traveling with a baby or toddler: road trips!

Hey everyone! Long time no blog - sorry I've been away! We've had family from Michigan visiting, figuring out our insurance here in California, and some short trips and such in the past few weeks.

Today I wanted to write a little bit about my expertise with taking road trips with a baby or toddler, and staying sane throughout the entire trip (and having a happy toddler in the backseat!) Ever since Ben was born, we've always taken trips in the car and so he's been relatively used to it throughout his whole life. Ever child is different, so some kids may love car rides, and some can't stand them! These are just things that have been helpful during our travels. (We took a long road trip across the country with a dog and a very early toddler in the backseat!) I will definitely never claim to be an expert on air travel - our experience with flying with Ben went over like a fart in church (aka, not well.) but hopefully someone can get some help from these quick tips. (Photos are a mixture of my pretty photos and REAL road trip photos - the messy, the wild, and the sometimes frightening pics that are taken amidst days in a car with three people and one canine. Pics are either from our MI to CA road trip or our recent Cali coast road trip with some family!)

1. Plan the nap. Depending on what time and how long your baby typically naps, plan the car ride to begin right when your little one gets tuckered out - leave a few hours after baby wakes up for the day and make sure they get plenty of time running around and a good meal before you leave. Starting off a long day in the car with a nice, long sleep for baby will set everyone up for a great day.

PJ pants and nuggets. Living da life.

Someone must have been getting tired lol!

2. Set realistic expectations. This is probably the most important tip - no matter what, remember you're dealing with a wiggly little person who needs time to play. It's not going to go super smoothly - they will probably pee through their pants a time or two, cry a lot, and want to take lots of breaks. That's OKAY! When we drove across the country, we had planned to take our time. We gave ourselves a week to get from Michigan to California - a drive that could have taken a mere day and a half if we drove straight through. We took our merry time, stopping at National Parks, diners, hotels, and having fun along the way - giving Ben lots of breaks and not driving for THAT long each day. We only drove for about 6 to 7 hours throughout the days, but it was a trip we would easily do again - we had so much fun, and so did Ben!

Not every meal will be gourmet - stopping at a suspicious McDonald's or two may happen on a budget-friendly road trip!

3. Come prepared - Bring some of your little one's healthy snacks (and maybe a treat or two too!) and pack meals or plan good places to stop. Bring fun toys - one of the toys that keeps Ben busy is a light-up turtle that talks and sings. When he presses buttons, they light up. This is the exact toy we have on Amazon: Fischer Price Turtle Toy. Make a playlist of songs that your little one enjoys and songs that calm them, and play it if they get upset or tired.

4. Don't be worried - your little one is totally capable of handling an awesome road trip. They will love the traveling and seeing new sights or family - we've had some of our best memories as a family on road trips! Just know in advance that it's probably going to take a little longer with a little one, and it may cause you to take an extra Starbucks trip along the way to caffeinate :)

The wildest person in our car on the road trip was NOT always Ben - I may or may not have been  a  LITTLE excited at times!

Do you have any road trips planned for your family? If so, tell me where you're going! Here's my challenge - after you've read this, plan a road trip for some time in this year. It can be across the country or across your state - just go see something new or exciting and take lots of stops along the way!

xo,

Megan