Need Flying Help...

I have used the CARES belt system that was mentioned below numerous times. It's quick and easy to install and doesn't take up room. I highly recommend it.

Wow, T.! You are some sort of an amazing woman! The only approved child restraint for an airplane is a car seat. Booster seats are not approved for an airplane. You will definitely need to make arrangements to board early if possible. It's unlikely, but you might ask the airline if they have any approved restraints available for you to use on the plane.

Oh my! you must be one amazing woman! OK...here's my advice. I'm a Flt. Att. for the largest airline at DIA & can tell you our policies & the FAA rules. Since each one of your children has a seat, I don't understand the rule you mentioned about having 2 children under 2 yrs alone. That only applies when you are holding a child on your lap. There is 1 extra Oxygen mask in each row, so in a row of 3 seats you can only have 4 passengers. Your airline may have a different rule. The FAA states that you can use a CRS (Child Restraint System) or also called ACSD (Aviation Child Safety Device) for children ages 1-4 who weigh between 22-44 lbs and is taller than 40 in & can sit up alone. It is a belt/buckle device & is attached to the airplane seat belt by the customer. The device will have a label attached that will say "FAA Approved for Aircraft Use Only" I don't know where you can buy these,sorry! Check at Target, or maybe other Mom's know? My son is 13 so these weren't available when he was little. Now,you arent required have to have this...you can just put your 19 mo. old twins in a seat & put pillow & blankets between them & the aircraft seat if it doesn't fit snug enough. I just think the ACSD is safer & ofcourse safest of all is a car seat. Since you don't need the car seats at your destination, I don't see why you should bother sending everything ahead. Call the airline to see if a friend can accompany you to the gate to help you carry stuff...we allow that for parents meeting Unacompanied Minors, but don't know about your situation. Otherwise, a small stroller to carry one child & hang your bag on may be helpful to get thru security & to the gate.Then you can gate check the stroller so you don't have to deal with it on board.Or, take it on incase one child is asleep on landing. If it's an umbrella stroller those are easier to store onboard. A backpack is also a good idea. And one each for the 3 & 4 yr old with toys & books inside. Altho policies have changed & families don't board first now( I know...I hate that too!) you can explain your situation to the gate agent & ask if they will make an exception. I have NEVER seen a single Mom travel with FOUR children alone...so I hope they will be accomodating to you! That's why I think you must be an amazing woman!! LOL I hate to say it, but you never know about Flt. Atttendants. If they are Mom's, they will be more than happy to hold one child...or ask one when the service is over if they could just sit with your children while you go to the bathroom.
I'm curious how long your flight is. If it's over 2 hrs. I would strongly recommend bringing a DVD player for your 2 older children to watch a movie. They could be in the row with one twin (who could be on the isle) & you could be across the isle with your other twin in the middle. Or, your most challenging child next to you. Remember to bring snacks & sippy cups. I think Frontier has cups with tops, but United doesn't. Also, plenty of diapers incase there is a delay. And perhaps some extra clothes in case of a spill.
Maybe you know all this..sorry if you do! Also, if the airline has allowed a friend to take you to the gate, perhaps they will allow the person meeting you to come to the gate too. Check with the airline about that. Most of all, have a good attitude (you don't seem stressed at all!)
Try & make friends with the person in your row...if youre lucky it will be a sweet older woman who adores children!
Or a younger one who wants to be a nanny!! I hope this helps you & you have a wonderful time away. I'm tempted to fly with you just to help you out!!! Take care, write me with any more questions if you like.

P.S. I just read others comments about only being able to use a car seat. The ACSD is pretty new, so that's probably the confusion.

A suggestion I didn't see but might be an option for you is to rent a car seat from one of the car rental agencies at the airport. Then you could just turn it in when you get to your destination and check one back out to rent on the way home.

From my understanding, any child under the age of two who has a confirmed purchased seat, must be in an FAA approved car seat. Your older children may or may not be able to sit with you as there are only so many oxygen masks per row as well. I would look on the website of the airline you are flying and see what their requirements are, or call them. I have a 15 month old and two older kids, ages 6 and 7. We recently flew with all three of them and we put the little one on our lap, which we wont do again because he is too busy and wouldnt sit still. We are travelling to L.A. in July with them again and buying a seat this time. I give you credit travelling on a plane with all of them- I wont do it..... I would rather drive!

Good luck!

T.,

The one thought I had was that you could possibly make your trip easier by using a service to ship your bags (and possibly your other carseats/boosters) to your destination, instead of being the family pack mule through the airport! With luggage for you and 4 kids, that's a lot of stuff! And they are too little to carry very much.

Check out www.baggageshipping.com or www.uship.com or www.luggagefree.com. I think all of them pick up your stuff at your house and deliver it to your destination so it is waiting for you in your room when you arrive. Sounds nice.

We are taking a trip in April so I looked at these services. I don't know if we'll use one or not, since we have bigger kids who can carry bags, but for your situation it could be a lifesaver.

C. Hoffman
www.EmbraceLifeCoach.com

I read the responses that your received. The Cares safety harness is the way to go for your twins. I am so glad that you posted this bc we will be buy it too. Can you have a grandma or a friend come along to help you? Maybe you can get someone from the airline to drive you in a cart to your gate and they can escort you with the babies. This would help you a lot especially in your case. I would definitely bring a light double stroller for the twins. You will need to put one down to do diaper changes. Also you can have one of the flight attendants hold a baby if you need to change one on the flight. I would bring a big backpack for a carry on, a light double strollers. Personally I wouldn't give the kids a backpack bc that's more stuff to cart around. My daughter lost her backpack and doll due to us forgetting about it under the seats. That is just one more thing you have to keep account of.
We are traveling with 3 kids(will be 2.5, 1.5 and 7 months) in May. I am going with my husband though. I told my hubby about the harness and we are getting some too. We are bringing a light double stroller with us. I will have my little one in the carrier. Good luck to you and have fun.

you don't have to do it alone! #1) when you check in, ask for a companions pass for whoever is taking you to the airport. Its a pass that will get them through security so they can help you schlep all the stuff you'll need for that plane trip. They exist! You just have to ask for them. #2) request a meet and assist from your airline. They can come to you with luggage carts or one of the golf carts to help you from the gate to baggage claim. #3) before boarding, request extra help from the check in desk or the little boarding kiosk. The flight attendants are there to help. Ask. Good luck! sounds like an interesting flight!

The harness recommended looks great! I wish I had known about that for all the times I've flown. I think you'll find the flight goes better than you think. We have binoculars for our boys, and they love watching out the window with those. I'd call the airline and see if they have a little pack for kids. We just flew Monday, and they gave my 2 1/2 yo a kids pack. It was really too old for him, but it entertained him for an entire 4 hours, with the help of a nap and peanuts. If I'd known that, we could have avoided an entire backpack. :) We usually have some toys for each of the kids to claim as their own, but most to share. You can consider something like new crayons or a new coloring book. We've found great success with new things. If your kids have ear trouble, see if your doctor will give you ear numbing drops. I've always carried them with me, but never had to use them, but if you need them, they work almost immediately. Have fun and don't worry about what those around you think. On our flight Monday, I think there were about 15 kids 3 and under and it was a pretty quiet flight. You'll be fine. :)

I've flown a lot with my toddler and wanted to add a couple things. I always bring a new toy, wrapped. We do bring a dvd player on longer flights and have a few discs, including one of photos of our daughter, us, family etc--it's amazing how much attention she'll pay to herself. I also bring mini m&ms or mini chocolate chips. You can hand one out at a time and it can take you an hour to get through, if you're lucky. I've found they'll do a lot for m&ms! You can also get lollipops in case of emergency, but bring bibs for the younger ones. Make sure you have a juice box or sippy cup for take off, so that their ears are taken care of and you've got no kids screaming on take off. I also get like 6 plastic cups from the flight attendant and she plays with them like all flight. Good luck!

You can rent a car seat from car rental agencies. That way you can pic up the car seat at the air port and leave it at another one when you get there. I would recomend a big stroller. You can have it checked at the gate and it makes it much easier to cary things. Have your older children carry thier own things in thier own back pack's (you can get cheap ones at a DI or salvation army). Also make nice with the flight crew, arrive early at the gate and ask to be alowed to board early to get all your kids situated. Good Luck!

I don't know if you're already aware of them, but there are car-seat covers that have straps that help you carry car seats through the airport. We've used them & it has made carrying a car seat really easy. If you end up having to take one, I would highly recommend getting one. I got mine at Babies-R-Us.

Sheesh, T.! That sounds challenging!
Two things that occurred to me:
1. Explain to the 3 & 4 year old what is expected of them well in advance, repeatedly; carry little packs of toys, help with the twins, hold hands, follow mommy's instructions.
2. Do NOT get on the plane when they ask for pre-boarding of small children....wait until the very last call, this way, kids'll hopefully get all their wiggles out, and be relatively calm for the flight. (Ask if the airline will allow you a chaperone to the gate---might help for you to be able to get on the plane, organize everything while the chaperone waits with kiddos until last boarding call.)

You have to bring one carseat? if you board last, you can always gate-check it if there's no room. Bring your baby sling/pack/Ergo, at least you can wear one of them, then there are only three to herd.
GOOD LUCK, my thoughts are with you, and GOOD JOB, T.!
A.

HI Neighbor (I live in Lafayette too)

The FAA approved non-carseat that has been mentioned here is called the CARES safety harness. It is definately FAA approved and is shown on the FAA website. Google it to find stores (it is sold at the site mentioned in one of your responses) - it seems a little expensive but would probably be worth it if you plan to fly a few times with your whole crew.

I agree that you absolutely should board first - you'll need the extra time and plus any less-than-happy reactions from your fellow passengers will be worse if they feel you are holding up the flight.

Maybe you could contact DIA and/or your airline to see if you can get a ride through the airport, same as you would if you were elderly or had difficulty walking? I think one good thing about DIA is that the security line is very family friendly - the TSA people are nice and accomodating, unlike other airports I fly to (chicago, portland)! They gave my daughter a Jr TSA inspector sticker which she thought was great.

Good Luck! I am VERY impressed and I hope you have a great time wherever you are going.

J. :)

I don't have much advice for you but wish you luck. Your children will love the plane. I am taking my two boys to PA next week and am a little scared what it is going to be like with them on the plane.

I thought that the only approved restraint was a car seat. BRU has a wheels/handle thing that you can pull the carseat through the airport with, which makes it MUCH easier. Although I thought it was just a carseat, I found http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/. You can buy the harnesses at http://www.kidsflysafe.com/ You may want one for both twins.

I would ABSOLUTELY board first. Especially if you have to have the carseat or any type of restraint with you. It will give you the time to get everyone settled, and as long as you talk to them and let them know what their "job" is, like in the previous response. I think they will do great. Make sure that you have lots of things to interest them - books, crayons, food, blankets, etc. Don't bring the best books or crayons though in case they fall and are forgotten.

And relax...you will of course get looks from people, but these are kids! Understand that and give yourself a break. They may cry and fuss, but as long as they aren't doing things like kicking the backs of seats, take a deep breath and don't stress, they will feel that anxiety and react to it.