Surviving 13-hour flight with 3 kids

By Jane Han

Here I am, back in the U.S. totally beat and jetlagged, but we've made it ― all five of us ― in one piece.

Before boarding the plane, traveling 13 hours with two toddlers and an infant almost felt like we were about to take part in some kind of reality show.

You know, one of those shows that live off of their cast being miserable as hell.

Our 20-hour door-to-door journey began at 4 a.m. at my in-law's in Seoul.

The Dallas bound flight wasn't until 10 a.m., but as usual, we had an endless list of things to prepare, pack, check and double check as Baby A, B, C and I wrap up our eight-month endeavor in the motherland.

My husband took a two-day bonzai trip from Dallas to Seoul to fly with us back home.

Besides us two, my mother-in-law was also kind enough to be the other chaperone.

All kids are under the age of two, so we needed three adults to comply with the airline's one-adult-per-child policy.

At 6 a.m., the airport shuttle came to pick up our crowd of six.

It was a seven passenger minivan, but with four oversized bags, three carry-ons and two strollers, it's a miracle we were able to pile on.

So with this heavy load, we stumbled into the airport ― jam-packed. Uh-oh, not a good sign.

As my gut feeling told me, we found out that we'd be flying a completely full flight, which meant absolutely no wiggle room with the girls.

Based on my research, Seoul-Dallas flights are typically the least crowded on Tuesdays so I had my hopes high that we'd be able to spread out a bit in the cabin. Of course, things never go as planned.

Good thing we were at least all flying business, but still, if lap child was no fun eight months ago, it couldn't be fun when my children are eight months bigger.

Once news of the full-flight fully sunk in, I found myself stuffing my face with a croissant and instant ramen noodles at the business class lounge.

I had eaten breakfast, but I don't know, maybe it was all the weight I was carrying, literally and figuratively, I was starving again.

After the binging session, we packed up and slowly moved ourselves to the gate.

And then onto the plane.

My husband and I sat side by side with one twin each, while my mom-in-law sat about five rows in front of us with Baby C.

It wasn't the best seating arrangement since I couldn't see how grandma was doing with the infant at one glance.

But again, a full-flight so we didn't have much choice.

Take off is often the toughest part of a plane trip for adults and little ones alike, but despite the heavy anticipation, everyone seemed surprisingly fine.

No crying, no fussing, no nothing.

The twins sat peacefully, watching Cocomong and nibbling on their veggie biscuits.

As for Baby C, not sure what was going on there, but no crying.

As you can tell by now, crying is a very big deal when you're flying in an inescapable cylinder 30,000 feet off the ground.

So as long as there's no crying, we're all good.

Now at this point, we still had more than 12 hours ahead of us, but the first major hurdle was behind us.

The next big problem was naptime. We were no longer using baby carriers for naptimes.

Instead, I usually just lie down next to the girls for about 15 minutes and they would fall asleep.

But this only happens in a controlled environment ― a dark and quiet room ― so I knew a bright and loud plane wouldn't work for my curious toddlers who were already wired.

After repeated attempts to replicate a ``home atmosphere,'' dad and I decided that we'd have to go back to the old-school way.

Each of us held our nearly two-year-old toddlers in our arms while standing up for almost 30 minutes until both finally let go and fell asleep.

Oh, my arms. It felt like I just did 5,000 reps of one-arm pushups. I think they still hurt now.

But who cares about arms.

The girls were asleep.

That's all I cared about.

Nearly six hours into the flight, I finally got some downtime to go to the lavatory, stretch and relax.

For the next two hours, my husband and I had our fun, snacking, chatting and catching up on old stories we couldn't tell for the past several months.

Just when I was about to forget about Baby C, I began to hear her whimper.

She seemed to miss mommy so I traded seats with mom-in-law and held my littlest baby for some time.

And then, it was time for the twins to wake up again.

Since that point until landing ― so for the next four hours or so ― things went by like a blur. I just remember playing with a lot of stickers, chasing my girls down the aisle as they kept poking other people's legs, and repeatedly asking the flight attendant how much time we have left.

I'd say the last four hours, in such a long-haul flight, is hands-down the toughest stretch, physically and mentally.

So for those who have a long plane ride in sight, plan something super extra for those painfully long hours.

At any rate, we did it.

We safely touched down in Dallas with no major issues.

As we drove home, I couldn't be any more thankful that we were all healthy and sound.

The dreaded flight was over, now the jetlag.

My biggest homework part two.

I'll have the complete lowdown next time.