Tips for Traveling with Twins

For the first year, twins, like all infants, need to be in a rear facing car seat for their safety. Their neck muscles aren't strong enough to withstand even a minor crash. After they reach one year (or about 20 pounds), they will need to be transitioned to a forward facing car seat.
 
There are two routes to choose:
Purchase a rear facing seat (the type which pops out of the base and can be carried around), then purchasing a forward facing seat
Purchase a convertible seat (stays fixed in the car) that can be changed from rear facing to front facing
 
Purchasing a convertible car seat means a single purchase per baby, but there are few other advantages.
 
A car seat which detaches from its base is extremely important for parents of twins. Nearly all parents choose this design, but with twins it's nearly a requirement. Imagine taking your newborn twins to the doctor without detachable car seats: you have to carry the twins out, get the car door open, get each baby in their seat and strapped in -- and you're not even at the doctor yet!
 
Which car seat do you choose for your infant twins? An empty car seat weighs about ten pounds. With twins, the two car seats are going to weigh in at about twenty pounds and your babies are going to add another 10-15 pounds from day one, totaling up to as much as 35 pounds. Purchasing a car seat that will snap into a tandem stroller is extremely important. Tandem travel systems are extremely helpful for parents of twins. Most twin parents prefer the tandem (front/back) seating rather than the side by side seating. Side by side strollers are much wider and can prove difficult when navigating narrow aisles in stores.

Some jealousy is sure to arise when you see your counterparts with one baby whizzing into Target with their single baby snuggled in her car seat while you sit in the car and try to figure out how to get into the store and what to do when you get there.
 
If you are just running in for a few things, then feel free to take the stroller. You can either balance a store hand basket on the stroller or use the under carriage. Lots of new mothers are worried about employees being concerned that they are stealing things by putting them in the cart, but if asked by an employee to stop putting items in the stroller, simply exclaim, "Okay - why don't you cart and follow us then - we'll just be a few more minutes."
 
Larger shopping trips, such as for weekly groceries, will require a shopping cart. You will develop your own tactic, but here is what worked for me. Park next to the cart return. (In fact, always park near the car return, at least until your kids are old enough to return the cart themselves.) Place one baby in his car seat in the front of the cart. For maximum room in the cart, it is best to use a sling of Bjorn for the second baby. This way, one baby is safe in the car and one baby is safe strapped to you, and you have a whole cart to fill up (before the next feeding!)

Once our babies were in forward facing seats and could walk, things became much easier. Taking them out to the car was a little like herding cats, but wasn't the taxing event it had been before.
 
Our biggest trick to keeping them happy in the car has been to keep a few toys on hand that are only available during car trips. This makes the toy new and special and keeps them occupied.

Now that the babies are old enough to sit in a grocery cart on their own, hopefully you will find an accommodating grocery store that has a good configuration for your twins. Many of the "club" stores (Cosco) have two seats where a standard cart has only one, and many stores have good configurations for younger babies, where there is an area where the babies can sit, safely strapped in. Get to know your grocery store by scouting out the carts before you make a trip with the babies.

Unstrapping the toddler on the passenger's side first allows you to walk with them back over to the driver's side and plop them down in the driver's seat while you unstrap the second baby. You're there to keep watch, and the baby is so excited to be sitting in the drivers seat, making a break for it is the last thing on her mind. Unstrap the second baby, and everyone is ready to get walking!

Purchase a quality car seat at a great price here!