This weekend my husband and I took our first LONG trip ( 7hrs one way) with all three of our kiddos. Let me add that we have twin toddlers (2 1/2) and a 4 month old. This trip taught us a lot about ourselves and our kids. So I thought I might share some helpful tips we figured out along the way.
Less is more when it comes to clothes. If you are staying somewhere that has access to a washer and dryer then utilize it.
Take 1-3 toys that are compact (toy guitar, car, book, etc) that can keep your kiddo(s) entertained. We have a SUV with a TV and it was so helpful when the boys got bored with their toys.
Pack a cooler of snacks and eat at a roadside park. Two things about toddlers…..they are picky eaters and they need to expel energy. You can spend a lot of money eating out on road trips. What’s worse is seeing that money get thrown on the floor by a super picky eater. My husband and I found that packing snacks and lunches in a cooler that we knew our kids would eat was more helpful then guessing and wasting money eating out. We also enjoyed the trip and scenery more when we stopped at a nice roadside park to eat and let our kids run off some energy. They took better naps when we did too.
Traveling with infants. We found it much easier to feed and change our 4 month old every time we stopped (whether she was sleeping or not) to prevent additional stops. We took her out of her car seat and let her stretch, we exercised her legs by doing bicycle kicks etc. We found this super helpful to her traveling better with less fits.
If your kiddos are not well traveled then chances are you may have a few restless nights with them being in a new place and not in their own bed. Try letting them run out as much energy as possible and start settling them down a hr before their usual bedtime. A nice warm bath with lavender scented soap and lotion helps calm. Over stimulation is a real thing.
Lastly. Cut yourself some slack. Kids are kids. They are in a new place and their curiosity is at a all time high. They want to touch, explore, and learn all about this new world. We ran ourselves ragged trying to make sure that they didn’t get into every little thing. At the end of the day we had to choose our battles.
Xo,
Ashley