I spent the entire day before we left packing everything and making plans. Patrick and I shared a bag and I mostly packed for the both of us before he got home from work. I was also able to squeeze in all of the gifts and wine we brought into our bag to eliminate another. Then the babies all shared a bag. We also brought a pack and play to check. I packed my diaper bag with extra clothes for the babies, about 15 cloth diapers, wipes, some soft toys, books, blankets, pacifiers, and a wet bag. I packed another backpack with the same. Then I packed a bag for Patrick to carry with a change of clothes for the two of us, more toys, a ton of snacks for us, and water bottles. Inside was also a small insulated bag with 6 bottles of pumped milk and some snacks and teethers for the babies. He also had a bag full of all the electronics (his computer, camera, all of the chargers etc.) I also had all of our necessities in that bag including wallets, and passports.
We finished getting everything ready pretty late that night and went to bed around midnight. We woke up at 4:15 am and I went to get the babies up, dressed and nursed them. Patrick went to get all the last few things packed. My dad came to drive us in our car since the seats were already installed. We got everyone loaded and left just before 5am. We arrived at the airport at 5:15am and the babies were wide awake.
We checked our 3 bags and loaded all the carry-ons and Evelyn's carseat into the stroller. I wore Declan and Owen in 2 Ergos and Patrick wore Evelyn. We were quite the sight! It wasn't too crowded and we got checked in quickly. By this point the babies were tired, but there was too much going on to sleep. We got to security and were able to keep wearing the babies and just had to get our hands swabbed to check for bomb residue. We then went to grab some food and fill the water bottles.
We finally made it to our gate after about an hour and met Patrick's parents. We changed the babies right before boarding into an extra absorbant diaper so we could go a bit longer between changes as long as they didn't poop. We got to board early which was awesome and the seat between Patrick and I was open and they said they wouldn't fill it so we could use it. I sat at the window with Owen and Patrick was on the aisle with Declan. Evelyn was in her seat behind me and next to Patrick's parents. At this point the babies were exhausted, so I nursed Evelyn right when we sat down. She fell right to sleep once back in her seat before we even took off. The boys were pretty content looking around at all the people so I was able to wait until we were through take off to feed them. I nursed Declan first and then Patrick put him back in the Ergo to fall asleep. Then I did the same with Owen. They were both asleep about 30 minutes into the flight. Evelyn woke after 3 hours or so and Owen woke around the same time. We went to change them both and then Declan woke up too and got changed. Evelyn was content with sitting in her seat for most of the rest of the flight with a few toys and grandma and grandpa playing and reading to her. Owen and Declan were good too and got to play on the middle seat and stand between us. We walked them all up and down the aisles a couple times and they loved smiling at all the people.
We landed in New York and got all of our stuff together easily with the grandparents' help. We changed the babies and then Patrick, his mom, and I all wore babies and his dad pushed the stroller with the stuff. We went and grabbed a quick lunch and gave the babies a snack and then headed to our gate for the next flight. We changed them all again into absorbant diapers and boarded the plane. They were all tired again so we were hoping for them to sleep a lot so we could too. Declan was pretty content with grandma so we actually had him sit with her and Evelyn was being a little more cranky. For this flight it was the same setup except I had Evelyn, Patrick had Owen and his parents had Declan. I fed Declan again before we took off and he was fine for takeoff. Evelyn didn't like take off as much this time but holding her helped and then I nursed her to sleep. She was just over tired. Patrick gave Owen a bottle because he couldn't wait and then rocked him to sleep. None of them slept long this time though and all needed a bit more attention. Evelyn slept the longest for just 30 minutes. But Owen woke first after probably only 20 and Patrick went to walk him around. Declan woke too but he was ok being entertained by the grandparents. We put Evelyn on the seat next to us and she was happy to sit up and play with some toys. Once Patrick came back Owen played on the floor, with Evelyn, and in the aisle standing up. He was loving all the attention from the flight attendants and neighbors. After about 45 minutes though he was getting cranky again and wanted to nurse. So I fed him and he fell asleep. Declan was over the car seat so Patrick took him for a walk and his parents took Evelyn. They tried to give her a bottle when she got cranky but she only wanted the real thing. So I was able to put Owen down on a blanket in the middle seat and he stayed asleep, and then nursed Evelyn. She was then fine to go in her car seat and fell asleep. Owen woke up after 30 minites or so and then Declan wanted to be nursed again. I nursed him to sleep. He and Evelyn woke about 30 minutes later (at this point we were halfway through the flight) and then we took turns changing them all. After that they were all awake for a bit and happy. We gave them some snacks and they all played for a while. They each took another 30 minute or so nap at staggered times and we rotated who was holding them. They didn't really cry at all on the flight, just a few whines here and there but just weren't able to sleep which meant we didn't sleep.
We finally landed in Dublin around 5 am. We collected all of our things and went to get our rental car. We got one because we wouldn't be able to all fit in one and that way we could go see some of my family as well. One of Patricks cousins also came to pick us up and drove his parents. He brought us car seats for the babies to use. We got all of our things loaded into the cars, and headed to the house we were staying the first couple days just outside Dublin!
Ok, thats it for now! See what I mean about being long?! In the next couple days I will try to post about our time here so far. It has been amazing. Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and it was so fun to be in Ireland for it!
Ill leave you with a picture of the Irish countryside...
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