Travel Tips For A Road Trip With A Baby And Toddler

Now that we are a family of 4, if we take a road trip, it will likely include our baby and toddler.

And I thought traveling with just one kid was something.

But taking a road trip with a 6-month-old baby and a 3-year-old toddler is something completely different from traveling with just one child.

Our baby girl is the latest addition to our family so she is another person that we have to account for when packing.

If there was anything that we learned from our first daughter when she was a baby, it was that babies require quite a bit when you are traveling.

From the large things such as the car seat to the pack-n-play to the stroller.

To the small things such as diapers, wipes, and clothes.

Those are the numerous things that your baby will need while you all are away from home.

And that is just the packing part of traveling with a baby.

There is the actual road trip itself which will include being in the car with your baby and toddler for hours.

We have actually been on a few road trips with both of our girls including one that had us on the road for 12 hours.

So I have picked up on a thing or two on what worked for us during those long car rides and I want to share those tips with you all.

Here are some travel tips for taking a road trip with a baby and toddler.

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What To Pack For A Baby and Toddler

Before I get into my travel tips for traveling with a baby and toddler, let’s talk about what to pack for a baby and toddler.

Because they both require different things.

So what are the things that a baby and toddler absolutely need when you are going to be away for a little while?

A simple way to think of what you will need is to think about what you are constantly reaching for when you are in the baby’s room and in your toddler’s room.

For my baby, I’m constantly using:

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Baby Wash
• Lotion
• Brush
• Onsies
• Socks
• Pajamas
• Pacifiers

And for my toddler, I’m constantly grabbing:

• Panties,
• Shirts
• Pants
• Socks
• Shoes
• Pajamas
• Body Wash
• Lotion
• Hair Products
• Comb
• Brush
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste

So with this in mind, I try to pack their bags with just the essentials that I listed above.

If you read my popular post on what I packed in my hospital bag for my second birth, then you already know that I prefer to keep things minimal with just the essentials.

I can normally fit all of my baby girl’s items in a small duffle bag and all of my daughter’s items in a small carry-on suitcase.

The only thing that I don’t pack in the bag is diapers for my baby.

I try to make sure I have a good amount of diapers in my diaper bag that will last a day and then I will go a buy a pack of diapers once we are settled in wherever we are.

I also do this with baby food as well.

My baby has recently started solids now that she is 6 months old, so instead of packing a bunch of baby food, I will grab some from whatever local store is close.

An item that I may or may not pack is medicine and I usually only pack it if one of the girls already has the sniffles.

If they get sick while we are away, then I will also go grab medicine from somewhere close.

As far as the larger items that I cannot pack, we just bring them along in the car and those items include:

• Car seats
• Pack-n-play
• Stroller
• Bathtub Sling

Those are pretty much all the items that we take when we are traveling with a baby and toddler.

Now, let’s get in my travel tips for a road trip with a baby and toddler.

Travel Tips For A Road Trip With A Baby and Toddler

Leave Early If You Can

My first tip for traveling with 2 small children is to leave early if you can.

The earlier the better.

When we are traveling as a family of 4, we shoot to leave between 5 AM and 6 AM.

At this time, it is still dark and if your kids are anything like mine, they may just go back to sleep once they are in the car because it is dark outside.

Which when you are traveling with kids for hours at a time, you want them to sleep for the majority of that time.

Drive As Long As They Are Asleep

That leads me to my next tip which is to drive as long as they are asleep.

Obviously, with any road trip, you are ready to get to wherever you are going, but with kids, you have to stop a few times for either a potty break or to get food.

So while they are sleeping, take advantage of that time to knock out a big chunk of the car ride.

We normally try to drive in 3-hour chunks since I’m breastfeeding and I need to nurse my baby at least every 3 hours.

But if we are able to squeeze in 3 and a half hours because the kids are still sleeping, then we will.

Have A Snack Bag

Kids are not going to sleep the entire ride, so you have to prepare for the times that they are awake.

And during that time, my older daughter is likely to say that she is hungry.

Since I know that she is going to say this at some point during the ride, I started packing a snack bag full of some of her and my favorite snacks.

By doing this, it helps minimizes those stops that have to with your little ones wanting something to snack on.

Have Entertainment Handy For The Road

Along with the sanck bag, the next thing you have to have is entertainment handy for the road.

We normally have one toy handy for our baby girl and a couple of toys for my older daughter.

For our 6-month-old baby girl, we normally bring this Mini Musical Wooden Piano by Baby Einstein because she really likes it and it’s smaller which is great for car rides.

For our 3-year-old daughter, her Amazon Kids Fire Tablet is a must on a road trip.

Whether she is playing a game or watching one of her favorite shows, her tablet keeps her entertained for a good chunk of the trip.

Another item that we like to bring on road trips for my toddler is these Magic Ink Coloring Books.

They are mess-free coloring books that only work on the books themselves and are great for car rides to provide more entertainment outside of the tablet.

Get In The Backseat If You Have To

My next tip for traveling with a baby is to get in the backseat if you have to.

This is especially true for longer car rides with younger babies.

Babies are rear-facing in their car seats so they can’t always see their parents in the front which may cause them to get fussy.

What has worked for us is for me to move to the backseat during our baby girl’s wake times.

So as I said above, we always try to drive in 2-3 hour chunks.

The first chunk my baby is normally sleep so I don’t have to ride in the back, but for the next chunk after we have stopped, I will move to the back to decrease any fussiness.

I usually only do this while my baby is rear-facing and nursing.

After she is no longer nursing and rear-facing, I will no longer sit in the back.

Break Up Longer Road Trips

And my last travel tip for taking a road trip with a baby and toddler is to break up the longer road trips.

Earlier I mentioned that we had a road trip that would consist of 12 hours of being on the road.

Instead of trying to do all of the 12 hours in one trip, we broke up the trip into 2 trips by getting a hotel after 7 hours.

With older kids, we could power through, but with smaller children, it is sometimes better to break up the trip to provide some relief for the kids.

Your Turn

Well, those are my travel tips for a road trip with a baby and toddler. Now I want to hear from you all. What are your travel hacks for traveling with a baby and toddler? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

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Love,

Just Jass