10 Ways To Survive Your First Road Trip With A Newborn
Only the most experienced traveling parents can become anxious when faced with a long vehicle trip with a baby. We understand because we’ve been there!
There are so many extra supplies needed for baby automobile travel and don’t forget about those inconveniently timed diaper blowouts in between breaks.
We’ve compiled 10 Tips for Road Tripping with a Baby to make your trip as stress-free as possible, based on professional travel experiences. At the conclusion, you’ll find a handy list of baby road-trip essentials to make packing a snap.
- Practice As Much As Possible
You might well have heard horror stories about families who set out on a long car ride with their kids only to have to turn around because their child became hysterical. We’ve seen a lot of weeping when driving, and the best approach we’ve found is to get your kid used to being in their car seat by a certified baby car seat supplier.
We understand that going out and about with your kid is more difficult than it appears, especially if you have multiple children. Even a few excursions to the store or to the park will teach your child that being in a car seat isn’t the worst thing in the world.
- Be Reasonable With Your Itinerary
Whenever it comes to baby car travel, if you’re the sort that thrives on establishing and sticking to routines, you’ll need to change your expectations. Although it may be tempting to rush to your destination, you must consider your baby’s requirements as well as your own sanity.
You also wanted to make sure that you and your spouse were in good health. Sleepless evenings and babies are frequently associated.
Avoid driving for more than five to six hours a day or all night if you’re already running on fumes. The safety of your family is the most crucial consideration.
- Bring Pumping Supplies or Extra Formula
When traveling with an infant, whether you’re breastfeeding or formula-feeding, you’ll need to bring additional feeding supplies. At the same time, make sure you have enough area in the front seat of your vehicle to move around.
You’ll probably want to carry a travel breast pump with you if you can’t pull over and nurse your baby or if they’re sleeping comfortably in their car seat when feeding time arrives. This is one of the bulkier items to carry, and you’ll need to bring extra batteries or a charging wire that fits into the adaptor in your car.
- Car Seat Additions
Babies are also both easier and much more challenging to entertain than toddlers in various ways. Your baby will not scream because you took away their iPad; instead, they may scream because they have a dirty diaper, are hungry, or are tired while being in their car seat. Taking a baby on the road might be a completely different beast.
- Pack A Travel Bag
Apart from your baggage in the trunk, you’ll need to have most of the items within arm’s reach in your car, which is why you’ll need to have an extra travel bag within the car. You can use your regular diaper bag for this, or you can simply bring an extra tote.
Here are some essentials to include in your car baby bag:
- Travel changing pad
- Diaper wipes
- Extra diapers
- Diaper Cream
- Healthy Snacks
- Hand sanitizer
- Wet wipes
- Burp cloths
- Plastic grocery bags (for dirty diapers)
- 1-2 bibs
- Expect A Few Diaper Blowouts
Diaper blowouts, oh my. This is a reality of parenting life, and driving by automobile with a baby is nearly guaranteed that a few will happen between Point A and Point B — we learned the hard way!
While there’s little you can do to minimize blowouts, you can reduce your stress by reducing the cleanup.
- Prepare For Frequent Stops
Bringing a baby on the road means making frequent stops. That’s just a part of life, and accepting it at the start of your vacation will likely lessen the odds of you being irritated afterward.
Whether it’s an unexpected nursing or feeding stop, a milk spit-up incident, or the dreaded diaper blowout, babies just demand additional care. It’s best to just buckle up, pull over, and get to work.
- Pack A Few Travel Dining Essentials
When traveling by car with a baby, you’ll need to stop for food along the route, so bring a few travel eating basics. A mobile high chair can make indoor mealtime much easier if your baby can sit up with support. When not in use, these fold up and fit easily into the trunk of your car.
As previously stated, packing several bibs in your travel bag for convenient access when traveling is recommended. These silicone bibs are a favorite of ours because they can be wiped clean and reused on your adventure.
- Prepare For Hotel Stays
Being in a hotel with your newborn normally means getting considerably less sleep than usual, but we have some suggestions to make these experiences more bearable for everyone.
First, find a hotel that offers safes for your expensive belongings and even ammunition by a certified gun safe manufacturer. While tackling a fuzzy baby, you might neglect such important stuff and forget it only to find out the loss when you reach home.
Second, you can look for a stay spot where they offer relaxing activities for parents. Like a big clean pond or pool with koi pond filter pads where you can dive and forget all that traveling fatigue.
- Take Care Of YOU
We’re going to focus on you, Mom, even if this post is about a road trip with a baby. It’s easy to put your needs last when you’re a mother, and it seems to be the norm. It’s crucial to realize that your own health and happiness are inextricably related to the happiness and well-being of your child.
Conclusion
It’s all about having realistic expectations, remember? Give yourself lots of time, prepare smartly, get plenty of rest, and be gentle with yourself if things don’t go as planned!