our kids’ first plane rides

When your kids are 7 and 3 you don’t get to experience “firsts” as often as when they are little, so it was very exciting to take them on their first plane rides over spring break!

We were originally planning an 18-hour road trip, but a few weeks beforehand Eric and I admitted we were both really nervous about it and ended up booking flights. The kids were very excited and they both did awesome!

I told the flight attendant when we boarded that it was their first time, and she brought them each a pin after we landed to celebrate that they had “earned their wings.”

For entertainment we brought iPads with movies downloaded, and to keep their mouths moving/swallowing they each had a stash of snacks, candy (Starbursts, gummy bears, Mike and Ike, Skittles) and gum. All sugar rules were basically thrown out the window and we said “yes” to as many requests as we could to keep them happy.

We were seated in pairs for most of our flights (we had two flights each way), which worked well. I am prone to motion sickness, so for one of the flights Eric sat by both kids and I was across the aisle.

We were renting a car so we checked their car seats in a heavy-duty garbage bag, which I would recommend as the bag got beat up but our car seats look fine (you could also pack them a sturdier car seat bag).

Their cute luggage is from Target and they are on the small side, but one thing I did was pack each day’s outfit in its own clear zipper storage bag to make it super easy for them to grab a bag and get dressed every day. Their travel pillows are Bcozzy.

Our flight home got delayed and then canceled so we ended up being at the airport for seven hours longer than we had planned, which was not ideal, but the kids really did great considering they were up past their bedtimes (we didn’t get home until 2:36 am)!

I am already excited to fly with them again … or maybe we’ll be brave and take them on their first big road trip!