Our 1st Family Vacation, Part 1: Traveling with 10 month old triplets.

We just got back from an amazing vacation, our first as a family. This trip was a very special one for me because it was so that I could be the Matron of Honor in my best friends wedding. Well really,we are more like sisters. So I wanted more than anything to bring the babies to meet her family and her daughter and my mom to meet her mom. Luckily my mom was able to join us and go with , as well as, Tommy's parents and sister to help us with the babies and enjoy some time in the beautiful Siesta Key.

Getting there was easier than we imagined. We were a little terrified at the thought of a 4 and a half hour plane ride with 10 and a half month old triplets but the babies did so great. The biggest part of the process was getting through the airport with all of our stuff. We decided to bring 3 umbrella strollers instead of the long triplet stroller because we were not sure it would fit in our rental car and because it breaks apart into 4 separate pieces when you fold it up. We thought taking 3 little strollers with 3 of us would be easier, but looking back, I wish we had taken our chances with the triplet stroller. We also had a large cart to push carrying all our carry on bags and 3 car seats, so one of us was pushing 2 strollers. They moved pretty well but the problem more came on the way back, which I will explain later. You would think we might have gotten a little less attention with the 3 strollers instead of the triplet one but it didn't really make a difference. The babies received lots of oohs and aahs and my mom was loving every minute of it. It was fine actually, no one was rude and everyone was very helpful.

Going through security was fairly easy. My mom who is a principal at a local Charter School ran into someone that works in security whose kids used to attend her school, so we still had to have all our liquids checked but it was quick and easy. My mom is always running into people she knows. That's why we bring her with...ha ha. Just kidding mom! We did bring a cooler with 6 bottles, 3 for the take off and 3 for the landing. We also had one serving of baby food for each baby for the middle of the flight and all their medications. We used these ice blocks you can buy at target and freeze to keep everything cold since you cant bring ice through security.

Getting on the plane was pretty easy too. There were extra seats available so all the babies got to ride in their car seat. We had to sit in three separate rows because car seats have to be by a window and only 1 car seat per row. Jolynne was with me, Georgia with my mom and Mickey was with Tommy. The babies had their bottles during take off and Mickey and Jolynne fell asleep right away. Georgia decided she wanted to stay up and play for awhile with my mom but fell asleep mid flight. None of the babies cried and they behaved so well. The flight attendants were very helpful with helping us install the car seats and get situated.

When we got there Christina was waiting for us. There was little confusion and no cart to carry our stuff so we had a to use a wheel chair to carry the car seats, and though we did have some trouble installing them in the mini van we rented, it all worked out. We got the beach villa around 8:30pm. The babies were up until probably 10:30pm that night and I don't think ever fully adjusted to the time change or their new surroundings. Although they did well during the days, the nights were a little rough and they did not sleep well the entire trip. I think part of the problem was the cribs we rented were porta cribs, a little small, as the babies are borderline to big for them now compared to when I placed the order.

The house itself was very nice. 3 levels, a garage and entry level, and main floor with kitchen and living area and the 3rd level had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The biggest concern was it was all tile so we had to be very careful carrying the babies up and down the stairs and making sure the floor was covered where they played. There was also a lot of big heavy furniture so we really had to keep a close eye on them. Mickey and Jo really like to crawl underneath things and they even tried to get into the fireplace so we blocked it off with pillows.

I cant wait to write about the babies first trip to the beach and other adventures. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog and Part 3 where I will talk about the difficulties of getting home from Tampa.

We had a ALOT of stuff!

 

Just got through security..

 

 

Mickey crawling to mommy!

 

And gazing out the window....

 

Jo sleeping on the plane...

 

 

Hanging around the house!