Surviving a Road Trip with an Infant

My mom would take us on these winding, seemingly endless road trips when we were kids. It didn’t matter if it was 3 hours or 15, we were always having fun. We had the portable DVD players, snacks, the minivan, those travel bingo cards…

I’m not sure if there’s a better way to travel America. Although my car-bound experience is limited to the Northeast, I feel that I’ve seen parts of the country I could only see through a Honda Odyssey window.

There’s nothing that brings me more joy than crossing the Throgs Neck Bridge, opening a bag of Baked Lays, and setting off into the woods.

Some of my favorite memories with my husband were made on our road trips. Last year we were in western Connecticut and craving apple cider from Ostego county, so we impulsively drove the 3 hours to get it. We’ve eaten at some really, really bad restaurants.

We’ve bought “dinner” from the gas station quick mart at 9 pm on a Sunday because we forget that small towns close down way earlier than they do here on Long Island.

This summer, things are going to look a little bit different with a 6 month old in tow. I couldn’t be more excited for our first road trip to upstate New York now that the world feels a whole lot safer.

We’ve never gone more than maybe an hour and a half away with our daughter. She was two months old and was still spending most of the day sleeping.

Now, that teeny tiny baby is a busy six month old.

I’ve found that being a mom means always having to be (at least!) one step ahead of my baby’s needs.

Here are some proactive steps we are taking to make it a smooth ride!

Checking the car’s tires and oil and filling up on gas.
Leaving at dusk. Although I’m sad we will be missing out on part of the drive due to nightfall, I feel this is the best thing for baby. That way she’s not strapped in a carseat during her wake windows.
Planning on taking breaks every 1.5-2 hours. We have our usual places that we like to stop on our way upstate. We plan on getting baby M out of her carseat, fed, changed and stretching our legs ourselves.

We will be staying in a hotel so we will be bringing the following extra items:

Our bassinet with sheets
Our trusted Burt’s Bees sleepsack
A few muslin cloths. (I love Oliver + Rain or Aden + Anais)
Travel size baby soap. Since baby started eating solids, impromptu baths are a thing.
Baby food. I’m not bringing any food she hasn’t had before, since were still wary of allergies and will be away from our pediatrician.