Road trips with a baby can be a fun and exciting way to explore new places and create memories as a family. With the right mindset and a few helpful tips, you’ll be hitting the open road with your baby in no time. These suggestions will help you get ready long before you leave home!
1. Tire Them Out
Before you even get in the car, let your baby play as much as possible! If they are super tired before leaving home, they will likely fall asleep and make the trip that much easier. This typically works for both babies and toddlers. Even little babies will get tired from some very quick playtime and/or tummy time, so use that to your advantage!
2. Prep Your Car
By this we mean, fill your gas tank the night before and pack so you can reach whatever you might need during the ride. Having a full tank of gas and packing all food/snacks (for adults and older kids), books, headphones, tablet, chargers, etc somewhere accessible means you won’t have to stop right away and risk waking the baby. And of course, use the bathroom before you leave!
We have found that anytime we stopped the car, even if it was quick, our babies would usually wake up. So we’ve become much better at preparing beforehand so we can avoid that as best as we can!
3. Feed & Change Right Before You Leave
After you fully pack up your car and are ready to get in, feed and change your baby’s diaper one last time as the absolute last step before you leave.
We thought we timed this right on our very first road trip with our son Kieran when he was 6 weeks old, but realized that even though we had everything ready, it wasn’t all packed in the car yet. We then lost time loading up the car after feeding and changing him. So we had to stop relatively soon after we finally hit the road – because he was already hungry again!
4. Drive as Long as Possible Before Stopping
If you want to get somewhere as efficiently as possible, the best recommendation we have is to drive as far and as long as you can before your first stop.
We have found that each time we get back in the car, we have to stop sooner and sooner. So for example, if our trip is 7 hours of driving, and we make it 3.5 hours before our first stop, we may only make it another 2 hours before needing to stop again, and 1 hour before stopping for a 3rd time. We know that for us, each successive stop will happen sooner and sooner, as baby is getting more irritable and just tired of being in the car in general. So we do our best to get as far as we can during that very first stint of driving.
This may not be the case for every baby, but it has been for both of our children so far. So we highly recommend being prepared prior to getting in the car, and not stopping until the baby needs to stop. JJ has quickly learned not to drink a lot of water or coffee before we head out!
5. Take Advantage of Naptime
If you can time your trip to leave around baby’s naptime, there is a good chance that they will fall asleep and stay asleep for a while! This isn’t always possible, but it may be tougher to keep baby happy if it is a time of day when he or she is used to playing. If that’s the case, an option would be to wake them up earlier than normal in the morning so they are more tired for your trip. Another option would be to drive at night after baby’s bedtime.
Driving during a time of the day (or night) when baby is usually sleeping may help with being more efficient and having less stops!
6. Give Yourselves Plenty of Time
If you need to be somewhere by a certain time, give yourselves plenty of time. This isn’t a typical road trip where you can expect it to take the exact amount of time it says on google maps! Babies are very needy and may require a lot more stops than you’re used to. Not to mention that each time you stop will probably take quite a bit of time.
No matter how much we try to plan strategically and try to be as efficient as possible, it still takes us 45 min to an hour each time we stop. Between feeding baby, changing baby, each of us using the bathroom, and getting gas, the minutes add up! And if you have another child and/or a pet that has needs as well, it takes a bit of time.
So make sure you add that “stopping” time into your plans if you are expecting to be somewhere by a certain time!
7. Stop Somewhere You Can Do Everything
In order to be as efficient as possible when you do stop, make sure you stop somewhere that you can do everything you need to do.
Make sure you can fill up your gas tank, get food and/or coffee if needed, use the bathroom, change baby, feed baby, let your dog stretch their legs, etc. Take care of all of your own needs too and not just baby’s. Nothing is worse than getting baby all full, dry, comfy, tired, and happily asleep, and then realizing you need to stop again for food, gas, or a bathroom!
8. Let Baby Play When You Stop
Whenever you are stopped, make sure baby is out of their carseat for the entire time.
Typically they will need to eat and have their diaper changed first, but then allow them to stretch their legs and play while the adults and other children are finishing whatever they need to do – using the bathroom, getting food/gas, etc.
This will hopefully allow baby to tire themselves out and will also give them a nice break from being stuck in their car seat for so long!
9. Pack and Prepare for Baby’s Needs Strategically
This will help streamline your stops and help keep your child happy! Make sure you have everything accessible that you will need during a stop – like a diaper bag, formula if needed, a feeding pillow, or a meal and snacks if your child has moved on to solid foods. You don’t want to have that stuff packed away somewhere so you have to rearrange and dig it out when you need it.
You may also want to have songs, lullabies, and/or a portable sound machine ready to play for baby if this helps them to relax. Having toys and books accessible can also be helpful to keep them occupied and give them something to do during the drive.
10. Trial and Error
Find what works best for you and your baby! Every baby is different so finding the best road trip routine for your family is super important.
We found that Kieran doesn’t like driving when it gets dark after driving all day, so now we do our best to leave early and get to our destination before it gets dark. But other babies may sleep better once it’s dark, so find what works for you!
Road trips can be a great way to get out and start to explore as a family. While it may seem daunting at first, a little bit of planning and preparation can go a long way in making the journey smooth and maybe even a little enjoyable for everyone. Hopefully these ideas can help you get started on your journey!
Extra Time Abroad is a lifestyle blog focusing on three areas: finance, sustainability, and travel. The blog is managed by husband/wife duo JJ & Janelle. They can be found on Instagram @ExtraTimeAbroad or at the airport!
Extra Time Abroad 