Tips for Road Trips With A Baby and Toddler
(And How We Actually Enjoy It!)
Before we had children, we always enjoyed traveling, but just weren’t sure if it would be as much fun once we were taking road trips with a baby or a toddler. I’d heard a lot of horror stories that made me nervous about taking an infant on a long trip. I had also seen a lot of families just give up traveling altogether once they had children.
We started taking road trips with my first daughter when she was four months old to visit my grandparents. That first trip turned me into a stressed out mess. I worried about absolutely everything.
Before we had kids we were “pack a small bag” kind of travelers. But as I stood in the driveway that morning (an hour after we were supposed to be on the road) I looked at our packed down car and thought “how did we ever acquire this much stuff and why do we possibly need it for a tiny baby??”
That first trip was admittedly a bit of a mess. We survived, but we came home determined to make our next trip with a baby a lot smoother. Over the next several months as we traveled to visit family, we honed in on a system that really worked for us when our daughter was a baby and a young toddler.
Trips became fun for all three of us and we fell into an easy routine and rhythm. And when we added a new baby into the mix a few years later, we had already fine tuned our system and the transition was seamless. So here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way to make traveling with a baby or a young toddler enjoyable (and even screen free!)
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1. Lower Your Expectations for Your ETA. And Then Lower Them Again.
This was the first adjustment I had to make. Before kids, we typically drove as many hours as possible in a day to get to our destination. With a baby, keeping that same pace just isn’t feasible. Mentally trying to calculate where we could make up for lost time or thinking about how much faster we would be moving if it was just the two of us only made me crazy.
Now when we travel we budget in more time for stops. For about every two or three hours of driving, we plan to stop for about an hour. By being generous with how much time we have to stop and allotting for it, I don’t make myself as crazy trying to get somewhere quickly, and instead feel like I’ve given myself permission to just slow down and enjoy the journey. (And if a stop does take less time than planned, even better!)
2. Make the Most of Your Stops
Allowing for more time at stops is critical for keeping a baby or a toddler happy. However, we also want to be efficient with our time while stopped and to make the most of it.
We’ve worked out a system that when we do stop, we take care of everything that we need. We get gas, refill our water bottles, make sure everyone is fed, and we get everyone moving (or rolling) around.
I often feed the baby a snack while my husband pumps gas. Then we take turns playing with the baby and changing diapers while the other uses the restroom, refills any water bottles, etc.
To really be efficient with our stops, we tried to find places where we could cross as many things off our list as possible. Large rest areas are great for grassy areas for picnics and letting the baby stretch out or the toddler run around. Places like Kroger or Walmart with a gas station are great for getting cheaper snacks while also having space to walk around, fill up on gas, and find a clean restroom.
3. Picnics are the Best
Every kid loves a picnic. We’ve found that by packing picnics for roadside meals, we’ve vastly improved our trip experience. First of all, the kids can run around freely.
The baby can stretch out on a blanket and roll around, and we all get to rest a bit. A picnic is a great place for a baby or a toddler to relax, stretch, and get their wiggles out.
We always pack our travel picnic blanket with us. It’s great because not only does it fold up and zips into a small size, but it has a handle AND it wipes down easily. We’ve honestly had it for so long that I can’t find the exact one on Amazon, but a very similar one can be found here.
I also love that I can pack healthier meals for my little ones that they’ll actually eat and save a ton of money.
It puts us all in a better mood.
4. Car Bags!
Keeping a little one entertained in a car isn’t always easy- that’s where a car bag comes in. For each one of my kids, I have a special bag for them. In the bags are little trinkets, small toys, and books that they either enjoy looking at on their own.
When we’re not traveling, these bags stay put away so that the toys stay fresh. (Also, they ONLY get to play with these toys when we’re on a longer drive.) The Dollar Tree is a great place to pick up cheap little items for their car bags.
If I’m not the one driving then I will keep the bags at my feet and dole out the toys. I want there to be fresh items for the entirety of the trip if I can. I also want to discourage my kids from immediately deciding that something is boring and then moving on. If I am driving, then the bag is in the backseat where they can reach it.
As they get older, I do eventually put the bag next to their car seat so that they can be in charge of pulling out what they want to play with. I really love these backseat organizers to help us keep the backseat nice and neat.
5. Try and Keep Loosely Within Your Normal Routine
Traveling is inherently going to mess up your routine, and part of the fun should be the journey there. When I let myself get too uptight about adhering to our baby’s nap schedule, I realized I was stressing out over something I couldn’t control.
So instead, we decided to just do our best. We tried to plan for stops at around the time she would normally need to eat and play, and we tried to plan for long stretches of driving at roughly her nap times. When those times came, we turned on some white noise (just like we do at home), tried to stay quiet up front, and hoped she slept.
Our first daughter was a difficult sleeper and she rarely slept in cars. However, she at least tried to rest when she heard the white noise as her cue that it was nap time.
We did our best to help her stay in her routine but didn’t stress out about it to the point that we couldn’t enjoy the trip.
6. Have an Organization System for Your Packing.
The first road trip we took with a baby we were overwhelmed with the items we needed to pack. Between bottles, extra formula, diapers, her pack and play, toys, extra clothes- our car was filled and it was really hard to find items that we needed.
Now we have a system. We’ve saved empty diaper boxes for trips and each box holds a certain collection of items. We have one box that has everything we need in it for diaper changes (along with an extra pair of clothes). One box that has everything the baby needs for meal times. There’s one box where we place any items that are going into the room where she will be sleeping. And lastly, there’s one box to hold any extra toys or books that we’re bringing on the trip that aren’t in her carry-on toy bag. By sorting items by purpose, it is so much easier to find exactly what we need.
We make sure the diaper items and meal items are the easiest to reach. This way when we’re rummaging around for something, we know exactly where to look and the whole back of the van or trunk of the car doesn’t fall apart.
Additionally, if we are going on a trip that includes many different destinations, then we pack the van accordingly. If we’re staying one night in a hotel on the way to the beach, I try and pack just what we’ll all need for that one night in a single bag. That way, we’re not unloading all of our items into a hotel for just one night. Similarly, if we’re not going to need the pool floats until we actually get to the beach, then those items go in the very farthest corner of the van.
7. Lastly, Try and Relax
I know this is easier said than done. But things are going to go sideways- just take a deep breath and roll with it. There will be epic blowouts that require full outfit changes in a McDonald’s parking lot (true story.) A brand new toddler will wipe out running on a sidewalk at a Wendy’s (again- true story.) Traffic will come to a screeching halt right as your difficult sleeper finally passes out but the car stopping will mean they’re back awake and now they’re screaming.
It’s hard in the moment- but it will be ok! They will sleep again at some point- and so will you! Eventually they’ll stop having massive blowouts every time they get in their car seat. And at some point, those will be memories you laugh about.
But remember that you can majorly set the tone of the trip. If you’re stressed, your kiddos will pick up on that and also be stressed. Remember that this is supposed to be fun and a great time for your family. Keeping that main goal in focus makes all the difference!
Traveling with our kids has made such a difference in our family. I really do feel like our kids have a stronger bond and a greater love for adventure because of it.
And if you’re looking for ideas on where to travel to with little kids, check out my travel posts!
