Priscilla on the road | travel tips with baby in tow

I realized that in P’s short seven months that she’s already taken quite a few road trips. Seth’s parents are about three hours away and we like to visit them often. We’ve taken Priscilla to the Black Hills twice now, and the North Shore once. It seems like I’m turning around to pack our bags every few weeks, I honestly love it.

I decided a while back that I wanted to be an “adventurous mom.” By that I mean someone who is more willing to say “yes” than “no,” and living with the motto that even though traveling with a baby can be tricky, exhausting, not fun at times— that it is truly “the $%&# you remember,” and— I guess I can sleep great and be super comfortable all the time when I’m old and our house is empty of kids.

Here is what I’ve learned, and what has been helpful for us. I see lots of posts about air travel with kids, but we are more of a road trip family for now, though P has been on the plane and I hope to take her on more flights. Driving trips just feel more doable, and there’s truly lots to do within a days drive from Minneapolis-St.Paul.

Snuggling up in the wrap in the backyard of our Air BnB in beautiful Spearfish, South Dakota

Get them snacks in order! This seems dumb, but it has been helpful for us. At home P normally eats purees I’ve made + safely sized chunks of food. On the road we like to do pouches, puffs, and crackers. I always pack her oatmeal cereal, too. I’ll usually throw two bags of frozen milk into a mini cooler so I don’t have to stop and nurse. Our vehicle has an outlet, too, so pumping on the go is so easy. I have a whole bag just for “food stuff” that contains P’s snacks, bibs, spoons, my pump, mini cooler, and bottles. Easy! We also pack her Bumbo seat + tray.

P munching on treats from our meat + cheese plate at a local cidery in Lutsen, MN. We love taking her to breweries and wineries, they’re oddly family friendly!

Meal plan + grocery shop on your way out of town. It seems like a hassle, but it has saved us money and patience. We have our meals figured out and groceries purchased before we check into our rentals. I love to find decadent recipes on Pinterest like overnight baked french toast for a chilly cabin morning in Northern Minnesota. What could be better!?

Sound machine + travel crib + plan for where baby will sleep. I feel like this will always be evolving with P’s age, but we typically get her crib {LOVE the Guava Lotus} and sound machine set up right away. We have a pack and play at Seth’s parents home ready to go, and one at my mom’s as well. It makes visiting so easy! I’ve set her crib up mostly in our bedrooms at rentals, or else generous walk in closets. She does tend to want to snuggle with us after her first waking when we travel and I’ve decided that’s part of her being “on vacation” {more on that in a bit}. The ideal situation IMO is a second bedroom, but that doesn’t always happen. Ultimately I plan on getting less rest on trips so I try to nap in the car because P does so well in her car seat or else just go with it.

Ironies of ironies: on this trip P barely slept in her crib, instead insisting on sleeping in between Seth and I in this very bed, lolz.

Travel early! Timing seems to impact P at this age so we try to leave early in the am right around the time of her morning nap. I’m not super strict about her schedule on trips, but try to make things easiest for her. We usually eat lunch in the car {I’ll climb into the back seat, buckle up in the seat next to her, and feed her— yes I have nursed over a carseat #skills}. I aim for getting to our destination a little before dinnertime so we can have some fun before bedtime rolls around.

Baby wear. I love my stroller for bigger trips, but for the kind of driving trips we take, the baby carrier is easiest. P has finally warmed up to the Ergo which is awesome because it’s my favorite carrier for babies! It’s also a great way to calm her or have her nap on the go.

I love wearing P!

Be flexible. I am not a naturally laid back or flexible person, but I want to have adventures, and Seth certainly gets me out of my comfort zone, which is such a good thing. I want P to have great memories and be active, doing “things.” This requires flexibility. When I get frustrated or overwhelmed, like when P won’t sleep in her crib or I can’t fall asleep or she’s screaming I try and remember that we’re on a trip and there’s good happening, too. She will only be little once. Seth does an incredible job of keeping the humor in things, you have to laugh! Thank goodness for that.

They’re on “vacation,” too. I think it’s okay to bend the rules and let your little ones have treats on vacation. After all, we do! This means that we let P co-sleep. Also, if we’re traveling with other people I don’t think subjecting them to her CIO is fair at say 2 or 5am. I remember that we’re in a “strange” place and to P, that might be scary. Obviously there are risks with bed sharing, it’s something that works for us on trips and in a pinch.

Take a lot of photos, video AND don’t forget the tripod + timer. I know it’s a pain. My tripod is heavy, always seems to fall on my toe, and remembering the remote can be a hassle. But— then we wouldn’t end up with gems like the one below. I also think it’s wise to consider hiring a photographer if you’re doing a super special trip like the beach or Disney. Document, document, document. I’m kicking myself for NOT making a film on our recent Black Hills trip since I love our video from the North Shore so much. I need to be better about taking my own advice.

There you have it! Hopefully those are helpful tips. I think I used to be so intimidated about traveling with my baby, and I still am to a degree— but I never regret going out and having adventures with Priscilla!

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