A Sydney mum has been slammed online for taking 18 bags on holiday.
Music artist Joanne Hadjia, also known as Joey Djia, shared a now-viral video on TikTok about her trip to the United States with her two twin babies and her husband.
The 32-year-old flew from Sydney, Australia, to San Francisco with her husband Omar and twin daughters Ava and Aya earlier this month.
The recording artist decided to document their entire experience on TikTok to show the realities of traveling the world with two eight-month-old babies.
In the now viral video, which has nearly 2 million views, she shared the story of how a family of four traveled with 18 pieces of luggage, causing her comment section to explode.
While many understood why they needed to carry so many bags, others were mystified, and some even outraged.
“It’s unbelievable that people are so bothered about our bags,” Joy told news.com.au.
“I took a look and it seemed like it was going too far. But honestly, I was shocked by what people were saying.
“It’s like they paid for our plane tickets and were asked to push our bags.
“I’m never going to get mad at someone for doing something for themselves that doesn’t hurt anyone or anything, especially when it’s not inconveniencing me at all.
“Everyone online tells me what I should do. The airline has no problem with our bags and neither do we.
“As a family of four, we can bring 14 items for free with our tickets, as each baby is allowed one stroller, one baby bag and two baby suitcases.
“Omar and I are allowed standard carry-on and personal items, one suitcase each.
“We only spent an extra $300 on extra luggage, two of which were full, but didn’t have a portable studio set up for work.
“The third is my husband’s golf clubs and the fourth is my trusty organic Australian baby formula, which you can’t get in the US.
“Most of what we took was for the girls.
Many in the comments suggested that the couple should “buy all the new stuff” while in the US, however, Joy pointed out how wasteful and expensive that would be in comparison.
“People think babies need less luggage, but the truth is they actually need more than adults,” she says.
“Little kids obviously need less because they don’t have prams, car seats, cots, etc.
“But people suggested I should buy all new stuff, and that would easily cost me over $4,000. Why on earth would I do that?
“In terms of leasing these items, it cost us over $8,000.
“There was nothing wrong with our luggage and it was opened within an hour of arriving in San Francisco.
“People online keep comparing, saying they’ve moved to far fewer countries, but everyone’s situation is different.
“I think people don’t like to see other people do things they can’t do.”
Joy added that while traveling with two kids can be daunting, with the proper preparation it can be a seamless experience.
“Raising one child is difficult, let alone two, but it’s doable,” she said.
“We scheduled it so they could have a bottle on takeoff to keep their ears from hurting and crying, and we had bassinets for the two girls ahead of time.
“We made sure to pack plenty of snacks for the girls and ourselves, and headphones to help with the blaring that woke them up.
“I also separate things into clear ziplock bags so it’s easier to find things when you’re down and tired.
“I arranged for a van at both ends to carry the luggage.”
The family will stay in the United States for more than three months. Joy’s husband Omar is American, and the two actually met for the first time in Los Angeles.
Together they own a music company called Djia Media and five recording studios called RecordBook located around Los Angeles.
They also have a trucking business.
“I love sharing my experiences as a mother and helping others feel more human about the real challenges women face,” she added.
“I never hid my struggles, I shared my entire pregnancy and emergency birth of twins online.
“After this particular video went viral, I’m excited to be able to explain the why and logic of these bags to encourage more mothers to tackle their fears of traveling with children.”
“We’re very lucky to be able to work and run our company anywhere in the world that we want,” she said.
“Omar’s parents and extended family live near San Francisco, so that’s why we decided to go there.
“The twins were born in Australia but have dual citizenship and Omar and I have the ability to live in two places in terms of immigration.”
While baggage allowances vary by country and airline, Qantas says passengers with infants can take a pushchair, fold-up cot, bassinet, car seat or baby compartment on all of its flights.
Additionally, passengers traveling with infants or young children may bring on board reasonable quantities of liquid, aerosol or gel products during the flight and during any delays that may occur, but this will be at the discretion of the security officer at customs.
