This weekend we travelled to Ohio for my cousin’s wedding. We drove there and stayed in a hotel, so I’m counting it as our first real trip with the babies (not including our very long drive when we moved from New York to Pittsburgh, or a weekend at a friend’s house). I’d say it was a learning experience for all. Here are a few things I learned:
1. From now on, when we leave a hotel, not only should we double check the bathroom to make sure we didn’t forget any toiletries, but we should also check under the bed, under the chairs, behind the curtains, behind the dresser. Babies are sneaky with the hiding things.
2. My clothes will fit in a small duffel and the babies’ clothes will take up a whole suitcase. It seems like I’m packing too many baby clothes, but I’m not. They went through all of them.
3. Pureed baby food in pouches is awesome for travel. This trip we discovered they can suck the food themselves out of the pouch. They love it and it’s much neater than any other eating option. If they’re still into that the next time, we’re packing a lot more of those and a lot fewer jars and bananas.
4. Somehow travel made me realize the seriousness of the babies’ schedules. Four times milk, three meals, two naps, bed time, at the same times each day. The challenge of keeping to a schedule in a new city, with places to be at particular times, people to meet, really brought this point home.
5. The jury is still out on whether two umbrella strollers or the double stroller are preferable. This time we went with the two umbrellas, but next time we will probably try the double. Advantage of two umbrellas: they fit more places, are more portable, and can double as high chairs for eating. Advantage of double: One person has hands free for opening doors and carrying other things, like luggage, or a baby. One thing we do know, the babies are too heavy to carry: we packed the Ergo carriers and never used them.
Those are a few lessons learned, anyway. Final lesson is it’s tiring…but probably good for us.
Space Monkey Twins 
Travelling only gets easier
That would be nice. I hope so.
We travel a lot with two toddlers and use a double umbrella stroller. Best thing ever! It closes up and wheels around a just like a single but sits the kids side by side. Glad your trip went well! 🙂
We have two single umbrella strollers and a heavy double stroller. It seems like there is never quite the perfect stroller! Double umbrella seems like it would have some advantages. Though our heavy double is very maneuverable.
Well live and learn. The important thing is you lived to tell the tale!
Yes, live and learn.
I would definitely try the double stroller next time! It’s heavier and bulkier but worth it to have the storage underneath, cup holdrtsand one parent hands free 🙂
Yeah, I think you’re right.
Wow. I can’t imagine leaving the house with twins, let alone a trip out like that! Well done! A learning experience that will make it easier next time.
Thanks for saying that. I felt pretty good about the weekend. Hopefully that will make it easier next tine.
I know what you mean about baby clothes! I travelled and had a washer and dryer when we got there, but I still had a full suitcase for her!
I know, it’s funny, especially since their clothes are so small 🙂 Thank you for commenting!
We had our first family away overnight this weekend but the first trip of many to the family lake house probably doesn’t count. Any other tips for hotel stays? I’m super nervous about a beach trip in a month because I’m not sure our usual place will hold two pack n plays in our room.
Tips, hm… Not sure what your options are, but it sure would have been nice if we’d had a suite sort of room, so we didn’t have to have the babies right next to the bed. Was especially challenging for naps. And as always lots of plastic bags for diapers, and ear plugs (otherwise I lie away listening to them breathe).
A suite would be wonderful but not possible for this trip. Thanks for the tips though. I definitely wouldn’t have thought about bags and earplugs.
Good tips. We are going away to Maine in about a month – what are your tips for a very long (6 hour) car ride? Go at night when they would be sleeping? Go during the day, with lots of stops?
I don’t know. This was a four hour drive not counting stops. Ours take two naps a day, so on the way there we fed them breakfast then left (which is the time we would have put them down for a nap), then stopped for about an hour for lunch, then drove again (their second nap time) and it worked really well. But on the way back we tried the same thing and they fussed for the second two hours and we had to stop and it was pretty stressful. Not sure what tips I have. Driving at night would be great probably if that’s an option.
Sounds like you all did great! We traveled when the girls were 14 months, and it about did me in. That’s a huge milestone!
It is exhausting…
Having just been away with my twins for the first time, I totally understand this! It’s so tiring! But it’s a good thing to push the boundaries and get braver about doing things with the little ones 🙂
I guess you can only learn by trying! Thanks for commenting!
I thought it was a tough decision figuring out what stroller to get, but when we had two kids (not twins like yours, but they’re close in age), the double stroller options made my head spin.
I know. It’s like shoes, you can never find one pair that will fit all the needs! Except the strollers are so expensive.
Great to hear about the food pouches. I’ll keep that in mind. We travel at least every other month to visit my brother-in-law for a night. We’ve done it once so far, and I can relate to the baby supplies needing more luggage space. 🙂
Hope they work for you! I’m not sure if the babies will keep loving them as much once the novelty wears off. We’ll see.