In Claudia's short six months of life, we've taken five overnight trips! I've learned from each one and I'm convinced that organization and planning helps everyone have the best experience possible. It helps baby have everything she needs (and a few things she might want) and it gives me peace of mind.
Let's be honest, babies have tons of stuff and its all little!! I can't tell you how many times I've gone digging for a sock, hairbrush, lotion or something while holding Claudia on my hip while she's squirming. Can anyone relate?
The packing tips I'm going to share with you creates a place for everything and makes it convenient so there is, hopefully, minimal digging :-)
Here's a step by step for planning how and what to pack for your little one! I'm going to use my baby's things and our upcoming trip this weekend as an example.
1) Plan the Details of the Trip
When it was just my husband and me, we could be more flexible in our travels! With a baby, however, asking yourself these questions will help you know how and what to pack!
- Where is the baby going to sleep? (some grandparents may have a crib, if not, you will need to pack your pack n play!)
- Are there any special events we will be attending? (wedding, funeral, church, etc.)
- Where will we be spending time besides where we are sleeping?
Once you have a framework for the trip, you can coordinate your baby's schedule with the itinerary of the trip!
2) If possible, plan to travel when it best fits into your baby's routine!
Claudia eats around 4 p.m. each day and then again at 8 p.m., so we're planning to do the majority of our drive during that window of time! If she sleeps the entire time, that's even better! Planning travel times strategically should help avoid hungry and tired meltdowns.
3) Pack Ahead of Time!
Okay, I've done the packing thing both ways now. At Christmas, I ridiculously over-packed everything which was miserable plus I had a hard time finding things! When I had to make an impromptu several week trip to Atlanta following my knee surgery, I just threw stuff in a bag and hoped I had everything! Both ways were stressful, so I'm hoping that with this trip, this tweaked system will serve both me and Claudia well!
I'm going to preface this by saying that I am a first time mom and don't pretend to know everything about traveling with a baby. This is what works for me and my family and, I hope, it can help you and yours! I've found that my life is a lot less stressful when I take time to plan and prepare things ahead of time. I've gotten caught too many times packing as my husband is loading the car and, now that baby is in the picture, I'm done with that!
For this trip, all of Claudia's things can fit into three bags: her diaper bag, her little weekend bag and a tote bag. I'm going to show what I packed into each bag and explain the method to the madness as I go along!
The Diaper Bag
My thought regarding the diaper bag is that it should have the stuff Claudia may need in the immediate future. Therefore, this bag doesn't need to be buried in the trunk and should be accessible at all times :-)
Side note, I LOVE my diaper bag! It was a gift from one of my best friends and has tons of space without being bulky :-)
These are the items I put in the bag:
A bottle, water and formula for Claudia's 8 p.m feeding. Because of when we're travelling, we'll have to stop and feed her on the way, so I have everything I need to mix up a tasty bottle for her! My husband found the cute little plastic containers at Target and they are the perfect size for a serving of formula! I can stick them in the bag instead of carrying around the bulky formula box! A lot of times if I'm taking a day trip, I pack extra of these, just in case of traffic or other delays!
The diaper stuff, of course! I need to buy more diapers, but I make sure to pack plenty of them for the duration of the trip so I don't have to interrupt the fun to make a Wal-mart run for diapers. No bueno. I have the changing pad (that came with my diaper bag), and plenty of wipes in my plastic wipe holder! In a gallon ziploc bag, I have: diaper cream (Austin still giggles when we call it by its name "Butt Paste", baby powder, hand sanitizer and two rolls of the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda diaper bags. I like having these items in one see-through bag so I don't have to dig for them. It makes diaper changing so much easier!
Baby clothes fit into ziploc bags so well! The first ziploc bag contains Claudia's sleeper and two diapers. I've labeled it "Thursday PM" with a sharpie. Since we'll be arriving late, we'll just pull her sleeper and double diapers out of the diaper bag so we don't have to even open her weekend bag before we put her to bed! The other bag "Extra Outfits" contains (surprise!) two extra outfits, including bibs, should Claudia need them. I'll keep this in the diaper bag throughout the weekend!
Everything fit so nicely! Done! Just a reminder, replenish the diaper bag with supplies as you need them throughout your trip!
The Weekend Bag
I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to call this adorable little bag that my aunt got for Claudia and I thought "the weekend bag" sounded classy :-)
Now for the breakdown:
I had so much fun coordinating all of her little outfits! Her granddaddy will, I'm sure, take tons of pictures of her, so having cute outfits is a must :-) She is so much better dressed than I am! I've labeled each bag with the day. We're staying the night on Friday and Saturday, so in those bags I included: a cute outfit, hair bow, coordinating bib (she's cutting her first tooth so drool is abundant!) and a sleeper. I made two bags for Sunday. The "Sunday AM" bag contains her accessories for church (bonnet, tights, shoes) and the "Sunday PM" bag contains a comfy outfit for her to change into after church. She'll also be travelling home in this outfit.
These are her two Sunday morning church options! I'm packing two dresses in case something happens to one of them before we can get to church :-) I won't pack these in the bag, but will hang them in the hanging bag with my things.
Her bath stuff!! This bag includes: a hooded towel, a washcloth, shampoo, soap and lotion. She'll get a bath on Saturday night before church on Sunday! I'm not packing her bather because my dad has a sink that will work just fine now that she can sit up on her own! :-)
Last but not least, her safety/grooming kit and Tylenol. Claudia is cutting her first tooth, which can be painful and could cause a fever, so I'm taking the Tylenol and the kit with the thermometer. I've also looked up which emergency care places are in network for our insurance, just in case.
Everything fit perfectly! Her adorable sun hat and new sandals are on top. I'm hoping we'll all have some fun in the sun this weekend!
The Tote Bag
I got this cute Thirty-One tote bag from my best friend a few Christmases ago and have used it for EVERYTHING! It is the perfect bag to pack Claudia's bedding, food stuff and toys in!
Now for the itemized list:
Here are her nighttime necessities! We are taking her pack n play, so I've packed a fitted white sheet, her blanket, a pad to go under the sheet and a second pad to go on the changing table attachment to the pack n play. In the ziploc bag, I put her soothing blanket (it really helps her go to sleep!), her pacifier, and her bedtime story, Goodnight Moon.
Next comes all of her food stuff! Claudia is 6 months old, is formula fed and eats cereal/baby food twice a day. Since this trip is lasting several days, I'm bringing the entire containers of formula and cereal. However, I'm also packing two extra little containers to fill and put in the diaper bag if we're away from the house during mealtime! Claudia only eats about a tablespoon of baby food per meal, so I'm just packing one (unopened) jar of squash in the same bag as the containers. I've also included two spoons. My dad has a bowl we can use and wash so I'm not packing one!
In the center, I've packed several cloth diapers and Claudia's plastic bib to help with mealtime messes! Cloth diapers are sooo versatile! Like I mentioned before, Claudia is bottle fed. I've tried bringing all of the bottles I own and I've also only brought one. Neither system worked very well. My rule of thumb is to bring as many bottles as you use in a day. In Claudia's case, that is four. Then, once she goes to sleep, I can take my handy dandy bottle brush and wash them for the next day!
Toys!!! Again, I've packed too much and too little. You need to be realistic about what your baby will actually use/play with during the trip. I've packed four of Claudia's favorite toys to keep her entertained (this doesn't include a toy for her to play with in her carseat). I've also included two books because I like to read to her throughout the day. Our current favorites are The Real Mother Goose and The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Lastly, I put her blanket on top of everything and this bag is ready to go!
In addition to her three bags, the bigger items we're taking for Claudia are:
- Pack n Play (with the changing table attachment)
- Stroller (canvas to save space)
- Doorway Excersaucer (to provide entertainment for baby and Granddaddy- can fold easily!)
Now I just need to get Austin and me packed and we'll be ready to go!
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