Road trip with infant/s

So we’re planning a 10-day road trip with the kid and we leave in a week iA. He’s 3 months old, fyi. I have some questions for those who’ve done this before:

  1. How do you keep your baby’s water warm if they are bottle fed? This is especially important because I don’t give him cold formula. A thermos will only work as far as 3 feeds for him. I was thinking we’d use bottled water so we don’t have to worry about boiling it, but how to keep it warm while out and about?
  2. How often did you need to do the laundry (bibs, onesies, etc.), and how many things should I pack for him?
  3. What kid stuff did you take with you, if any? We’re taking our portable swing and of course the stroller. Should I also bring our changing pad? What about his bath tub?
  4. Any other tips, tricks, advice or suggestions to make the trip more comfortable for all of us would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry if some of these seem obvious, but I’m totally lost!

Re: Road trip with infant/s

to be honest, it's NOT a good idea to go on a 10-day road trip with an infant 3 months old. you will strain the child beyond his/her tolerance. plz reconsider your decision.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

^ errr, yeah... not what i was looking for lol. thanks, though! :p

Re: Road trip with infant/s

a trip to any camping store will solve your issues with the water thing. there are travel things that can plug in either at a hotel or in the car cigarette lighter slot.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

You can usually ask at restaurants and hotels or bowl of hot water. You just put the bottle in until sufficiently warm.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

yeah u can ask at any hotel or shops at fuel stations.
Take extra bibs or u can use soft paper handkerchiefs instead of bibs
take lots of diapers, wipes, baby lotion n hand sanitiser. Baby bath tub is not necessary. But if u have a portable bath chair thn keep it with u. Take an extra tin of formula.
Dont forget 2 take medicines.
Hope it helps.. Have a safe n happy journey.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

Yay nice thread..I will need this information in a few months.

Don't have much to share except that we picked up the changing pad from ikea..the blow up one for car travel. It was only six bucks I guess.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

We've done many many road trips with our babies. Here's what I can remember:- You can get bottle warmers that plug into the car lighter and into regular wall plugs. - don't forget to keep a bottle brush and cleaner.- a changing pad- the type that comes with diaper bags is sufficient. - keep his favorite toys.- keep some infant tylenol and colic mess- if you give him baby finger snacks, keep those- I used to have baby detergent sample pouches in case you need to wash something...for example, my 3 month old once vomited on her car seat so I had to remove the fabric and wash it, then I had the hotel folks dry it for me.- for 10 days, keep enough outfits but unless you're driving to a remote jungle, remember you can find anything you run out of pretty much anywhere!!

Re: Road trip with infant/s

Sorry about the one long para. iPads suck at formatting :(

Re: Road trip with infant/s

I do the rule of 3 clothes changes a day plus 3 extra outfits for infants that young. You should be able to bath baby in the hotel bath tub or even sink esp easy when you will have hubby to help hold him. Its very do able. We did a road trip with my high , yes, but we mostly laughed them out 6-8 week old. There were little road blocks along the way , yes, but we mostly laughed them off. Don't forget to take the micowavable sterlizerbags for baby's bottles, brushes and dish detregent to wash them. Overestimate your diaper use. Try getting the disposable bibs (you can even get them at dollar stores, but pampers used to make these as well). These are God sends. The bottle warmer that can beused in a car is aslo very helpful. And yes, bring the changing pad, you will need it. You may even want to get the disposable changing pads sold at Babies R Us etc. Very helpful during road trips. You may want to take some car shades to protect baby from the sun, the kind that you put on the carwindow.

Advice, take the whole thing with a pinch of salt! You will be amazed at how smoothly some things will run and how others will not, but you will be happy to have that vacation!

Re: Road trip with infant/s

thanks everyone! this is very helpful!

Re: Road trip with infant/s

my personal experience is no with infant

Re: Road trip with infant/s

^ I actually found it easier.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

^ totally! he's 3.5 months old and he would fall asleep in his car seat all the time. he didn't get restless and want out like a toddler would. entertaining him meant his favourite toy in the car seat with him. feeding was a breeze- we had a thermos of very hot water that we'd replenish at restaurants and hotels and a bottle of cold water and we'd mix them up for his feeds. we'd just stop at the closest exit or service center and we'd change him after feeding. if there was no change table in the bathroom of where we were, we'd recline his stroller seat so it would lay flat and change him on that.

having the travel system was a breeze too because on the days when we'd do short trips and he was asleep, we were able to click the car seat on to the stroller frame without waking him up and away we'd go. for longer trips out, we'd move him on to the stroller seat.
edited to add: plus i had stroller hooks on the handles so the stroller also carried my big purse with our camera in it and any shopping bags we acquired along the way. a good, lightweight, solid stroller with a great basket is invaluable! i can't praise my stroller enough after our vacation where we really put it through its paces.

hotels were great too and very accommodating with letting us check out half an hour later than the regular time because early checkouts were impossible with the kid getting up to eat every 3/3.5 hours at night.

his diaper bag was a workhorse and something we couldn't have done without. we'd stuff it to the brim with diapers, bottles, formula containers, changes of clothes, bibs, changing pad, cotton balls, paper towels, wipes, hats for cooler weather, paci's, gripe water, saline drops, the thermos of hot water and a cold water bottle, and a blankie. basically everything we'd need for a day out.

we weren't able to grab the microwave sterilizer bags but we took along a bottle of Dawn and his bottle brush and we'd wash his bottles when we'd get back to our hotel and dry them on a clean towel by the sink. 5 bottles was the magic number for us- we never ran out of a clean bottle ever thankfully!

the big thing i'd personally recommend is either rent or have an SUV. the larger trunk space would make life SO much easier! we have a sedan and it was full to the brim with his gear and our luggage and packing/unpacking it every time we moved hotels was a giant pain.

Re: Road trip with infant/s

^awesome!!Thanks a lot!

diaper bag.. check!

travel system... check!

SUV.. check!!!

now where is my baby???? mommy is ready for a vacation!

Re: Road trip with infant/s

^ haha :p

Re: Road trip with infant/s

oh, and its not a must by any means, but we found carrying our baby carrier with us was a bonus for when he'd be sitting in the car seat for too long. it was a nice break for him to get out of the seated position and he really loved being in it and seeing the world from a different perspective.

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my baby is 8 months v just went 2 oman for 2 days v had 2 days road trip though she slept a lo in her car seat but still she is so tired n exhausted now n also irritated i think u should wait more for road trip

Re: Road trip with infant/s

^How often did you take breaks??? I think taking breaks is a key with an infant!I am sure, They need to stretch their legs as much as we do!!!

Sgc.. Did you guys travel a lot during the day or night? Did you visit as many places as you had planned or tweaked things around?

Re: Road trip with infant/s

we took breaks every two to three hours so we could feed him and change his diaper. and yes, breaks with an infant are key!

we travelled at all times, gtg, day and night when getting from place to place. within the city, we'd usually head out around 1 in the afternoon and be back at our hotel around 8 or 9. leaving early morning with an infant is almost impossible between the feeding, the playing, the diaper changing, the organising, etc. we visited quite a few places, yes. it was hectic at times, esp in new york with the baby and the stroller but it was also a lot of walking and our hotel was in brooklyn and so i think that added to the hecticness. you do have to be flexible with things, though, because obvs baby and his/her needs come first. when we felt like he'd been in the stroller too long, we'd either switch him to the carrier, or we'd take a break and sit in a park and play with him.