Car Ride Essentials – Traveling with a Baby
Nothing is worse than driving in the car with a screaming baby and there is nothing you can do to help. Everly used to HATE the car. Thankfully we have found some items that have helped make car rides more peaceful.
My husband and I have lived in North Carolina for about 5 years now. Both of our families live up north ( 12 hours away). We recently had a baby, in May 2021. The grandparents couldn’t be more excited about their first granddaughter. Since we wanted to show off our newest edition the all of our family members, we have made 4 12+hour car rides our a baby under 6 months. I would like to think that we are experts on traveling with a baby now. I have put together a list of car ride essentials for traveling with a newborn that have made our lives a little bit easier for road trips and everyday travel.
Tips for Long Road Trips with a Baby
The first secret for successful travel is to have one person sit in the back to entertain the baby. This has helped us so much. 12 hours in the back of the car is not fun, but if there is a parent back there to read to them, make silly faces, and play, it’s not so bad.
The second secret to peaceful travel with a baby is to travel at night if possible. Let me tell you, it is not easy on the parents, but it is so much easier on the baby. We have driven through the night twice, and it was so much faster. Our baby slept 90% of the time and we only had to stop to get gas. Every time we got gas, I would get her out of her car seat to eat, and then put her back in and she would go right back to sleep.
The third would be to have a hands-free electric breast pump you can use in the car along with bottles, and a cooler for milk storage, so that you do not need to stop every time your baby is hungry. You can pump, and make a bottle while you are on the road. I have the Joysa breast pump and love it. Check out my post MY GREATEST PURCHASE AS A BREASTFEEDING MOM for more about why I love the Joysa breast pump.
The fourth is to have activities and toys in the car for the baby to play with. I have linked some of our favorites below under the Every Day Travel section.
Tips for Everyday Travel with a Baby
I honestly think that everyday travel is almost harder than long road trips for us, because it is just me and the baby, so I am not in the back to keep her entertained. I have linked some items below that we use to help keep our baby entertains on short and long trips.
- Play Mat – We like this one because it doubles as a tummy time activity. You can either place this under the headrest in the car or use it for tummy time on a play mat. I generally leave this in the car because we have plenty of other activities in the house. Our baby seems to really enjoy this.
- Car Toys – This is great because it just wraps around the car seat handle. You can also wrap this around the stroller to keep your baby occupied while out and about. Our baby even likes to play with this on her play mat. It is a very versatile toy.
- Mushroom – We love this mushroom teether because she cannot easily drop it. It also duals as a pacifier, so she can soothe herself to sleep if she needs to.
- Baby Monitor – I love this baby monitor because it allows me to see what my baby is doing in the back seat right on my dashboard. It is also helpful when you are trying to find a lost paci from the front seat of the car. The only bad thing about this monitor is that there are a lot of wires.
- Teething Toys- There are so many teething toys on the market, you really just have to find what your baby likes. My baby has a small mouth so we have to find smaller teething toys. Here are some that she loves currently. She really likes the Fridababy one because it is easy to hold on to for her. You can also freeze these which she seems to enjoy.
- Pacifier with Paci Clip – A pacifier is a must when it comes to car travel for us. This helps keep our baby calm. Adding a paci clip also helps make it easier for her not to lose her paci. We have one that has silicone beads and wood beads on it which duals as a teething toy. We like the MAM newborn pacifiers because our baby has a small mouth and the indent in these helps her keep them in longer.
I hope these tips and products help you have happy car rides and road trips with your baby. If you have anything that works for you, comment below, I would love to give it a try. We are always looking for ways to entertain our busy baby.
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