Sharing Mommy Lessons from my Recent Roadtrip with Baby H

Aug 10, 2010 by Shophaven

This past weekend, we went down to New Hampshire for a family wedding, and took with us our one-year old on his first ever longer distance road trip.

I knew traveling with Baby H was going to be different than the way we used to travel pre-baby.  That’s a no-brainer. But there are a few things I wish I would have thought of before embarking on our little road-trip with a one year old. I’m sharing my thoughts with you in hopes of saving you some agony on the way.

1.   Patience – I definitely need more of this.  I am the type of mom who gets nervous when Baby H starts to whine or get fussy, and I do worry about others judging my parenting skills based on his fussing. It’s become a habit that I immediately jump upon hearing his cries, and try to prevent him from being pesky in public. Perhaps I need to let him wail it out a bit before rushing to the rescue.

2.   Baby H loves his fruits and veggies, so I prepared a lot before we left and felt good about it. Except, I absolutely forgot about the rules with food coming into the US. We had to consume everything before we got there. On my next trip south, I will make sure to get applesauce, cheerios and crackers. I’ll also research quickly whether the place we’re staying at has fresh produce around to purchase once we arrive. And I’ll also be sure to pack a small paring knife and a couple of containers to store the food.

3.   If your child consumes formula, I recommend bringing a can of pre-mixed liquid formula.  It is not always convenient to find boiling water or a fridge to store your bottles in.

4.  If you plan on taking a DVD player, make sure you bring a variety of DVDs because you don’t want to have to listen to the same ones over and over again. This was a major oversight for this first-time mommy, and I am paying for it with my sanity.

5.  We stayed in a fairly clean hotel room, but no one really knows what the floors and walls have been through there. I strongly recommend bringing a picnic blanket or something similar to allows children to play on the ground without worrying about W-Five style documentary germs.  Baby H is still in the crawling stage, and I really don’t want to imagine what he’s touched down there. Thanks heavens for soap and hot water.

6.   A girlfriend of mine once told me that you should always go with the flow.  If you go on vacation with a preconceived idea of what you expect to happen, you will always be disappointed because nothing ever goes as planned.  I think that is great advice, and works especially well when you’re going with unpredictable toddlers.
If you have any suggestions that you have learned from your past travels.  We would love to hear about them.