Car Travel with Baby

Monday, March 1, 2010


We learned new things by traveling (again) with LP last weekend. Here are a couple of tips:

1. Flexible Bed - Taking a travel bed such as the pack & play has been a blessing. It's great for the night rest, day time nap and just so baby can sit there and play. I didn't take a high chair so he sat in his pack & play and drank his bottle. When LP was little we took all the parts with us so it was an awesome changing table too. 
2. A rested baby is a happy baby - For some reason LP took the longest nap before we left. He was pretty happy throughout the trip. By the time we stopped, we all needed a break from the road. Of course if he was tired he'd fall asleep but who likes to be tired and stuck in the same position for hours?
3. New Environment triggers... - Having and keeping a bedtime routine is key. Although the new environment drove away the usual signs of sleepiness, LP knew what we were trying to achieve when we went through his bedtime routine. We also have a routine for naps, meal time, etc. It's nothing monumental. We sing a lot at our home, so we have different songs for different times of the day. For bedtime we have a little devotional. We pray and (of course) we sing. 
4. Define 'Family Friendly' - Not every family friendly hotel might work for your family, so you have to define what family travel means to you. In my case, I have a baby who's used to having his own room. If I'm anywhere around, he wants to hang out and play. Family friendly to me means having a hotel with two rooms at least available for us. We don't have that luxury everywhere we go (visiting in-laws from example, we all stay in one room) but if I'm paying for it, the least I can do is stay at a place that fits my family's needs.
5. Strolling in style - I have two strollers. A big, bad, jogger stroller (which I love) and the cheap Wal-Mart umbrella stroller. For this trip we chose to take the cheap one which takes up less space and its ultra light. We leave the jogger stroller for exercise trips. 


We had an awesome time with LP and specially now that we know LB's gender!