Travelling with BABIES!

Travelling often with the boys gave me a little more confidence to travel after I had the twins, knowing that I am never ‘stuck’, and family (and home) is just a plane ride away.

Whilst the thought of jumping on a plane with one baby can be enough to bring on hot sweat, travelling with twins means you must be extra prepared. The twins first flew at only a couple of months old (three months) to see our family for Christmas, then again at 6 months for Easter. Having had a few trips up our sleeves with the girls, we knew what we needed to bring for our international flight to Bali. When booking our flights, I tried to book night flights both ways. That way the twins would be able to just go to sleep in our arms during the flight. During the flights, we would always try and ‘wind down’ the girls upon finding our seats. We'd use swaddle bags and bottles and try to get them to sleep. We wouldn’t usually give the girls dummies or extra bottles throughout the day, but with travelling we have been more relaxed with our approach. Be prepared to throw any form of routine or rules out the window and just go with the flow.

Another thing worth mentioning is that, those around you will understand that you're already on edge, so focus on being calm. Calm mama, calm baby.

We haven’t had a problem with the kids ears on planes, so personally I wouldn’t stress about it, a bottle or dummy will be fine. Whilst every baby, parenting style and family is different, here are a few key things that help us when travelling!    

• Hot tip number 1:

$25 umbrella strollers We got two strollers to bring with us, and we have left this over in Bali for locals to have/use. They were.. a LIFE.SAVER. They pack down tiny so we could easily jump into taxis with them. The twins slept in them and they were GREAT - it was so handy having a single stroller for each baby, with the paths in Bali being so small. A double pram would have been a logistical nightmare. I felt at ease having these disposable ones rather than having to worry about potentially damaging or breaking an expensive pram.  

• Hot tip number 2:

Pop-up porta cots A travelling MUST-HAVE! We have the Bebe care brand, but they're readily available. They fold down to virtually nothing and pop-up to a mosquito free, safe, self-inflating porta cot! Best invention ever. I do have to say this recommendation was passed on from my friends Tanya and Brooke from their kids, so is a must have from a few of us!    

• Hot tip number 3:

Sterilising bags or tablets In Bali especially, the water is not safe for human consumption. We sterilised just about everything in Milton tablets and bottled water. Alternatively, if you know you'll have access to microwaves, sterilising bags are a great alternative to chemical tablets.  

• Hot tip number 4:

Probiotics Start taking probiotics daily, 7-10 days before leaving and during your stay. It makes a huge difference with gut health and in assisting in fighting off any bad bacteria. Whilst travelling with babies takes A LOT of organisation and can be quite stressful, I know I'd rather go exploring, making memories with all of the kids and having a few ‘moments’- than to not adventure away.