Tis the season for travel and road trips! The weather is getting nice, the end of the school year is approaching, and everyone is thinking about spring and summer travel plans.
Recently, my husband and I took our 10-month-old on a road trip from Auburn, Alabama to Dallas, Texas as our family vacation for the year. We split up the trip and traveled across two days each way: from Auburn to West Monroe, Louisiana and from Louisiana to Dallas. I mentally and physically prepared for this trip for months since our son has been more mobile than ever before. Will he be able to spend hours in the car? Will he get tired of the car seat? Will I dread our road trip plans if things go awry?
If you find yourself dreaming about your next road trip but worrying if traveling on the road is for your little one, this one’s for you! In this post I’ll share with you all of my secrets for surviving a road trip with a very mobile and active infant.
Secret #1 Packing accordingly
Toy bag. Check.
Diaper bag. Check.
Snack bag. Check.
These are the essentials, my friends. The diaper bag is a no brainer. Make sure it is fully stocked and loaded. You’ll need the essentials: plenty of diapers, an extra supply of wipes, at least one change of clothes, gas medicine, Tylenol, and extra formula bottles. Whatever your infant has needed in his or her life, bring it along. The one thing I did not pack in the diaper bag was extra toys. Extra toys have their own bag.
The diaper bag was used for pit stops, eating out, and our day-to-day adventures on our vacation.
The toy bag was a lifesaver. I packed all of John Paul’s favorites: four books, his little bear, multiple options of chewy toys, all sorts of toys that make noise, anything that he loves. This bag was the bag that I used most while in the car. It sat in the backseat right where I could reach it.
If John Paul was getting fussy before we arrived at the next rest stop or before we arrived at our destination, this is the bag that I would utilize. If he wasn’t hungry, I handed him a toy one by one until he got bored with it. This definitely bought us some time before we needed to make a stop.
John Paul loves reading books so if nothing could console him, I read books out loud to him from the front seat. When all else failed, I sang his favorite songs to him, which saved us until we were able to stop.
His snack bag was also a good thing to have when we did stop. While I didn’t let him eat snacks in his car seat while in route (I wanted to avoid a choking hazard), he did get to eat snacks when we stopped for food or for a break. This made life a lot easier since Michael (my husband) and I could enjoy our meal and John Paul could fill up his tummy before his next car nap. Having a variety of snacks is also a smart idea so your little one doesn’t get bored eating the same thing over and over again.
Secret #2 The Travel Lullaby Sound Machine
We’ve had the MyBaby On-the-Go Sound Machine since John Paul was born, and it has pulled through for us in clutch situations. It’s easy for babies to get off of their sleep schedules while on vacation, and sometimes they may have a more difficult time falling asleep. When this was the case for John Paul and I knew he wasn’t hungry and he didn’t need a diaper change, so I turned on MyBaby to soothe him. It worked like a charm. I definitely recommend buying one of these and having it on hand. Don’t forget to pack some extra batteries as backup!
Secret #3 Get Use to Changing Diapers in the Car
Let me tell ya, some gas stations and fast food joints don’t have the nicest restrooms. Get use to changing diapers in the car. This is a plus because you don’t have to worry about taking your baby into a nasty bathroom and you actually save yourself some time by not waiting in line.
Changing diapers in the car isn’t as hard as you would think. Lay the baby in the seat and stand right outside the door. Your body will block and wind or sun coming in and it’s easy to move around from a standing position. Make sure the diapers and wipes are within reach.
Since our road trip was almost a week long, our backseat was loaded with stuff so we had to change John Paul’s diaper in the front seat. He didn’t mind, and it was actually easier on me since I had Michael available to help me in a pinch.
If you decide to do this for your next road trip, be prepared! Have diapers and wipes handy and use a changing pad in case there’s a poopy diaper. You’ll also need to think about the weather. If it’s raining hard or if it’s too cold outside, you’ll need to be prepared for Plan B. This happened to us on our road trip. We hit nasty cold wind in Louisiana and I opted to change John Paul’s diaper while he was sitting in my lap instead of going into the fast food joint. Michael was a bit nervous about this, but I was confident. Word to the wise…. Just be quick!
Secret #4 Be Flexible
This is a no-brainer when it comes to infants in general. If you’re going to have a schedule for your road trip, make sure it’s flexible. Traveling with an infant is stressful enough; don’t add any unnecessary stress by trying to be strict with a schedule. It should have only taken us 6 hours and 16 minutes to drive back home on our last leg of the trip (without stops) but it ended up taking us 1o hours (with stops). As long as you’re mentally prepared for this reality, you’ll be fine.
Don’t let time control you. Have a plan but be flexible.
Secret #5 Plan Your Stops Around Baby’s Nap & Eating Schedule
Traveling life is a lot easier if you plan your food and gas stops around baby’s nap and eating schedule. Bring those car snacks for yourself, fuel up the gas tank when you can, and limit your fluid intake so you’re not having to stop every hour. The worst thing to do is stop the car to get gas when there’s a sleeping baby. We all know that when the car stops, the baby wakes up.
Don’t let an infant keep you from your travel plans. Where will you travel to with your infant this year?
We’re planning to visit our out of state family in two trips, one in April and one in June. Since these are familiar destinations we have favorite pit stops roughly every two hours. We’ve learned that our kids need to use the pit stops to run around so we find a park or rest area where they can play while the big people eat and use the restroom. It also helps to have one parent sit in the middle row of our van to keep the peace and hand things to kids. Love the toy bag idea – we definitely use this and try to put new or forgotten toys and books in there because the novelty gives it an extra boost.
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