Traveling with a baby is no easy task whether by plane, car, or U-Haul (yes I did this). I personally have travelled with my, at the time, 7 week old daughter via car for 6 1/2 hours. When she was 4 months old, we took a U-Haul from Texas to North Dakota which was a 21 hour drive (YIKES!). At 6 months old, we traveled on a plane from North Dakota to Alabama to visit family. At 1 year old (13 months) she traveled via plane from North Dakota to Ohio and then from Ohio to Alabama.
I want to share some of the things that we did that were great and helpful and also the not so helpful things. We made a lot of mistakes and would have loved to have these tips before we traveled.
Tips for long car rides:
The first trip my husband and I made with our daughter was when she was 7 weeks old. No, we didn’t have it all together and no it wasn’t perfect, but I’m glad we were able to go. Since we were in the car for 6 1/2 hours with a newborn, it actually ended up taking closer to 9 hours. Here are some tips for a smoother ride.
- If your baby is bottle-fed, how are you going to warm up your bottle on the road? This is what we used and continued to use until she turned 1 year old. You boil water before your trip and this container keeps the water hot. Then pour the water into the cup it gives you and place the bottle in the cup to warm it up.
- You are going to need to take breaks and let your baby out of their carseat. Being in the carseat for too long can become very uncomfortable to them. It could be helpful to map out where you will stop before you start traveling. That is something we didn’t plan out well which led to us traveling a lot longer than necessary.
- Bring toys for your baby. At 7 weeks old, my baby wasn’t very interested in toys yet so it wasn’t very helpful for her. For an older baby toys becomes essential to a happy baby and car ride.
- My husband and I quickly realized that music helped calm our baby down and allowed her to go to sleep. That might not be for every baby, but was a great thing for mine.
- Pack your diaper bag accordingly. Be able to have all you need to change a diaper on-the-go. Make sure to pack an extra set of clothes in case of blowouts or major spit ups. Below is the diaper bag that I use.
- If your baby is eating solids then they’ll need snacks on the trip. Pouches have been so very helpful. You don’t need a spoon and they can hold it themselves (be careful, it can get messy). Here are some pouches that my daughter enjoyed.
- Lastly, try not to stress! you’ve got this and it’s important to stay positive and calm so you don’t get overwhelmed. Pray for peace and take a breather! It’s okay to ask for help. 🙂
Tips for long U-Haul drives:
When my daughter was 4 months old, my husband and I took a U-Haul from Texas to North Dakota which was a 21 hour drive! Of course we split it up into a couple days, but it wasn’t easy. This was a whole lot harder than the 6 1/2 hour drive. We had a lot more stuff to think about. Here are my tips.
- Plan, plan, plan! Make sure you know where you are stopping at to stay the night. Will you be in hotels, family/friends house, Airbnb, etc? We personally stayed in hotels and it’s important to make sure where you will be staying and if it’s a safe area especially with a little one.
- Bring toys that will entertain your baby! Ones that make noise and light up can help distract them when they are fussy. Books and their favorite toys are necessities. Remember that you won’t have a lot of room to keep these items so make sure you pack compact toys. Here are some toys that we brought for my daughter.
- The bottle warmer that we used for the car ride worked well, but after you use it once, you need to add boiling water back into it which makes it very unhelpful for such a long drive without access to boiling water. This is something that tripped us up the most. We were super stressed and lost a lot of good driving time for dealing with these issues. My daughter did not like cold bottles so our only option was to warm it up. Here are a few things that can help. The first one is great for traveling if you don’t have access to a plug and the second one can boil water if you have access to a plug.
- Again, like the car ride, you will need breaks. Plan appropriately and be aware of what weather you are traveling in. If it is cold when traveling, make sure to have proper clothing for you baby and yourselves for when you will be getting out to eat and get gas.
- Have a music playlist set up that your baby enjoys. This will be a good way to calm them down and distract them.
- Be prepared for delays and unexpected problems coming up. It’s hard to not stress and worry about every little thing (trust me, I understand), but your baby can tell the difference of when you’re calm or stressed and they will match your energy!
Tips for plane travel:
My husband and I traveled with our daughter At 6 months old from North Dakota to Alabama. At 1 year old (13 months) she traveled via plane from North Dakota to Ohio and then from Ohio to Alabama. Plane travel is wayyy different then traveling in a car or U-Haul because their are people (strangers) all around you and you are in a contained space that you cannot leave or get out of to get some fresh air.
This is hard on a baby. It messes with their nap schedules which is a huge no-no (if you know, you know). It can be rough on their ears and head with the change of pressure and can be frustrating to not be able to get up and move around freely. One of the biggest things for me is getting judged by strangers on if you are a good parent or not or are doing a good job (let’s be honest, everyone judges the parenting skills of a screaming child). Here are my tips.
- Look at the specific airline policies that you will be flying with to understand if you can bring a diaper bag on the plane for your baby, what you can bring your babies extra frozen formula/breastmilk in, and if you can carry water on the plane to make a bottle for your baby if you use powdered formula.
- Get a travel container if you use powdered formula. I used this one below.
- Make sure to give your baby a bottle/pacifier/something to suck on at take off of the plane and landing. This will help their ears to pop so they don’t have extreme discomfort and scream for the whole flight.
- Have entertaining toys that don’t make any noise, so as not to disturb other passengers. Here are some toys we brought on the plane rides.
- We used the same travel bottle warmer that I talked about with the U-Haul that is completely portable.
- Have snack for your baby. My baby likes puffs, cheerios, bananas, and pouches which are all great travel snacks.
- Have enough diapers and an extra outfit. My daughter had a blow out at the airport and she needed a change of clothes. I’m thankful that it wasn’t on the plane, but it definitely can happen. Be prepared.
Here are some of my tips and tricks that I learned when traveling with my baby. I hope you enjoy this! 🙂