards, wind up toys, puzzles, and those little pills that magically turn into dinosaurs in water.  Oooohhhh.  Aaaaahhhhh.   Little One's bag also had Her "homework" from preschool.
I allow one activity at a time, and always exhaust the resources of the surprise bag before resorting to anything electronic.  I have found that I usually don't need to, and that these kinds of activities not only keep them from getting stir-crazy, but they morph an uncomfortable ride into quality time with my kids.  Oooohhhh.  Aaaahhhhh. The magical Surprise Bags.  My mom did this for us when we were small, and they are almost as fun on the other side.  Thanks mom!

3)Snacks

It's like a kid-size pacifier. With vitamins.

I don't usually do hand out snacks, but some of the best advice I received from my wise friend was:  "Bend your rules a little.  Or a lot."
I put two snack bags in each Surprise Bag, a "salty" (pretzels, pita chips, soy nuts, turky-jerky, freeze dried peas and edamame), and a "sweet" (dried and freeze-dried fruit, cheerios, millet, coconut chips, maybe a few mini-graham crackers).  The novelty of deciding between salty and sweet is a great distraction somehow, and mixing all those little snacks into one bag becomes an activity in itself.  They might spend fifteen minutes rooting around for the last coconut chip or pretzel, or counting how many raisins they can find.
I also keep a bag of snacks in my own carry-on to hand out as needed.  Because of unexpected delays and food allergies, I usually bring enough for us to all survive on if our plane crashed on a deserted island.  One big treat I like on planes is the pureed fruit packets with the spout for toddlers to suck the fruit out.  For one, it's a big treat and so it has entertainment value.  But they are also good for take off/landings to keep ears clear.  I do bring the straw-type sip cups for that as well, and to keep drinks from spilling.

4) Electronic back-up
Since it was such a long flight, I brought an ipad loaded with apps and episodes of permissible shows (and of course Miss's beloved Baby Movie), and an ipod with some of the same. Noise-regulating earphones in each surprise bag.  Between those devices and the nature channel episodes provided by the airplane, I had plenty of back up in case the surprise bags got tiresome or an emergency arose.... as it did on the return flight (but that's another story).

5) Sleep
I'd never done this before but my friend swore by it, so on this long journey I brought Little One's car seat.  Now I swear by it too. She didn't have to wiggle and wriggle, toss and turn, mess with the metal seatbelt jabbing Her side, and end up making me a prisoner by falling asleep with Her head in my lap.  She was in a comfortable, familiar chair in which She knows from experience just how to lean to sleep comfortably.  Leaving me free to tend to the other Little or make bathroom breaks or whatever.  (Also, it was nice to know that if I had needed to buckle one of them in so they couldnt go anywhere, I could have.)
Another trick for a night flight (again suggested by my friend) was to bring them on the plane in their regular clothes, but once we were in the air and had settled in, change them into PJs- giving them a mental hint that it was time to sleep- and do as much bedtime routine as possible.  We washed faces, brushed teeth and hair, read a story, and got tucked into blankets.

Since Miss was a lap child, I got to the airport at the exact time they opened up for check in- four hours before boarding- to make sure we got an infant bassinet.  She slept like, well, a baby in that thing and I had my hands and lap free. 

Between all that, the little colored pencils and such Lufthansa provides, and the excitement of the plane (funny meals in little trays, being allowed apple juice from the drink cart, being allowed to push the buttons on the armrest radio as much as their little hearts desired), the plane was a breeze.

The girls slept all the way to Germany and for the most part so did I.  The second flight miss napped a bit but mostly we were all busy with the surprise bags.  When we got off, I was a little sad the fun was over.

I know all that may sound like over-preparation, and I did have to haul two children, three carry-ons, and a car seat through Frankfurt to switch planes. (Frankfurt of all places). But it paid off.
After 19 hours of traveling we all had fun, no one cried, over a dozen people came up to compliment us on the Littles behavior, and when we finally arrived in Addis -I kid you not- we received a standing ovation from our surrounding passengers and flight crew.

Of course the flight home was a little more of an adventure.  But that's another story.