[nikhilarni]

Unlike a usual travelogue or any of my previous trips, I just want to chronicle the the experience of travelling with infants (twins). Its going to be more of a free flowing post starting from travel decision to the actual travel, the preparations we made and the ones we missed.

Around the end of the second week of November, my wife and I were deliberating about an India travel (for reasons that are not relevant to the blog). Decision made, we flew out on the 13th.

Quick background, we have infant twins (yes twins, who hadn't turned 1 yet) and the second constraint is that Pittsburgh isn't a hub airport. There will always be an additional stop for us travelling to India. I believe only BA has a one stop flight from Pit to Bom (obviously its going to be $$$)

First things first - The Tickets

With the babies traveling as infants on lap, we deliberated between a direct (one stop) or two stop flight to Mumbai. Weighing in the pro's and con's (and of-course, the air fares), we decided on a 2 stop flight.

Finalized a route option that had about a three and a half hour layover in Zurich on the onward and about a four hour layover on the return. On the return, we also needed to factor in the immigration calling for some extra time. In all, the two and a half hour layover in Newark was sufficient. Thanks to the babies, we were prioritized in many areas. And if the queue was long, we just made the excuse that one of the baby needed a diaper change! (I am sure the kids will curse me when they read this )

A first for us, traveling with the babies on our lap, we thought the halt would give us a little break to stretch our legs and also a little change in the environment for the infants. Good decision, indeed. Also, Thank God, for the airport lounges!

We did explore various ticketing options ranging from aggregator websites to calling agents and finally decided to book directly from the airline's website. This might cost a little more, but comes with a lot of peace of mind, especially with missed connecting flights, baggage claims, flight rescheduling etc. No points for guessing - Once bitten, twice shy.

A few agents did start hounding and pressuring us to book right then, we just held out.

Decision made - lets go!

I've categorized this experience into

Prepping for Travel
Onward Journey (Pittsburgh to Mumbai)
Domestic Travel (Mumbai - Bangalore - Mumbai)
Intra City travel (Within Mumbai and Blore)
Return Journey (Mumbai to Pittsburgh)
Learnings & Experiences

Now comes the crucial phase of preparing for our travel. The most we had done was some small hour long road trips with the babies - and they did pretty well in the car. For the most part, they slept or enjoyed the view.

[nikhilarni]

Planning and prepping for this trip was paramount. We couldn't afford to miss or forget anything that we would need for the kids.

No points for guessing - almost every research starts with a search on YouTube. These bloggers & v-loggers make tons of $s, and I wonder, if we have missed the bus on it.

After watching a few videos we quickly realized they were pretty much the same, and also ended with similar caveats that went like; "Every child is different and the parent knows best!" - Sound's familiar & "Divide and conquer - Let one parent rest while the other keeps the child engaged". Big joke in our case. We both had one baby to care for, and no question of either of us relieving the other.

Giving credit where it is due, the videos did give us some tips on how to pack, what toys to carry etc. One of the best tip was to pack the case of Diapers in the storage basket of the stroller. This tip was very handy and saved us weight and space in our backpacks.

Common stuff, most of them suggested were to:
1. Carry a lot of munchies and kiddie snacks.
2. Purees like an pre-packaged Apple puree that could be easily given.
3. Small toys to keep them engaged.
4. Teethers and pacifiers that they could chew on during take-off and landing that would help with adjusting to changes in the cabin pressure.


First stop: Toys

Armed with this knowledge, we set off to the local Walmart and picked up a few toys, just making sure none of them were noisy or with rattlers.

One of the recommendations was to get some Pop-it toys. We picked a few silicone ones, that could double up as teethers. Our kids are teething and keep nibbling on stuff. This sure helped with its soft edges.

We had to find stuff that would keep them engaged while being small enough for our backpacks and avoid any noisy ones.

Some of the toys we bought
All of them were noiseless or relatively low sound producing ones. We picked those that we thought would keep the baby busy with the bright colors and soft materials.

This is some that we had, which we carried as well.

Next stop: Food items and snacks

From their daycare, we were told about a biscuit & rice crispy snack that the kids could hold and eat on their own.

We wanted to carry stuff that wasn't too messy and easily cleanable. Liquids were ruled out. Another interesting little snack we found (and more importantly, the babies liked them) is something called Yoghurt melts and a rice crispy snack. They were clean and easy to feed as well. Our kids now eat a decent amount of solids and we were able to feed them a little from our in-flight meals as well. This was helpful. All this in addition to the baby formula.

Also, the food in the lounges were fairly kid friendly in terms of low on spices and stuff. We were able to get cheese slices, bread and fruits in the lounge where feeding + cleaning was relatively easier.

Some of the packaged stuff we carried,

Rice Crispy cookies


Yoghurt Melts - they look like little Hersheys Kisses



Soft Milk Biscuits - This one can get very messy



Apple Puree - this is one of their favorites, and easy for us as well.



Froot Loops - Easy to feed

Clothes

From some of the videos we watched, the general suggestion was to carry atleast two sets for each leg of the journey and one extra set. Another tip was to feed the kids, give a quick little wash (face wash or something that's convenient) and put on a fresh set of comfortable clothing just prior to boarding the flight. This sort of relaxes them for a long haul flight.

First order of business was to segregate the clothes they'd need for the travel duration and those suited to the Mumbai / Bangalore weather. The only thing we had to worry about was the "best and convenient" way of packing the travel specific clothes. After deliberating whether to have individual backpacks for the kids' vs keeping all clothes in one bag. The single backpack option won - Reason - It was easier for my wife to carry one backpack that would have the clothes and diapers and all to the washrooms, rather than keep switching backpacks.

For convenience we only packed onesies for the travel, making it easier to carry and change as well. The ones we packed were a mix of warm and light ones, depending on the weather and temperature during the flight.

In all the excitement of packing clothes for the kids, we forgot to pack a change for us. More on this, in the next section.

Diapers

There is really no thumb-rule or mathematical formula that works in this department. We carried as many as could fit in the backpacks and a whole sleeve full, that was strapped to the stroller's basket.

Stroller

Here is another one for perspective.

From Bow to Stern, it is wider than the front door of the Pali

The babies ride in a twin stroller and its pretty big even when folded. This was one of the reasons for switching to the Palisade. The stroller occupied the entire trunk space in the
GLC300. Even now, the stroller takes up half the trunk space in the Pali.

I had seen something called "umbrella" strollers that are light weight, and compact but just didn't have the time to go shopping for one. The ones at the local Walmart were for single child only. Another option we checked were the infant strap on carriers, having seen a lot of parents using them around here during the summers. Considering our hands would be free with the baby strapped to us, we got one from Walmart to test. After a careful thought and trial, it was shot down because:

1. The babies were very uncomfortable in it
2. We were uncomfortable in it. They have a lot of straps going crisscross over the back and shoulders that needs to be adjusted. We just didn't have the time for it all.
3. Finally, the thought of having the hold the babies for the duration of the flight and then again having them strapped to us while moving in the terminals !

Stroller won! It was a blessing that we took it with us.

Lastly, a few of their favorite songs (more like us trying to comfort/distract the babies) like, Hakuna Matata, In the jungle and a few more in audio and video formats - just in case the kids got a little too cranky. This was more like last resort.

[nikhilarni]

Arrived finally, The day of Travel !

All that preparations for this day. While loading the vehicle, my wife and silently let out a little prayer for everything to do smoothly. Leading up to the trip, our son was a little under the weather. He was randomly throwing up and had loose motions. What a time to have an upset tummy! Poor kid. We were a little worried as well, as he was throwing up pretty much everything he ate.

But the tickets were booked and we had to leave.

Luggage count:
1. Two 29" Check-in bags
2. Two 20" Cabin bags
3. Four Backpacks ( Three of them had baby stuff and one was for our documents, passports and the laptop)
4. The stroller

A colleague (and good friend) was kind enough to drop us to the airport. Out here, its a fairly common practice where in colleagues/friends help each other with airport runs. Everyone is pretty helpful in that regard. Guess what! All of that didn't fit the trunk space in the Palisade. Three adults, the kids in their car seats, luggage and stroller was too much for the Pali's truck capacity. Decided to book an taxi but to add to the last minute stress, the Uber and Lyft kept cancelling too. Eventually a neighbor came to the rescue.

Though we had planned an adequate buffer, the delay sort of ate into it.

I'll break this section into three sectors:

Sector 1: Pittsburgh to Dulles (Washington DC)
Sector 2: Dulles to Zurich
Sector 3: Zurich to Mumbai

Sector 1: Pittsburgh to Dulles
Flight Duration: 1hour 20 mins
Departure: 3pm EST

We booked United Airlines. One of the perks of having a co-branded credit card was that we would be allowed one additional check-in bag - so we were told. After booking the tickets, we got to know that international flights does allow for one free check-in baggage that sort of nullifies the free additional bag. Their additional free bag is mainly for domestic sectors. At the counter, the UA reps were like, " you have an additional baggage allowance, and would you like to check-in any of the cabin bags ?". We decided to check-in one of the cabin bags, giving us a little less to worry about during the transit intervals.

Bags checked in, off we were at the first security point. Looking at the stroller and infants, we got preferred treatment and were sent directly to the TSA agent verifying the IDs.

Here is where we had our first taste of managing babies in one hand, and putting all the belongings in those trays. New predicament, the TSA wanted to x-ray the stroller, but it wouldn't fit through the opening. After unsuccessfully trying to jimmy it in, they allowed us to wheel it through and scanned it with their hand scanner. The second thing we'd probably have to get used to now, is the thorough scanning of the baby bags for their snacks and formula. This took a while for them to do a swab test on most of the items.

With slightly over an hour to departure, we headed to the lounge. The Pittsburgh airport lounge generally has a decent veg spread and we were starving. Fed the kids, had a bite ourselves and diapers changed; we were all set for the first leg of the journey - to Dulles (DC).

Just prior to boarding

Though most airlines allow passengers with infants to board first, we were in no hurry to board. Infact we wanted to be the last to board, thereby spending as little time in an idle aircraft as possible. Sitting idle while waiting for boarding to complete would have made the kids all the more restless. The stroller was checked-in at the gate.

The airhostess' were kind and gracious enough to help us with storing the bags in the overhead bins and gave us a whole bunch of sanitizing wipes. We both generously wiped down every surface we possibly could but realized it was a futile effort. We might as well keep wiping the kids hands at frequent intervals ... hehe.

We we told to keep the babies engaged and allow them to keep chewing on something or feed them during takeoff to help with the pressure difference. In our case, the kids were just fed and didn't want anything. Apparently, they did pretty well for their first flight. Take-off was smooth.

Kids exploring prior to take off.

Our first "Hi" with uncle Murphy:- All our planning and packing was done keeping in mind that we (as parents) would be seated beside each other on all sectors. That was not to be. All seating groups have only one extra oxygen mask. Like Say seat 25A and 25B is a seating group, this would have only one extra oxygen mask. As the kids were travelling as infants on lap, if my wife and I sat together, we would need two additional masks. Technical constraint. On the first flight, we were seated behind each other. Being a short flight, we didn't really need anything from the bags other than a couple of toys to keep them busy. My daughter was with me and she slept off within 15 mins of take off. My son was awake a tad longer and slept through the flight.

The layover being slightly over an hour, we headed straight to the departure gates for our next flight. A stop at the family room (The washrooms designated as Family rooms are bigger and easier to change the diapers, along with according additional privacy ) for a diaper change and off we were. Again, we decided to board at the very end.

Sector 2: Dulles to Zurich
Flight Duration: 8hours 10 mins
Departure: 5pm EST
Arrival: 7:45am Zurich Time
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300

This time, we were sort of prepared that we wouldn't be seated together and did a quick rejig of the stuff for convenience. But we were in for a pleasant surprise. This specific aircraft had certain seats in the middle row (seating four pax) with two extra oxygen masks and we were given those seats. Thankfully, we were together.

Babies had some room to walk around and keep busy

Just as we were taking off, my son (who had an upset tummy) needed a diaper change and we could only access the restrooms after a while, resulting in a blow-out! Murphy uncle has to make his presence felt, isn't it. Diaper changed, clothes changed. This time the kids were able to use the additional space to play around and explore stuff.

Drinks were being served, and I asked for a canned tomato juice in lieu of taking it in a glass with ice - just in case there is a spill. My daughter was playing around and munching on some snacks and titbits. I felt confident that she wouldn't touch my drink. No sooner than I got my cup of ice with my tomato juice, she lunged for it, spilling all of it on my jeans. For all the extra clothes carried, we didn't carry anything for us! I was probably smelling tomato juice all through the journey. No choice. All of this within the first hour of the flight to Zurich.

We let them play around and tire themselves. Based on their day-care routine, they are generally done for the day around 7pm-ish and tend to sleep off. Sticking to that schedule, we gave them a quick feed and our daughter was lights-out. Both had a few bites from our in-flight meal. With his upset tummy playing games, our son was awake for a while longer but eventually slept.

Another tip we got was to catch our rest periods when the babies are sleeping. Did just that. Neither of us were in a mood to watch anything on the inflight entertainment. We had kept the kids away from the screens too. Besides, after they dimmed the lights, we didn't want the bright screens waking them up.

With the help of a little wine, I got some shut eye too. Guessing we all got some good sleep for about five odd hours till they started serving some snacks and tea. This sector was pretty much uneventful, and we were counting it as a victory of sorts.

Kids were fresh and did pretty well during landing as well. A shoutout to a specific flight attendant, who was exceptionally kind to us. He kept checking on my wife and me, if we needed anything all through the flight. On occasions, he setup the changing table in the restroom before my wife could go in.

As transit passengers without a Schengen visa, we were allowed only within the terminal. Luckily the lounge and gate of our next flight were just about a two min walk from where we off-boarded. Headed straight for the lounge to refresh. Once again, the Priority Pass is a boon. With a layover of just over two hours, we had to be quick.

The lounge was fairly empty and had some good breakfast options. Quickly freshened up ourselves, diapers changed and all set for a little bite and hot cup of coffee! The babies too enjoyed a little meal and some of their formula. It was a good break for us as well to stretch our legs. They were pretty sore after sitting for eight odd hours in a cramped position with the babies sleeping on us for most part of it. The two hour layover was just about adequate to relax and refresh. All set for the next leg. Our next gate wasn't too far from the lounge, and we were in no rush to board either.

The scene outside Zurich Airport.



Father and Son



Kids well rested and fed - Ready for the next leg.

Sector 3: Zurich to Mumbai
Flight Duration: 8hours 15 mins
Departure: 09:45am Zurich Time
Arrival: 10:30pm IST
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300

Some additional process at the Zurich airport where they had to verify our passports and documents, in addition to the verification done at the gate. With luck favoring us on the previous sector, we requested for a similar seating arrangement, only to be told in the negative. That's when the airline gate rep pointed out to a difference between the Airbus and the Boeing, although the middle section had four seats, it had only one extra oxygen mask. Like the first flight, we were seated behind each other. This time we didn't bother about any rejig of stuff. We just kept the bags handy.

Wife with our son


Sleeping in all bliss.

The first thing we noticed were the size of the seats. These were a tad smaller with noticeably lesser leg room too .

Again, this would be our first time seated with strangers. I am sure a lot of us (me included) have frowned or just been unhappy seeing babies/infants travelling together on long distance flights. More like - now we have to deal with a crying baby all through the trip, types. This time, being at the receiving end of it, we were mentally preparing ourselves ... but were pleasantly surprised at the warmth and friendly smiles that greeted us. My daughter was with me and she kept waving at everyone as we made our way through the aisle.

Special mention to a couple from Mumbai, seated across the aisle from my wife. The minute he saw my wife with the baby and bags, he got up and helped with stowing the bags away. More on that, a little later. Seated beside me was a Swiss couple travelling to Nasik (via Mumbai) for a colleague's wedding. After a good night's sleep and the refreshing break in Zurich, we didn't expect the kids to sleep anytime soon. Thankfully, my wife and I were given aisle seats making it easier to move about. The gentleman beside me was very patient with us. He was always lending me a helping hand, be it opening the silverware or helping with keeping the food packets on his tray. Basically, just very patient and helpful. Rhea, our daughter - I just noticed this is the first time I addressed her by name - was fidgeting around for quite a while. The lack of space was adding to her discomfort. Not once did my co-passenger complain On the contrary, he was always smiling and used the other side if he needed to step away.

Coming to Aditya (our son - now that I mentioned the girl's name, why not the boy), it was a whole different story. He was constantly restless, his tummy and bowel movement got worse. That's when the couple seated across the aisle come into the picture. I couldn't be of much help as Rhea was in sleeping in my lap. The couple kept Aditya distracted and entertained. They would hold the baby while my wife needed to use the restroom or just get stuff from the bags. Never once minding about their comfort, but helping in every possible manner. We did exchange numbers before parting ways at Mumbai airport.

This sector definitely challenged us, besides we were also exhausted as destination approached. We were just so relieved to land in "Aamchi Mumbai". Immigration was quick. We were given priority and out we were.

Mumbai - At last!

Funny - all that luggage + stroller + us + my in-laws fit in an Ertiga (but couldn't fit in a Palisade) !!! I couldn't wait to shower and get out of my tomato juice smelling jeans into something fresh.

[nikhilarni]

Domestic Travel ( Mumbai to Bangalore and back)

The Onward (Mumbai to Bangalore).

We had to travel to Bangalore as well in this short duration. Having conquered the international leg, we were a little more confident on this short flight. We were much lighter in bags and stuff for this trip. Just two cabin bags, two backpacks and the stroller was all that we carried.

We booked an early evening flight on Vistara (prior to the merger) and were pleasantly surprised at the spacious seats and service. Same rule about the extra oxygen mask applied here as well, and we were seated behind each other. This time, we didn't open any toys or stuff other than some snack items to munch and keep the babies occupied. No points for guessing, Rhea was with me and Aditya with my wife. Good thing that the stroller was checked-in at the gate.

Flight was slightly delayed, but not too bad. The kids did have a few bites from our in-flight meal and dozed off. Good thing! Nothing out of the ordinary on this flight.

Bangalore's T2 was mesmerizingly beautiful, and neat signage every where. Someone told me about "Namma Yatri" app based taxi service being cheaper than the OLAs and Ubers. My dad told me about the BluSmart EV fleet, but their rates were twice that of the regular cabs. Cab booked on Namma Yatri (cheaper than OLA and Uber) arrived within a few mins and off we were to Whitefield. I booked a Swift Dzire thinking the stroller would fit in the trunk. Big mistake. I didn't realize that most of these vehicles have a CNG tank in the trunk with limited luggage space. I should have booked a bigger cab.

The only pic we clicked at the airport.

Luckily the two cabin bags fit in the trunk, squeezed the stroller in the front passenger seat. I wish I had a pic of the stroller transported in that manner.

Slightly over an hour later, we were glad to be home.


The Return (Bangalore to Mumbai).

We had booked an 8pm flight and planned to start from home at around 4:30pm, keeping in mind the notorious Bangalore traffic. That would have given us adequate time to get to KIA, diaper changes and a possible snack (for all) before boarding.

Cab booked, the app said he was about 10 mins away. Called him to confirm the location and requested him to call back when he reached. In the mean while, we stepped down from my parents apartment and were lazily standing in the compound, waiting for our cab to show up. The app kept saying he was a few mins away. Its now inching toward 5pm, calls to the cab driver aren't going through and now I'm beginning to panic. I casually stepped outside the gate and see him waiting by the side (just out of sight) as he was ready to pick up another passenger !!! I got to him in time and after a little requesting and pleading, he agreed to take us. The other passenger was cooperative enough to let go of the cab. Thank God.

All this drama later, it was past 5 by the time we started towards the airport. The kids were restless during the cab ride. Nothing we did to pacify them, seemed to work. Finally, a tetrapak juice did the trick, but not without spilling some of it on us. Aditya needed an in-car diaper change as well. Poor kid, his upset tummy seemed like a non-stop saga that he was enduring all through the trip.

We had just enough time at the Bangalore airport lounge to grab a bite and feed the kids something, and a quick change as well pre-boarding. Flight was slightly delayed again. We kept the kids busy in their stroller while we waited to board. Again, no points for guessing - we were the last to board.

This time, my wife and I were not only in opposite sides of the aisle, but also a row apart. The co-passengers on this flight were also very friendly and patient. But funnily (and in good intent), each time my wife would sense he was ready to doze off, he would be distracted with something or someone playing peek-a-boo with him. And back to square one. He was just very restless through the journey and probably slept out of sheer exhaustion just as we were landing.

On the other side of the aisle, the story wasn't very different either. My daughter was equally restless and kept fidgeting around. I was seated besides a very interesting gentleman, who kept Rhea entertained for a bit (after he noticed that I was struggling to calm her down). After about 30 mins or so, she dozed off. Now, I'll get to the "interesting" part of the gentleman seated beside me. I couldn't help but notice he was leafing through his scrap book or news paper cutouts and notes of Sir Ratan Tata. Sir Ratan Tata had recent passed, and the connection being me working for TCS. Used this as a Segway and got into a free rolling conversation. He was kind enough to show me some of his other interesting articles, his notes on them along with some of his personal diary entries across various events in his life. He said, diary writing was his nirvana space. We exchanged emails before bidding good-byes.

With the babies being asleep, parents exhausted - all we wanted was a quick ride home. Did just that.

[nikhilarni]

Trip over - time to return.

We were targeting to leave for the airport around 8:30pm for a 1:20am flight.

Our little helper!

The plan was to get to the airport with adequate time at hand and preferably use the airport lounge for a bite, feed the babies and get them into something comfortable prior to this flight. This flight was way past their sleep time and we weren't sure how they'd react or if they just got cranky and fussy. On a normal day, they are generally off to bed by 7:30pm, but this was stretched a little on the trip. But keeping them away till midnight was something we hadn't done earlier.

The thought was, let's get to the airport, finish with immigration, security and head to the lounge with the objective that once the kids are fed, they might sleep off. We'd try our best to keep them in sleep mode till we boarded hoping that they continue to sleep.

Could uncle Murphy resist paying us a visit... more on that - read on.

Precursor to departure, a very dear school friend paid us a visit. He got to know of Aditya's tummy issue, promptly called his brother-in-law (who happened to be in Kandivali and is a Pediatrician) to come and take a look at the kids. Very kind of him to come over asap and suggested that we get some specific meds. After they left, off I ran to some local pharmacy stores and grabbed as many as I could.

All this delayed us leaving and we finally started for the airport around 9:45pm. Thankfully, the roads were relatively clear and the Kia Carens (cab) was spacious and comfortable. Pretty impressive vehicle. By far, the best cab ride on this trip.

Just like the previous section, I'll break this into each leg

Sector1: Mumbai to Zurich
Sector2: Zurich to Newark
Sector3: Newark to Pittsburgh


Sector 1: Mumbai to Zurich
Flight Duration: 9hours 20 mins
Departure: 1:20am IST
Arrival: 6:10am Zurich Time
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300

Immigration and security was a breeze, again we were given priority and allowed to go quickly. The stroller struggled to pass through the scanners yet again and was just hand scanned. Even other passengers were kind enough to let us cut into the security queues and pass through.

Security done, we headed straight for the lounge. Surprise -- Big queue and a waiting, but luckily they allowed us through. The place was noisy and crowded, no seats available. Then some kind souls offered us their seats so we could be together. With all those bright lights, noise and stuffiness, it just got the kids very restless and cranky. A quick diaper change and a bite later, we thought about heading to a quieter section of the lounge, hoping the kids would relax and doze off - Wrong! They just got all the more irritable and were just very restless. Our son's bowels always seemed to act up right when we least expected it or were least prepared. Poor kid.

Just the opposite of everything we had thought would be the case.

It was almost time to start heading to our gate. We were the last to board. We were seated behind each other and knew what to expect of Swissair (given it was the same type of aircraft) - the smaller seats and cramped legroom.

In clean diapers and clothes, both kids were fresh and relaxed. If I recall, they sort of slept off soon after take off. For this leg of our journey, no toys were given. We just wanted them to sleep. Good thing for us too, we were able to get some shut eye as well.

The kids woke up with about 90 odd mins prior to landing, just as they were serving some refreshments. Good thing - they were hungry enough to quietly take a few bites and well rested. Our son needed a fresh set of clothes thanks to a blow-out. But after that nap, they were in a generally in a chirpy mood. Our co-passengers were keeping them entertained as well.

The lounge in Zurich was right opposite the gate we exited - hurray, no wasting time. Straight there, we went for an early morning breakfast. We had about three good hours before the next flight. The lounge was clean and relatively empty. Good spread and options as well. Freshened up ourselves, gave the kids a quick wipe-down and fed them. As we had time and there were barely anyone around, we let the kids out of their stroller. They were thrilled to be walking and crawling around.

Babies were let loose!

After a little while, I guess they were exhausted enough for a little siesta, allowing us a nice quiet cup of coffee.

A quiet little coffee time

Time to board the next flight.


Sector 2: Zurich to Newark
Flight Duration: 9hours 20 mins
Departure: 10:30am Zurich Time
Arrival: 2pm EST
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300


This leg, by far was the most stressful sector despite being the most comfortably seated. We had the bulkhead seats with bassinet and were seated across the aisle from each other. Though we had only one bassinet, it felt like a big relief initially. Aditya was wide awake for the most part of the journey and kept my wife awake too.

For the first two odd hours, our son slept in the bassinet. Fidgeting around for a while, our daughter finally slept as our son woke up. They switched places in the bassinet, giving me a little break for about an hour or so. This time we were seated at opposite ends of the same row across the aisle, that we didn't open any toys or stuff other than some of their munchies. Aditya woke up when the food was being served and didn't sleep after that.

Mother's love - feeding Aditya. He wanted to taste everything in the plate and kept her awake all through.

Mother's love

He was just too restless fidgeting around and eventually became cranky. My wife kept pacing around the aisle which did seem to distract and calm him a little. But the minute she was back to her seat, he would start all over. In all that, my daughter woke up and she got a little cranky too. Nothing seemed to help calm them. Into fresh clean diapers, they seemed a little better than earlier, and we took them to the galley. Standing and stretching our legs as well, we were joined by another mother of a two year old boy. Though she barely spoke any English, my wife and her made some small talk.

After a while or pacing around and trying every trick in the book, I finally turned on the tv to watch something, hoping some screentime would keep my daughter distracted enough to sit quiet. It helped for a while, as I was able to feed her a little while she watched some cartoons and stuff. I guess we both dozed off for a short while after that, but it wasn't the case with our son and mother.

By now, we just wanted to land and be done with the trip.

The last thirty mins was pure test of will. United mandates an infant seatbelt that sort of loops into the main seat belt. Both babies would have none of it this time. They somehow were able to wriggle out of it each time. We kept circling over New York / New Jersey for while before touch down - the most excruciating period of our travel. This was the first time the pressure difference seemed to get to the babies, and my daughter would start crying every time it happened, till we landed. We just had to sit, holding them close and tight through all that.

We had about a two hour layover in Newark, but had to go through immigration, re check-in the baggage and security. All this took a while, though we got priority at the immigration counter. Baggage check-in was a breeze. Thankfully the United baggage check-in counter was close to baggage carousel.

Immigration done, Security was a looooooong queue. Now the exhaustion of the trip was kicking in. Slowly snaked through the queue and got done with it. We knew they'd scan the baby bags and food which meant additional time at security. Security done with about 45 mins to the next flight, we started heading towards our gate looking for a family washroom. Diapers changed, we freshened up as well.

Just what the doctor ordered - a nice but of hot coffee from the Dunkin that was right opposite our gate. We let the babies out of the stroller for a while before it was time to board our final flight - and get home.


Sector 3: Newark to Pittsburgh
Flight Duration: 1 hour 30 mins
Departure: 4:30pm EST
Arrival: 6pm EST
Aircraft: Embraer 175

By this time, all we wanted was to be home. This time, we were seated across each other and both had empty passenger seats beside us. We boarded last - as usual, but this flight was delayed by about 30 mins. Oh No - 30 mins on the taxiway was a torture.

Both kids got restless and were probably exhausted as well. Soon after takeoff, Rhea slept but Aditya was like the energizer bunny that would just go on and on - he was just very restless. This was the only time in all flying that we exchanged babies. The daughter continued to sleep giving my wife a much needed break. Aditya played around for a while and then dozed off in my arms. Thank God for that! Once Aditya slept, my eyes automatically closed.

We landed just past 6pm, and were with our bags in less than 20 mins. One little 15 min drive and we would be home. Got an Lyft and my friend came with the Pali. Remember, all bags wouldn't fit in the Pali.

The best feeling was taking off the shoes and walking into the house. Home has never felt sweeter.

[nikhilarni]

Intra-City Travel.

We barely did any intra-city travel, considering that weather and age of the kids. It wasn't like we were showing them around places or things to do. We did have one travel in Bangalore from Whitefield to Bannergatta road which was a nightmare. The cab's ac wasn't working. It was hot and sweaty. I guess the kids were all too excited to be able to stand and look out of the window - a distant cry from bring bundled and strapped into their car seats back home. The sights and sounds of bikers, taxis, cars, buses and everything in between was just too exciting for them. Not a second were they still or seated.

As a safety thing, we had decided that the kids would never be in the front seats. The cab drive in Bangalore was about an hour-ish and this time, both babies needed an in-car diaper change. Credit given where due - hat's off to my wife for managing to do all that in traffic & a moving car. Packing accordingly as well.

The second little travel they did was to a temple near my parents house (barely 10mins away) for a last minute ceremony. Thankfully, it all fell in place and we were able to get their "mundan ceremony" (tonsuring) done.

The other intra-city travel was in Mumbai for a short cab distance (less than a 20min drive). It was pretty much the same story. They were just too distracted/excited with the outside world to sit quietly in our laps. The sights and sounds is very different from what we'd experience here (in the US). Other than that, we never took the kids out of the house.

Nothing really to write about here, except - the stroller is just too big to lug around. We are so used to the the kids being strapped in their car seat that having them jumping on our laps is not only a safety risk but also quite tiring. Its not really practical to hold them tightly seated all through the journey either. Where-as the car seat keeps them snug and for the most part - they tend to sleep off.

As parents, as much as we would have loved taking the babies around, we just knew it was impractical. We did take them to close-by restaurants (with my parents and in-laws) that was more of baby management than enjoying the dining experience.

[nikhilarni]

Wisdom gleaned from the tapestry of this travel.

In many ways, this trip was more of a learning for us as parents than anything else. Having taken the decision to travel, we did try to research as much as possible (given the time we had) but there is always something that you just can't account for. And that's why we have this section -- hehe

Starting with some positives of the trip:

Co-passengers

As much as we thought we would be frowned upon or just getting those annoyed glances, our experience was quite the contrary. By far, we were blessed to be have such wonderful, patient and helpful co-passengers.

Complete strangers came to our rescue at various points in time to assist in every possible way. Be it just holding the baby while we attended to the other, or distracting them, passing stuff between my wife and me, helping with the food trays etc. This was a blessing, indeed.


Stroller

Though that is a fairly big stroller, the decision to carry it was a boon. Carrying the babies along with the luggage between the gates and in the terminals would have been practically impossible. The stroller accorded for easy movement. Besides the babies seemed to enjoy the ride.


Immigration and Security Checkpoints

I don't recall us waiting in long queues or durations at any airport. We were either guided to specifically demarcated counters or people just let us go through. The immigration officers and security personnel were also very kind and tried to make things easy for us.


Airport Lounge

Cannot emphasize enough how helpful these lounges were, especially the one in Zurich airport. It allowed us to refresh, relax, stretch our legs and feed the babies in a clean and comfortable manner. The spread was kid friendly as well (or maybe the kids just ate what was given ). The layovers were sufficient as well.


Schedules + Connecting flights + Local transportation + Baggage

For the most part (other than some minor delays), we were fortunate not to encounter any major disruptions during travel. That would have been something we definitely didn't plan for. The layover duration was sufficient to catch connecting flights. Local transportation (cabs) were fairly easy to get. We didn't have to struggle or face any untoward incident. A blessing, for sure.

Additionally, all baggage arrived in time and securely. Some minor scruffs on the stroller, which was expected, was pretty much all the damage that was to be. Nothing broken, nothing lost.


Things that we possibly could have done better:

1. Packed an additional set of clothes for us. Which we did during the return, after the tomato juice fiasco.
2. Our son's upset tummy was out of our control. Poor kid had to endure all that in addition to be cramped in a tiny space. Given a choice, maybe next time, we would avoid travelling - again, its all circumstantial.


Things we got to learn:

Bassinet.

We took it got granted that the airline would provide us bassinets and allot us the bulkhead seats. Wrong! Those seats are sold as premium, so you have to buy them first. Secondly, there is no guarantee that you will get a bassinet. Third - there is provision for only one bassinet.

Swissair has an additional criteria - they provide a bassinet for infants under 9 months only - even if you pay the additional 100$ fee per sector per passenger.

We booked via United and assumed United would take care of the bassinet required. Wrong again. We were told to talk to Swiss directly for it.

Another thing we got to know was that we are only allowed to keep the baby in the bassinet when the seat-belt sign is Off.

We did get a bassinet on the return leg from Zurich to Newark (on United), that allowed us to keep one baby at a time. It did give us some relief during that duration.


Baggage Allowance.

Big confusion on this one.

One of the perks of having the united airline credit card was getting an extra check-in baggage per pax - is what we were told. This was not the case for international flights. We assumed we'd get the additional baggage, which was obviously not the case. Thankfully, we checked prior to packing. Imagine getting to the airport with the extra bags and then having to pay all that extra $$$.

The other unclear item we had was the baggage allowance for the infants. The booking agent told us that we were allowed a baby/diaper bag for each child only, where as the associate at the airline counter told us we had an additional carryon baggage allowed for each infant. We chose to err on the side of caution, as it was a very short trip. But I am sure as the kids grow, this is something we would have to be very clear about.


Remember this nod

This was my wife and me silently nodding (and one of those unanimously agreements) that the next trip would only be after the kids can:

1. Eat on their own.
2. Sit on their own seat.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and Wishing you a Happy New Year.

Do share your thoughts / experiences as well. Would love to hear them.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[dailydriver]

Having meticulously planned for and vicariously lived through an experience similar to yours but with older kids (they had their own tickets & seats), I can wholly empathise with you. That they were moving bag and baggage to a new country was an additional concern. In our case, it surely helped that the travel happened in the heydays of Covid era - having spent much of their last year confined to the four walls of their house, the children had very little understanding of freedom. The younger of the two - a veritable dynamite to this day - had all of us worried because of her restlessness; but she fared well. The elder, a bit too matured for her age (then & now) was a model passenger.

Locally, I have experienced the trouble of moving around with a kid sitting/sleeping on parents' laps. It is, for all long trips, a physically daunting task. But the love for travel and the kids' innocent antics make up for it.

Thanks for sharing your story. Except for some voluntary hair loss on the part of the twins and (probably) their mother, you had everything to gain out of this trip. The oft- proffered theory that 'girls are easy to raise and tough it out as compared to boys' seems to have knocked at your doors too - albeit with full blessings of dear uncle Murphy!

It is good to see both the parents smiling in all the photos. Hope the happiness persists in all of your future travels too. May Rhea and Aditya travel the world; best wishes to all of you.

[ninjatalli]

Lovely log, thanks for sharing. Quite courageous of you to attempt a long flight with two infants; we were ambitious enough to only do a shorter SE Asia trip with one 7 month old.

Our experience was similar to yours - friendly flight attendant(s) and fellow passengers can make the trip experience so much easier; but one can’t go with that expectation. Here’s to more happy travels in the future.

[ValarMorghulis]

As a new parent, first of all hats-off for this journey with twins.

Regarding the strap-on carriers, they work only if the infants have been "eased in" them, just like car seats.

That said, kudos.

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

But the love for travel and the kids' innocent antics make up for it.

Except for some voluntary hair loss on the part of the twins and (probably) their mother, you had everything to gain out of this trip. The oft- proffered theory that 'girls are easy to raise and tough it out as compared to boys' seems to have knocked at your doors too - albeit with full blessings of dear uncle Murphy!

It is good to see both the parents smiling in all the photos. May Rhea and Aditya travel the world; best wishes to all of you.

Thank you @dailydriver for the kind words and wishes. It sure was a learning and humbling experience that put our patience to test. All was worth it - as you said - for the innocent antics and behavior of the babies.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Lovely log, thanks for sharing. Quite courageous of you to attempt a long flight with two infants; we were ambitious enough to only do a shorter SE Asia trip with one 7 month old.

Our experience was similar to yours - friendly flight attendant(s) and fellow passengers can make the trip experience so much easier; but one can’t go with that expectation. Here’s to more happy travels in the future.

Thank you @ninjatalli for the kind words. Looking back, we are glad to have gotten over the trip, and lucky that - for the most part, it was peaceful with good airhostess' and co-passengers. An unpleasant experience would have just ruined the mood and been very stressful.

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

As a new parent, first of all hats-off for this journey with twins.

Regarding the strap-on carriers, they work only if the infants have been "eased in" them, just like car seats.

That said, kudos.

Thank you @ValarMorghulis.

We did try on a couple of strap-on carriers but they just seemed to uncomfortable for the kids and us. In retrospective - It would have been a bad idea to substitute the carrier with the stroller.

[twincharger_gt]

First of all hats off to you and your wife Nikhil for accomplishing this incredible feat. As a parent of infant twins myself I can thoroughly relate your experience. We did two 8.5 hours journeys either ways and were completely exhausted at the end of each of the 4 legs. With twins even a simple thing like attending a natures call at airports becomes a planned activity.
We decided to take the strap on carriers which were indeed very uncomfortable for kids for any sustained duration. We had to let go and had to carry them ourselves at transit points.
The next trip we carried a stroller and that too was rejected since the kids had a feel of the airport the second time and wanted to enjoy on foot. We have made notes on our learning's but try to keep travels to max 4 hours. Also, good to know that you had friendly co-passengers as that helps a lot

[dragracer567]

Quite the read, my parents used to tell me stories of how difficult it was to carry me around during air travel with multiple transits when I was an infant, can't imagine having to carry two!

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

That's when the airline gate rep pointed out to a difference between the Airbus and the Boeing, although the middle section had four seats, it had only one extra oxygen mask.

Also, you learn something new everyday, didn't know this despite being an aviation aficionado!

[streetfighter]

Awesomely narrated, superbly detailed

Brought back memories of our family trip to USA (from BOM) in Sept 2018. We had our two kids with us and my younger daughter was less than 2 years old that time. There were many good things that happened during the trip and we have fond memories from the trip. We were flying Emirates and Emirates did make us and the kids feel special. During check-in, they allowed us to skip the line or even check-in via the business class counter (we were flying economy). Emirates provided us with bassinet seats, those seats had extra legroom too. Once in-flight, Emirates has a infant and kids menu and they also offered to heat the food or milk on request. On top of that, they provided my kids with some goodies, like soft toys, a cartoon booklet and a blanket. They even insta-clicked us and provided the photo with a hand-written note. All those made the journey a super special experience.

Travelling with kids is challenging as well as rewarding,,, it was great reading through your experience.