Survival Guide: Traveling with a Baby

In the past few months, we have been traveling more than ever.  But what made us certified professional baby travelers was the 22 hour drive from Connecticut to Florida.  Followed by a six hour drive to Atlanta only two weeks later.  Bean isn’t perfect when he travels, but who is?  He gets fidgety and fussy, but for the most part we know when that’s coming and we can plan ahead.  I have learned that this is the most any parents can hope for when traveling with a baby.  You may not be able to completely stop the meltdowns, but you can certainly plan for them.

There are certain things I have found when traveling that make life a little easier for us.

First, you can’t make a long trip in a car or airplane without a diaper changing pad.  I actually didn’t register for one of these when I was pregnant.  I didn’t really think they were necessary, but someone gave me one at a shower and I have never looked back.  In fact, I get asked quite often to recommend a great shower gift for an expecting mom, and this might be one of my favorites.  At $16.99 for the “designer” brand, I think this is a perfect shower gift.  These pads unfold and fit perfectly on those baby changing stations in public restrooms and they ensure that your baby doesn’t have to lay in all those germs.  I’ve also whipped mine out in the backseat of cars (when parked, of course) and done a quick change in parking lots.

The downside is that even when it is all folded up, its still pretty big for a diaper bag.  I usually keep mind in the car separate from my bag and then just take it into the restroom when I need it.

The upside is that when it unfolds, it has this handy little sack in the bottom of it that folds out.  It holds a few diapers, a small pack of wipes, and I keep a travel sized tube of diaper rash cream in there, too.

Another tip I have found along our travels is that it is much easier to go out and buy a small pack of diapers for the weekend than it is to try and pull out a bunch of diapers from your big stash at home.  I used to just stuff diapers into all the nooks and cranies in our suitcase and diaper bag.  It was cheaper because I didn’t have to go out and buy any new diapers, but it was really inconvenient and I was always gauging how many diapers I would need incorrectly and then running out half way through our trip.

Finally, I got smart and started buying a small pack of diapers before we left town.  I would fill my diaper changing pad with enough diapers to get us from point A to point B and then I’d throw the rest of the pack in my suitcase.  It kept them contained and made packing and unpacking so much easier.

Now, the next item might cause some of you to shake your fingers at me, but I’m gonna share it anyways.  When we are traveling, the hardest part of car trips is that Bean’s schedule can get so out of whack.  He’s sitting in one place for so long and sleeping off and on at odd times and by the time we get somewhere, he’s all messed up on his sleep schedule.

I sometimes use Benedryl to keep this from happening.  Actually, the only times I have used it for scheduling purposes is when we are driving to or from Florida.  Short distances or day trips really aren’t worth it.  But if we’re driving at night, then at Bean’s normal bedtime, we pull over somewhere and put Bean into his jammies, give him his last bottle, and then give him a little Benedryl.  Its enough to help him fall asleep for the night and stay asleep long enough so that his body stays on his nighttime sleep schedule.

I know, I know.  Its terrible to use medication for this purpose and you should definitely speak with your doctor before giving any medication.  But its a little trick that we have used and its kept us all a little saner in the middle of traveling.

The next thing that we can’t live without when traveling by car is our bottle warmer.  We bought the cheap Munchkin version for $14.99  and it has worked great for us.  It keeps us from having to stop every time Bean needs a bottle.

It has a USB cord that plugs into our car lighter, modeled here by Bean Man…

The inside of the bottle warmer has a little glove that the bottle slips into.  Its this glove that actually heats up to warm the bottle.  Our problem was that we use bottled with the bottle liners, so even if we put the bottle in there, it would just be the plastic part that gets warm and the liner with the formula would take so much longer to heat up indirectly.  To combat this, we put a water bottle in the bottle warmer and let that water get warm and then when its time for a bottle, we pour the warm water into the bottle and – voila! – we have a warm bottle for Bean in the car.

The only problem we have run into with the bottle warmer is that it takes a LONG time to warm a bottle or bottle of water.  We usually go ahead and put the water bottle in the warmer the minute we start our trip because we know that it will take hours for it to heat up enough.  I’m almost positive that this is because we are using the cheaper end product and I’m sure if you had the more expensive brands, they might heat up faster.  But we don’t really mind.  We just plan a little ahead and Bean’s bottle is almost always ready right on time.

Also in the car, when it comes to food, you have to plan ahead a little more, too.  I used to bring little boxes of Cheerios and a Puff container for snacks, but that takes up a lot of room.  And when Bean starts flipping out in the car, there really isn’t the time or the space for me to go digging for individual snacks.  So, on our more recent trips, I have started keeping a Tupperware bowl of Cheerios and Puffs mixed together in my diaper bag.  Actually, I keep this tub in there all the time.  Its just so much easier than maneuvering boxes and containers of snacks.  This way, I can just pop the top and have it all right there in one place, in one small container.

Bean is ALMOST to the point where I think I can give him one of those snack containers that he can open and close himself, the kind with the little hole so they don’t all go flying everywhere when he dumps the container over.  But for now, this is what works for us.

Another food item that I can’t live without are things that take a little longer to eat.  For us, these have been Gerber Bitter Biscuits, Vanilla Wafers (though I don’t prefer these because of the sugar), and baby carrot sticks.  The great thing about these kinds of snacks while traveling is that they take a little longer for Bean to eat and so they keep him entertained for a longer period of time.  I usually give him one of these when he is really getting tired of being in his car seat.

Like the other snacks, I take these out of their containers and put them in my own packaging.  In this case, that is a Ziplock.  It just makes it easier for me to pull one bag out and have all my options in one place.  Saves time and room in the diaper bag.

When we finally get to where we are going, I always make sure I have Bean’s Graco Pack ‘n Play ($79.99) with us.  I know that a lot of hotels provide these for guests and that when you’re staying with family, you can always just put the baby down on a bed either with you or surrounded by pillows or you could even put them on the floor on blankets.  But for Bean, he sleeps better when he’s around things that are familiar to him.  He plays in his Pack ‘n Play in our house and so he knows what it is and that it belongs to him.  So, when we are traveling, its a lot easier to get him to go to sleep when he’s in something he is comfortable with.  And I like it because I know its clean and safe.  I always bring sheets for the Pack ‘n Play, too, so that Bean knows he is in a crib.  Fortunately, these things pack up pretty small, so it really isn’t much extra trouble to throw this into the car either.

Finally, be sure that you pack enough clothes for your trip.  And when you think you’ve packed more than enough, pack some more.  I ALWAYS under-pack for Bean.  I usually pack an outfit a day, plus an extra.  But I usually end up needing 2 or 3 changes on average for every day of traveling.  Bean gets messy or things spill or diapers have blow outs or we sit in something or whatever.  There are always a million things that can go wrong when traveling and you’ll wish you had a few extra changes in clothing for your baby.

And don’t forget the extra socks (especially if your baby is like Bean and likes to take his socks off in random places…).  These are especially helpful in cooler hotel rooms or in homes where you can’t control the thermostat.

I also always take burp cloths with us when we travel.  I don’t normally use these often at home anymore, but when traveling it is so nice to have something to wipe Bean down with or clean up his car seat or whatever.  Just having a little extra something on hand has been very helpful to us in the past.  They are also particularly helpful when Bean is fussy in his car seat and a well-timed game of peek-a-boo is necessary.  Burp cloths make great peek-a-boo hiders!

We have been traveling more than we would actually like to have been traveling, but if you’ve gotta do it then its always a good idea to bring the right stuff along with you.  Even if you show up and unload a U-Haul for a 2-night stay.  At least those two nights will be somewhat more peaceful for your baby with all of his things around.  And, trust me, the one thing you decide to leave at home will be the one thing you really wish you’d brought!