Travelling With Baby

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Hello Everybody!

This last weekend Tyler, Evelyn, and I took a trip to Waco, Texas. It's about 2 1/2 hours from Houston so it was a nice little getaway. The big reason for the trip was to go see Magnolia Market from the HGTV show Fixer Upper. If you haven't seen Fixer Upper it's awesome. Watch it, love it, dream of being on the show, cry a little because you don't live in Waco, then keep watching. You'll get addicted. 

Anyways, as we were getting ready to leave and I was packing Evelyn's things I was thinking, 'Dang, this baby needs more stuff than I do'. And then it got me thinking about this blog post. I learned a lot about travelling with a baby those two days. Keep in mind this is not Evelyn's first rodeo. We have taken several trips with her. When she was about 4 months, we took her to Fort Worth for two days. And then there was the whole move from Maryland to Texas, but that's a whole 'nother blog post. 

However, now that Evelyn is mobile, like crawling and trying to stand, this road trip seemed more complicated than the other ones, so here's what I learned in two days with a very mobile, happy sometimes cranky infant. 

 Get A Crib at the Hotel

Tyler and I were going cheap this trip, so we stayed at a Super8 since it was only one night. When Tyler booked the reservation online, I told him to request a crib. Now most hotels have this. It's pretty nice especially so you don't have to carry a pack and play with you. You just need to make sure you let the hotel know in advance and this is where I screwed up. 

Check in time is 2:00 and we arrived at 2:30. Upon arrival, we asked about the crib and here was the response. "Sorry, we don't have any cribs left..." Um, what? How can you lose all your cribs 30 minutes after check in? We specifically requested one. At this point I was thinking 'Oh well, we will just make it work. Good thing we got a king sized bed.' Well, long story short, I didn't sleep. Evelyn decided to kick me all...night...long...*sigh* 

So, here's what I learned. Next time we get a hotel, we will request a crib and then call the day of our reservation to make sure we get one. Because Mama needs her sleep. Or I'll just use this next time.

This thing is pretty cool. It's the Summer Infant Travel Bed. It's super compact and light and folds up. Way easier to use than a pack and play. It has a really nice little mattress in it which comes with a sheet that can be washed. Easy Peasy.

This way I won't have Evelyn kicking me all night and I won't worry about crushing her every time I roll over. Plus, now that she's crawling, I can sleep soundly knowing she won't roll or crawl off the edge of the bed.

 Find A Way To Carry Baby

I don't know about your baby but my baby is big. At 8 months old she is close to 25 pounds and wears 12 months clothes. Carrying her in my arms for a long period or even a decent amount of time makes me tired. I knew we'd be walking around Downtown Waco for a couple hours and I did not want to be carrying her. 

If a stroller is more your thing then this is the one I have and I love it! It's the Graco FastAction 2.0 Travel System. I'll warn you, it's pricey, but it's totally worth it. 

This thing rides so smooth. Evelyn always falls asleep when we put her in it. The car seat is built to last and can hold up a baby up to 35 pounds. The stroller is nice because the car seat fits right inside. It is also really light but sturdy and it can fold with just one hand. Awesome!

However for this trip we decided not to take the stroller and instead took our carrier. We have the Infantino Flip Advanced 4-in-1 Convertible Carrier. 

I've used this since Evelyn was born and it hasn't failed me yet. It's nice because you can carry four different ways. You can carry baby facing towards you in a narrow seat, baby facing towards you in a wide seat (which is more ergonomic and better for baby's hips), baby facing outward, and baby on your back. It will carry children from 4-32 pounds but I've seen people use it with their toddlers on their back. It's also pretty comfortable which is nice if you are wearing it for a long time. Your comfortable, baby is secure. Everyone wins!

Here's Tyler with her outside of Magnolia Market

And here we are outside of the Texas Rangers Museum (the law enforcement not the team)

We decided to take the carrier because Magnolia Market is usually packed with people. Plus we didn't want to have to worry about maneuvering a stroller with a ton of people around. With this we just popped her in and carried her around on our back. Evelyn also liked being able to look around and see what was happening around her. And it fits both me and Tyler, which is nice since we are different sizes. 

Be Extra Prepared

When packing for Evelyn for this trip, I ended up over packing. I figured I would rather have a few extra things and be okay, then forget something and have to run to the store for something. So here was my thinking. When packing diapers, I thought about how many diapers I use in a day which is about 5. So 5 time 2 for 2 days is 10. Then I added 4 extra diapers. Just in case. 

Same thing with clothes. Two outfits for two days so I packed 4. Just in case she wets her pants or spits up I have back ups. Same goes with formula or whatever else you use on a daily basis for your baby. Even though I didn't use all my clothes and diapers that I brought, I'm glad I had them because it would have been a pain and a dent in our getaway if we had to run to the store. 

I also ended up bringing extra bottles, diaper rash cream, extra formula, extra baby food, bibs, burp cloths, toys, and teething gel. Again, I didn't use everything I brought but I'm glad I did, just in case. 

Also don't forget sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses for your baby. With our baby being so fair, I am a little OCD about sun protection. Her skin is so new and perfect I would hate for her to have to get a sunburn, plus have to deal with the pain of one. 

I use Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection. I like how it is specifically meant for babies and it is tear free. I can slather this all over Evelyn and she hasn't been burned once. Don't forget to put sunscreen on even when it's cloudy. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Especially for my ginger baby. 

Slapped on some sunscreen with a hat and look how adorable she is!

 Do What Works For You

There were times during our trip where Evelyn would get frustrated because she was tired of being in her car seat or wanted to stretch her legs and crawl around. It was times like these where we would either go back to the hotel for an hour to let her be mobile or find a place where she could move around, with supervision of course. 

Honestly, the hardest part about travelling with a baby is being flexible. Things aren't always going to work out as planned but you can still enjoy your trip. It might be better to do only a couple things each day instead of cramming your day with events. That way if baby needs an hour nap, it's not a big deal. Vacations can still be fun even when travelling with baby. It's all about thinking smart, planning right, and doing what's best for your family.

Now I can say I'm fully prepared for another road trip, which is next month to Baton Rouge to one of my best friend's wedding. Happy trails!

Love,

Karlie