What happens when you’re brave mad enough to travel with 2 kids under 2…… on a 24-hour flight?

An absolutely epic flight.

 

So it was 3 adults (myself and my parents) with 2 kids, which you’d think would be OK. That’s sort of true, but it made me realise it’s about the bare minimum you need to get all the logistics sorted out when travelling with 2 very young children. Let’s just say we learned a LOT in terms of organization as well as stress management! Also made me realise how critical it is to have parents that are willing to sacrifice their time, effort and sanity to help you out.. all so I could live the dream of going to USA again and seeing my friends, all entirely at their monetary expense. So grateful!!

 

To be fair, Carter was an absolute dream. That said, it was expected since he’s so young. I personally think that any baby under 6 months old is guaranteed to be a good traveller – since they do not much at all 😉 And that’s exactly what Carter did – he spent the majority of the time snuggled up in the bassinet, sleeping and rousing only to nurse.

EASY!

 

Hunter, on the other hand, was nothing short of a basket case. Normally one helluva excellent sleeper since birth, he had extreme difficulty sleeping on the plane. We’ve since realised he MUST have his own cot and own room in order to sleep.. and be alone. All of which are not possible on the flight, and so he basically went off his rocker with sleep deprivation over the 24 hours.

There were times when he was manic with laughter, jumping all around, being Mr Sociable with anyone and everyone that would give him attention. And there were also times when he was so exhausted he’d go into cranksville and make our lives a misery. Dad in particular went through hell and back, as I was handling Carter, so he was full-time with Hunter who frequently clung onto him and refused to let go for hours on end. There was much struggling, fussing, crying and wailing. It was INSANE.

 

There WERE rare moments of sleep-time where both kids knocked out.. but there weren’t many and I was way too stressed and hyped up from it that I couldn’t fall asleep myself!

 

 

Needless to say, we were all certified zombies when we got off the flight. Thankfully, Dad suspected this when we booked our trip, so he made sure we stayed overnight in a hotel after the flight, before the l-o-n-g drive the next day to Princeton.

The kids did very well in the car, and basically slept the whole way. Whew! The scenery was simply gorgeous.. so nice seeing autumn in the USA. Beautiful foliage!

 

 

 

We were staying with my aunt, who has this gigantic house in a small town. IT’S GORGEOUS. The house was so large that we all had a lot of space, and Hunter had his own large bedroom too. In fact, he loved it so much he was declaring it as “home” shortly afterwards!

 

 

 

Hunter had a total blast running around outside. The air was cold, but it didn’t seem to bug him one bit. He was happy running around, stomping through the leaves, discovering acorns and big rocks, etc etc… It was wonderful seeing him have so much fun and discover all these new sights and sounds!

 

 

 

 

One of our most memorable meals was a wonderful home cooked lobster dinner by my aunt. Lobster is relatively cheap there compared to Singapore, so we got to indulge! Big fat meaty lobster… dipped in hot melted butter *FAINT*. I could get used to this.

 

 

 

We spent a week in the area.. will post about the sights and sounds next!