But setting my expectations insanely low {read that title again for an example} means that I set myself up for success. It can only go UP from the expectation that I'd be essentially wrestling two alligators with differing directional objectives for 9.5 hours straight (thanks to my neighbor and friend for that awesome analogy).
So I am writing this to help others who may be debating embarking on this same journey, to give ideas and tips and a reference point, and also for memories sake, as most of my personal blog posts are. I'll start my giving pictures and descriptions of all the activities I prepared beforehand, and how they fared keeping my tots occupied...then a rough time table.
Deets
We had a 3-week trip to the states planned. 2 weeks in Maryland for the kids and me, with my husband planning to meet us there for week two. Then, off to El Paso for another week, back to Baltimore for a day, then back to Germany. So of all those flights, only the first did I do alone (the first and hardest, since our last one would be overnight and with the whole family.)Flight at 9:20am from Frankfurt to Charlotte (9.5 hours) where we had an extremely brief layover involving having to collect and recheck luggage and make it to our gate all within 45 minutes (did I mention I was solo with a 3 year old and an almost-2 year old? Just rubbing it in for effect), then a flight from Charlotte to Baltimore (1 hour). We arrived at 4pm B-more time.
We got super lucky and ended up with the very front seat (i.e. extra leg room and no one in front of us - that extra space on the ground also makes a really nice toddler bed) and our own row. We chose NOT to take carseats on the plane for a few reasons...MAINLY, they are huge and annoying to lug around. I know they make special wheely things to pull them like a stroller but, nah. Also, if the kids chose to get out of their seats or weren't happy in them, then we were stuck with only one seat as the other would be taken up by the empty carseat. Also, Joaquín didnt have his own seat so that wasn't even an option. Lastly, I figured stretching out was the most surefire way of getting a good sleep out of them. I know many people bring carseats onboard and swear by it but that's just not how we roll ;)
Also, for reference, we only had two seats - my son is just under 2 and so is still able to be considered a "lap infant". Both their little butts fit in one seat so when they were awake, they mostly shared a seat, especially when watching a movie. They each had a set of headphones and a headphone splitter so they could watch the same movie easily. They also shared a meal, since only one of them technically qualified for one (and they still didnt finish it).
Life-savers
Dr. Zarbees - I'll go ahead and get this controversial topic out of the way...this is an all-natural cough syrup made purely of honey, some other flavor, and the kicker...melatonin. We discovered the sleepy powers of this cough syrup accidentally when Camila was sick with a cough when she was close to 2. Within 20 minutes of taking this syrup she was barely able to keep her eyes open. After two nights I took a peek at the ingredients and was like "OOOOOH ok ill remember that for emergencies..." liiiike 9.5 hour plane rides. We ALREADY knew this product was safe, we ALREADY knew its effects on our kids, and we ONLY used it to help them sleep on the airplane so they would be better adjusted on the trip.
https://www.amazon.com/Zarbees-Naturals-Childrens-Nighttime-Natural/dp/B008R5W120/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1504113742&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=dr+zarbees+cough
Snack boxes - Basically a little pill box filled with teeny snacks. This is a super-exciting thing for kids and their little fingers can only get one at a time, so...perfect.
Uno JR., toy cars and Play Doh (not pictured) - Uno was AWESOME for Camila. She's at the perfect age for it (3) and I really enjoyed engaging with her in that way. Joaquín loves cars so those are mainly for him. We also had 5 mini Play Dohs (like the kind you give Trick-or-Treaters if you wanna be boring and not give candy, ha!) and even though I have no pics, those were GREAT. Basically I could pull out Play Doh in any dull moment and it would keep their fingers busy.
Bracelet making/bead threading - this was a hit. Camila ended up making bracelets for all of her friends she'd see in Maryland and Joaquín got in the ZONE threading both the buttons and the beads. A huge bonus - the beads don't fall off if you use pipe cleaners. So easy to put together and a definite hit for BOTH.
Felt doll kit - this was a hit also. I found an easy template online to cut some dolls and clothes. I glued white felt to foam and made a tri-fold felt board. For Joaquín I made a black background and cut out a bunch of different shapes for him to play with, as well as a huge face with eyes, a nose and mouth for him to practice where the parts go :)
Random shape maker activity thing - this ended up being a dud because those little beads are just too damn small. When you make the shape and spray them with water they stick together to make a solid shape, but you have to wait an hour or more and that just doesn't work on a plane.
Water painting - My cousins gave this to the kids, Melissa and Doug makes many different styles. Basically you fill the paintbrush pen with a little water and the water reveals the picture underneath. It dries within minutes back to white so they can be used over and over. The kids love it!
Art kit - the only thing that held their attention was the glitter glue, which Camila made a MESS with! Also, the scissors OBVIOUSLY set off the security thing and they had to search my bag...so that was dumb of me. However they told me if I just remove the bag and put it in a bin like you do with shoes and laptops its fine. So I did that on all the other flights and it was a non-issue. **HOWEVER you know what ALWAYS sets off the security thing with us?! Dang medications we keep in the diaper bag. So I kind of always assume we will be pulled aside. But its fine, it goes quick.
Headphone splitter - Essential for having the kids watch the same thing, which they needed to since we only had one seat for both kids.
ALL THE STUFFS...almost
Not pictured: iPad, pillows and blankets (the pillows I am glad we brought ONLY because we made the floor bed with them - if you're not going to do the floor bed, the pillows would just be in the way. The blankets we used but didn't need on the plane - on overnight flights the plane provides small pillows and large blankets so keep that in mind - most likely your child DOESN'T need the comfort of his/her own things - unless its a specific special blanket - so just save yourself the room. The iPad, however, preloaded with Netflix shows and apps not needing WiFi, essential :D )
TIMELINE!
9:20-11:20
The first two hours were basically taken up by the excitement of being on the plane and the meal service. We did a few of the activities I had packed, took a walk around the plane and played games. We also had two other toddler boys sitting near us, so Joaquín spent some time in the isle and on the floor sharing toy cars and trucks with the other toddler boys - that was really awesome!
11:20-1:00
The kids watched Beauty and the Beast while I tried to finish my meal in peace and started my own movie (which shocked me - I was like, really?! Am I really going to attempt a movie?! Ok I guess I will...Ill TRY. No expectations.) I was up and down taking Camila to the bathroom and going myself, and was also getting the kids ready to take a nap when the movie was over. "getting ready to take a nap" encompasses putting pillows and blankets on the floor to make a bed, putting fresh diapers on, and giving them each a dose of Dr. Zarbees.
1:00-3:00
Nap time - Camila usually doesn't nap but being that we would arrive at 4pm I needed them to be able to stay up until bed time...and 4pm Baltimore time would be 10pm their time...and I knew I couldn't get them to stay up until essentially 2am or later without a decent nap, which is why I chose to use Dr. Zarbees... when the movie was over Camila exclaimed, "Ok, nap time! And climbed right down to her floor bed and within 20 minutes she was asleep. Yup. Too easy. Part of that is due to the melatonin really taking effect and so she was legit tired. Part of it was the excitement of this "bed" and part of it was also that I had prepped her for the idea that she would be taking a nap on this flight, and more specifically, after the movie. **that was a huge reason for the success I had on the flight - lots of prep, for myself, in packing, and prepping the kids** Joaquín was also pretty tired, as he still naps during the day AND he had melatonin so he snuggled right in and slept on me the entire time. I was able to steal maybe 30-45 minutes of napping myself, and then I finished my movie. YEP. FINISHED IT. I successfully WATCHED AN ENTIRE MOVIE. That, in my eyes, is the symbol of a successful flight with toddlers.
3:00-4:30
Another movie - the kids absolutely love Boss Baby and so when they woke up I already knew what I was going to put on. We are actually extremely lucky that Joaquín enjoys watching TV and movies. I wouldn't ever have thought I would say that, ha...but on a flight its great. Camila didn't start actually watching any sort of TV until past 2 years old, so having a movie keep your toddler still for close to 2 hours is HUGE. The only thing is it has to be the RIGHT movie. Camila will sit and watch a new movie or a semi-boring one but Joaquín will only watch a movie in its entirety if its one hes already seen multiple times and can predict whats going to happen every step, keeping him engaged. Some movies he will definitely sit and watch beginning to end are Moana, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, Trolls and Boss Baby. So, perfect. We also busted out the snack boxes and had another mini meal service during this time.
4:30-6:30
After the movie the kids were alert, the cabin lights were on and we were basically working backwards from where we began. Joaquín played with the other toddler boys with their collective cars and trucks while Camila and I played Uno Jr., we made bracelets, did felt dolls, took a walk around the plane, colored, revisitied the snack boxes, basically burned through all the activities I had. The only time the kids and I actually started getting antsy was that last hour. The activities were now all boring, they had watched the only two movies Joaquín would sit through, and we were being alerted that we were starting to descend so staying in the seats was greatly encouraged (slash mandatory), even though we still had like 45 minutes to go. This is the point where I busted out the iPad where I had predownloaded some shows from Netflix (LIFE SAVER!) They watched Peppa Pig and Curious George while we descended into Charlotte.
The 50 minute layover was crazy - I realized as we were landing that I would have to get my luggage and recheck it (this must be a new thing because ive NEVER had to do that). Our luggage was 2 car seats and a huge suit case, on top of the two toddlers, two carry ons, pillows and stroller I already had. Yea, I asked someone for help. We made it on the next plane with only minutes to spare. The next flight was cake - I gave the kids the iPad and took a successful nap and had a hot cup of free coffee. It was only an hour and the kids sat zoning on the iPad the whole time. When we arrived, my parents were there to greet us which was amazing, and the kids were alert and excited despite it being 10pm Germany time.
By the way, they adjusted to the time change within a day and we had an amazing trip.
FLIGHT HOME!
So this one was cake. Ill keep it brief - we boarded, got delayed, busted out activities for about an hour...as soon as we took off the kids watched Beauty and the Beast and Boss Baby back to back while we had another meal service, spent basically trying to shove food in their mouths because they were NOT. INTERESTED.We did the floor bed again for Camila even though this time we were in middle-of-the-plane seats but it still worked well and allowed her to sleep literally 5-6 hours straight. Joaquin unfortunately woke up after only about 3 hours but he watched Toy Story and ate was still pretty groggy. Camila literally didnt wake up until we landed - even when the cabin lights came on and it was loud and bright and meals were being delivered, she was out. I mean I expected it, she was now on Baltimore time and it was like midnight.
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