Traveling With Baby (Part 2)

In the previous blog, we covered what you need to travel by plane with your baby. Today, we tackle all the tips and tools you need to have a fun road trip with your little one!

These days, especially with COVID, a lot of parents of young babies are choosing to drive to see family for the holidays or summer vacations. And while it’s not exactly the road trips you had in college, it can still be a very fun and laid back way to travel with your baby!

So what do you need to have a great vacation with your baby? 

First tip is the most important: be flexible and expect the drive to take longer than you (or the GPS) expects.

Why? Because babies need breaks from the carseat and they need to eat frequently so you will be stopping often. And when you do stop, those breaks can be longer than if you were road tripping by yourself or with your partner. There is long feeding sessions, diaper changes, blow out clean ups and just giving baby time to stretch out and be out of their carseat. So add some time to your itinerary. Plan shorter driving times. Check into the hotel early enough to relax in the room or go for a walk. If you give yourself a wide range of time to get to where you need to go, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the experience more.

Other essentials: all the things you need for feeding your baby.

If you are breastfeeding, think about if there are any things you want to bring along (a nursing pillow or cover) but otherwise, you have what you need already. 

If you are pumping or bottle-feeding, make sure you have all the tools you need so you aren’t having to find a Target in the middle of nowhere. A portable or travel pump is a great idea (some have a way to plug it into your car so you can pump right from the front seat!). Bring extra formula, especially if you use a special or hard to find kind. 

And don’t forget bottles and thing you need to wash the bottles!

Wipes aren’t just for butts when you’re on a road trip! You can use baby wipes to clean up faces, hands, car seats after a blow out or anywhere else that manages to get messy while on the road.

Pacifier wipes are great for keeping not just pacifiers clean but bottle nipples and toys that end up on the ground so they are clean and ready for rotation right away.

Bags, bags and more bags. You can never have enough grocery bags (plastic or reusable) or ziplock bags when driving distances with a baby. The 9am spit up incident will be less problematic by 9pm if that onesie is sealed away in a ziplock bag until it can be washed. 

An umbrella stroller that folds up easily and a great baby carrier will make all the stops on the way easier and more fun when your baby is super portable. Carriers are also a great way to lull your overtired baby to sleep while you walk around a new town or eat a meal (I personally love the Tula Baby carrier, pictured here).

No matter how fun the trip is, hours in a car have moments of boredom, even for babies. Buying or borrowing a few new toys before the trip, getting some board books from the library and listening to fun baby and kid music can help get your little one through the long hours in the car. (Caspar Babypants is my top “least annoying” kid music performer. Give him a try!).

When you are preparing for a road trip with your baby, you can get caught up in all the many things they will need for the journey but don’t forget yourself as well! Stay hydrated, eat nourishing foods and maybe bring some headphones to listen to a book or podcast when your baby is (finally!) sleeping in the backseat.

Some kids will pass out as soon as you get to the hotel after a long day of driving. They don’t care where they are sleeping, they’re just tired. Others, not so much. They need conditions to feel a little more like home to be able to settle in and get a good night’s sleep.

So for any kid, I recommend trying as best you can to imitate their sleep surroundings from home.

A blanket or stuffy is a comforting piece of home, if they are old enough to have them in their bed. A sound machine is very useful in a hotel room (never know when you’ll be in the cursed room next to the elevators or ice machine!). And don’t forget the swaddle or sleep sack!

If you have room in the trunk, bringing your own pack-n-play can ensure it is clean and in good shape (not always guaranteed with a hotel pack-n-play!). But if you need to use a hotel crib, be sure to call ahead to make sure one is held for you. 

So while it may not be the road trip from sophomore year of college, you can still make so many fun memories with your baby and kids when you hit the road together, especially with these tips and tools making life easier for everyone.