Overall a cross country road trip with a baby can be tackled by following a few simple guidelines and tips. Babies can be fantastic travellers if you put in the right preparation. Driving at night and planning regular stops are two key components of making a cross country road trip with a baby successful.
We have travelled extensively with our four children ever since they were newborns. These are tips and methods that we have learnt and employed a long they way that have made long road trips manageable especially with babies.
Drive During the Night
Driving during the night is one of the best ways to travel cross country with a baby. When you travel at night you are able to get in a huge about of solid driving in while baby is sleeping. This means you can cover a lot of ground without having to stop.
This plan for cross country drives with a baby is really only helpful if you have two drivers or another adult who can attend to baby when the driver needs to sleep. It is great if you can drive all through the night and then sleep in the day but by that time the baby will be awake and need attention!
If you plan to use this method then I highly suggest switching drivers every 2 hours. This is what has worked best for us on extremely long drives especially through the night. It seems to be at that two hour mark when night fatigue sets in and you need to switch.
Remember that no destination or timeframe is ever more important than not driving tired. If you are tired you need to stop and take a break.
Plan Regular Stops
On a whole, depending on the age of the baby stopping at least every two hours during the day is needed. This is especially important not only baby but also for parents to refresh and recharge. Planning for these regular stops is vital when traveling across country with a baby.
When we are doing intensely long road trips we make an effort to pre-plan selected stopping points a long the way. One tip that I wanted to share in regards to this is to try to find places of interest that you can walk around. It is so easy to get caught in the trap of stopping at service centres or fast food restaurants.
Planning stops where you can allow your baby to get out of their seat and move around is so important. Here are some ideas of types of places you might want to look for as stopping points.
- Parks
- Playgrounds
- Splash pads
- Gardens
- Lakes/rivers/beaches/creeks
What you are looking for is places where your baby doesn’t have to be confined in a highchair, stroller, baby carrier etc. Just like you need to stretch your legs and move around they do too.
We find that water really tired out our babies so we would look for places to stop that included a swim. One of our favourite places to stop is at the hot springs.
If you plan your stops ahead of time it takes away the stress of trying to decide where to stop while you are driving. This is especially helpful when you are getting towards the end of your trip and the novelty has worn off. It is really nice to know exactly how far it is until the next stop.
Sit in the Backseat With Baby
Generally sitting in the backseat with your baby is one of the best ways to keep your baby happy on a cross country road trip. Babies are on a whole happier when they have company near by to keep them entertained comfortable.
I think every parent at some point has ended up in the backseat on a road trip with their babies. This is super helpful if they are upset or distressed and there is nowhere ideal to stop for a break. Sometimes all they need is a bit of company and someone to play peek a boo with for 20 minutes.
Sitting in the back seat on a long road trip can actually be quite comfortable as an adult too. I find it a lot easier to sleep leaning up against our toddlers booster seat than against a window.
Break Up The Trip With Travel Free Days
If you have the option to break up the trip then you absolutely should. We have driven for 22 hours straight in one day and we have done the same drive with travel free days in between. Both have their perks but I can say without a doubt having travel free days makes a huge difference.
If we are doing a huge cross country type road trip we try to make the road trip a part of the vacation. I will search for great places to stay for a night and places we can stop and visit along the way.
Travel free days really make all the difference when you are attempting a cross country trip with a baby. There is only so many hours they can sit in a car seat before they are having regular meltdowns. It is important to remember that they are far more restricted in their movement compared to adults and older children. Harnesses and carseats keep them pretty well locked in one position the majority of the time.
If you are selecting places to stay along the way try choose accommodation that has a pool. Even young babies will love the water and it is incredibly refreshing after a long day of driving. It is a great way to stretch out all those muscles without too much effort.
Be Flexible
Altogether being flexible on a long road trip with your baby is paramount. Babies are unpredictable and so is life. Planning is key but being able to ride out the bumps in the path is going to prove vital when traveling with a baby.
One horrible road trip memory I have was traveling with our daughter who was four months old at the time. The drive was only supposed to take six hours but took close to ten hours by the time we reached out destination. She screamed almost non-stop the entire trip no matter what we did or how many times we stopped. Nothing we did made any difference. By the time we reached my parents house we were all exhausted and Liliana’s poor little face was so swollen from crying. The next day I took her to the baby store and put her in every carseat to see which one looked the most comfy for her and then bought it. She has never cried again in the car! We looked all over her original seat to see if there was something poking her or anything that would make her uncomfortable but didn’t find thing. That whole experience is still somewhat of a mystery!
Pack So That You Are Over Prepared
Pack twice as much as you think you will need on a road trip with baby. There is nothing worse than being miles from a store and running out of formula or the store doesn’t carry the brand your baby uses.
We have found traveling with out babies that they eat, drink and nurse far more regularly than if they were at home. I think this is largely out of boredom and partly out of comfort while being in an unfamiliar experience. I know whenever we would stop on the road I would always nurse our babies or give them a bottle “just in case”. I knew that is they had nice full tummies they would travel better and sleep better on the road.
If your baby is eating solid food then make sure you have an excessive amount of snacks handy for them. Bring snacks that you know your baby loves to eat but also change it up a bit and bring something new just to offer a bit of variation. I really try to make sure I have lots of fruit and less junky snacks and offer these more readily. My babies would always get sore tummies if they ate too many carb related snacks and food on road trips. The digestive system can become sluggish when the body is not up and moving so providing lots of easily digestible snacks is best.
Diapers are also another item that you need to have plenty of. While not on a road trip but on a flight instead I misjudged how many diapers my daughter would need. She suddenly came down with an upset tummy and I went through 4 diapers on the flight and ended up having to scrap the poop out of the last diaper, line it with a paper towel and put it back on her and cover the outside in hand soap to hide the smell! I would like to say it was the last time I was unprepared in the diaper department but it wasn’t.
Do a Trial Road Trip First
Doing a trial road trip is a great idea before heading off on a huge cross country trip with your baby. It is an especially fantastic idea if your baby has not had the opportunity to sit in the car for any extended period of time.
A trial road trip will give you a good idea on how well your baby travels and what kinds of accomodations you might need to make for them. For example you might realise that you need to switch where their carseat is. Usually baby sits behind the passenger seat in my car but on a road trip it can be easier if they are behind the driver. This makes it easier for whoever is in the passengers seat to pass them snacks, entertain them or pick up dropped bottles and pacifiers.
Pack A Car Travel Bag
Traveling with a baby brings with it incredible amounts of extra luggage, accessories and almost the entire kitchen sink if you aren’t careful. The car get start feeling like you are drowning in sippy cups and cherrios.
One way that we use to avoid becoming overwhelmed with “stuff” is to pack a simple car travel bag. In this bag we pack all the things we will need until we stop again. This includes things like wet wipes, snacks, drinks, toys etc
Once we stop we can top up anything that needs topping up and rotate in some new toys etc. This keeps the bulk of the baby things in the trunk of the car and frees up a lot of space in the front.
