Tips for Traveling with an Infant

If you thought just going to the grocery store was a big ordeal, traveling with an Infant on long car rides is definitely a circus. But it gets easier and learning what works and doesn't in general and for your family makes traveling much more enjoyable

It was easy to travel with the monster when he was 3 weeks old up to visit my mom because he pretty much slept and didn't take long to fill his little tummy so we could get back on the road quicker. Now that he's 11 weeks old and doesn't nap and hates his car seat, traveling is a lot more time consuming and harder. Since I am up at my mom's right now, I've learned what doesn't work so that on our trip down, I can implement what works and try and find new things that work.

1. Add 2 hrs to your driving time. This is to account for all the stops you'll be making because if you match the stops for yourself up with the stops for your child, they go quicker, but you still have to take extra time at each one. On this most recent trip, when we stopped, Brian would go in, use the facilities and/or get his food while I fed the monster and when both Brian and the Monster were done, Brian would take over with the monster and I'd run in and take care of my things.

2. Plan your departure time 2 hrs before you actually plan to leave the house. Without the baby, Brian and I would leave at around 11am, with the baby, we planned to leave at 9 and we ended up not leaving til 11. In some sense, it gave us a sense of urgency because we thought "we have to leave now" or "soon" so we were able to kick it into high gear. Plus, if you leave before the "expected" departure time, you have more time on your travels for stops or get to your destination sooner.

3. Always line up your stops with the baby's. As mentioned in the first tip, if you have to use the bathroom but the baby will probably eat in twenty minutes, can you possibly wait the 20 minutes to use the bathroom? You kill two birds with one stone and spend more time on the road.

4. Travel at night for long trips. Since babies typically have a long chunk of sleep at night, you have an extra hour or two on the road. Traveling at night also means little to no traffic and you have a whole day at your destinations instead of just the afternoon/evening. If you're driving with your significant other, you can always take turns sleeping while the other drives. This doesn't work for Brian and I, however, since he has a standard and I can't drive standard, but it is what my mom and step dad do when they travel to see us or other family.

5. Babies don't like to be in their car seat for long periods just like we don't like to be sitting in a car for long periods, so make sure that when you stop for extended periods (like to eat), that you take the baby out of their car seat and let them stretch out as well.