Travelling with a Baby

We go on our fair share of road trips. In the summer we spend most weekends racing so we travel anywhere from 2-4 hours. This last year we went on some lengthy trips to Iowa, Minnesota, Vegas, and Arizona. That is a lot of time in the car and can lead to some hair pulling by the end but here is some tips and tricks I have learned from our 24+ hr trips

I pack in totes. Other than our clothes I pack in a suitcase for easy transporting in and out of the hotel room.

I buy these smaller size totes from Walmart and they are perfect. 
I usually take 2 totes. One medium size and one small

Toys

Food & Snacks

I pack a tote of toys, so that at the end of the day they can be stored back in there and not scattered everywhere, and then when you are home they are all in one place to give a quick sanitize. I bring a few favourites ones I know Eli loves as well as some new ones that sometimes turn out to be the real life savers! I also stash a small carrying bag in there so if we go into a restaurant or are visiting someone we can take in a few toys. We also bring the ipad and keep that till the very end knowing it will keep Eli busy for the last stretch of the trip. Those Fisher Price apps are great. Eli's favourite is the Puppy Play Movies.

The next one is dedicated to food and snacks. I bring fruit cut up in small tupperware containers and sometimes if we are going to be without a fridge for a while just fruit cups that don't need to be in the fridge. I make little individual snack size bags with different treats in each bag. (Ritz crackers, Goldfish, Fruit Puffs) Then if things get a little crazy you can say OKKK!!! how bout some Goldfish! and switch things up a bit. Also in this tote I keep extra suckies, Benedryl, Advil and Syringes, Spoons, Bibs, Sippy Cups, Extra Bottles, and baby food for meals. 

I keep these totes in the backseat with us so they are easy to reach for when your on the road. I find they are alot of easier to work with then a bag or suitcase. Especially when your reaching around from the front seat to find something. 

If were going to be doing a longer day of travelling we either leave early in the morning, or take off late at night just after supper and get a few good hours in. We usually plan our stops around when Eli will be napping or looking like he will be asleep. If he is getting pretty sleeping we will stop and fuel up and then carry on. Instead of stopping half way through a nap and waking him up and missing out on what could have been a 3 hr nap. 

Eli is at a hard age as he can't play Ispy or the license plate game but it works ok because after a half hour or so the game you played an hour ago that he got bored of will now be super exciting again and snacks or super fun. Both Aaron and I are a little sore in the neck from all the peek a boo we played this last weekend. 

I do this with everything we do now. Pack and then step back and look at what we really need and what we don't. I usually try and take out atleast 5 things that we don't need. 

We are headed to Florida in 2 weeks for a family trip. Check back as I will be showing you how I pack all of that baby jazz!