The Mr. And I live a pretty simple life… we don’t eat out all that often, we don’t meet people for wings every week & we don’t typically have the most exciting weekend plans. When we decided it might be time to introduce a new member into our clan – we didn’t think little dude would interrupt our lifestyle very much. And to be honest, he hasn’t! The main reason… well, the one thing we do like to do is travel and explore. From the time our little dude was born we have made him into a fairly “mobile baby” and so, the travel (especially road trips) continue!
Right now we are doing at least one or two overnight road trips per month – There are all kinds of articles online that are a huge help when planning a road trip with baby, but I am going to give you a few of my own tips and tricks for packing and making road trips with baby enjoyable!
My #1 tip: Keep everything as simple as possible!
- My little dude eats pre-made formula while we travel, we bring one bottle and wash it between feedings.
- Now that he eats baby food we use store bought pouches that you can now get spoon attachments for ($1.97 for 4 attachments at Walmart) and also bring along the boon spoon for other puree type foods (yogurt for example).
- A soother (pacifier) on a clip. And especially when travelling, ON A CLIP!
- Wipes in a Huggies clutch to make it easy to grab and go for changes or clean up when eating.
- A roll of bags to put dirty diapers in. Keep in mind that when in hotel rooms you will not have fancy diaper genies or have the luxury of taking your trash out to get rid of the poop smell! You can get these at Dollarama (4 rolls in a pack). Very useful on an airplane as well, but thats for another day…
- Toys… and no, baby doesn’t need everything he/she owns even though I am guilty of wanting to bring a huge variety along for the ride. Captain Calamari is a fan favourite in our household and of course Sophie, so these two make the cut every trip. Then, depending on space I may bring a few more, but really little dude is happy to play with one if his swaddle blankets or a bib for that matter.
- Selfie stick… you might feel funny using it, but I keep it in little dude’s diaper bag at all times. You can’t repeat the picture opportunity, but you can be prepared for it!
- iPad. This might seem a little premature, but I found a FisherPrice aquarium app that works like a charm to help little dude fall asleep in hotels just like we’re at home. This is one of those tricks that if it works for you – stick with it!
Lastly, I would suggest you prepare and pack as much the day before as possible. The less you have to do the morning of the departure, the better! I am also a list maker and a planner so this part comes naturally to me… even if this is not your thing, keep in mind if you plan for success you will succeed!
There are tons of other things we bring along… play pen, sheet, sleep sac, diapers, clothes, back-up clothes, cereal, bowl, spoon, ziplock bags, etc. However, it would be a lot to write out every little thing – hopefully this helps for your next road trip with baby!
Let me know how your next road trip goes – I would love to compare notes!
My shoes for that: Sneakers [two reasons: 1) be ready for a walk if you can get one in when you arrive, and 2) I hate packing my sneakers… they take up valuable space in your luggage!]
PIN THIS POST
1 Comment
Ashley MacDonald
June 22, 2016 at 12:36 amLove this post, it is so helpful especially for my unorganized self. My only other recommendation would be to check the weather a day in advance before you leave to make sure you have the right clothing with you. I have made that mistake twice now and ended up having to buy warmer baby clothes the first time and cooler ones the next! Lesson learned ?