Traveling With Baby by Car

By Misti Sandefur

If you planning a long car trip with your baby, you will need to know some of the necessities to pack for baby. This article should help you decide what to pack for baby the next time you plan a trip by car. To make things much easier, using your mouse, highlight the list of items below. Next, right click on the text you have highlighted and click print. When the box pops-up for you to select your print settings, make sure you select to print "selection." By printing out the list below, you will have a handy checklist for your next car trip. Beside each item you will notice a line, just place a check on each line once you have packed that item. Placing a check on each line shows you that item has been packed and you can move on to the next item. You can print this list out for each car trip you make.

Now, for the items to pack for baby:

___ An on-the-go bottle warmer for heating the baby's formula. If you like, you can choose a bottle warmer that plugs into your cars cigarette lighter.

___ Enough diapers to last for the whole trip.

___ A teething ring and teething medication if your baby has reached the teething stage.

___ Extra clothes and sleepers.

___ If you plan on doing a lot of walking at the destination your headed to, pack a portable, lightweight stroller to push baby around in.

___ A couple washcloths in a baggie. If you need to wash baby off, these will come in handy, and you can get them wet on your stop at rest areas.

___ Baby wipes.

___ If traveling during the summer, pack some baby sunscreen and apply to your baby when you're out in the sun. Or, you can also apply sunscreen to baby before you drive away, because the sun shining through a car window can also sunburn your baby.

___ Baby powder and lotion.

___ If you breastfeed, pack a breast pump.

___ Changing pad to use when changing baby. Also, in case you have to change baby on the side of the road or somewhere without a trash can near, small scented bags or trash bags will come in handy. Place the diaper in one of these bags, then when you are near a trash can, dispose of the bag.

___ First aid kit in case something was to go wrong. Hopefully you have a safe trip, but you must also prepare for an emergency just in case. Like the old saying goes... "better safe than sorry."

___ A few blankets.

___ Baby toothbrush and toothpaste. Yep, you still need to keep baby's teeth clean and healthy. Even if he or she has no teeth yet, you should brush their gums too.

___ Small toys to keep baby entertained during the car ride. It's even a good idea to have new toys the baby hasn't played with yet, because new toys may keep your baby's attention longer than a toy he or she has already seen and played with before.

___ Soothing CDs to calm baby or even put him to sleep, but check with the driver to make sure it won't put him or her to sleep.

___ If your baby is old enough to eat some foods, bring along plenty of snack foods.

___ Pacifier if your baby uses one.

___ Baby's favorite toy if he or she has one. You certainly don't want to leave without baby's favorite toy.

___ Extra bottles.

___ Bibs (disposable or regular).

___ Enough formula for the trip.

___ Diaper rash medication.

Those are the items I always packed when my kids were babies and we took long car trips. However, if you can think of anything else you need, by all means add it to your checklist as well.

Now, for a few tips on traveling with baby:

1. If the trip is long, make frequent stops and get your baby out of his or her car seat for a while.

2. Keep baby's diaper changed often to prevent him or her from developing a bad diaper rash.

3. Invest in a car seat with a hood. The hood helps keep the sun off baby while traveling down the road. Another good investment would be a couple shades with suction cups that will stick to the back windows in your car. These shades will also help keep the sun off baby.

4. Pack extra cash in case you need to buy something else for baby, or in case you run out of something and need to re-stock that item.

5. Have someone ride in the back with baby to keep him or her entertained during the long trip.

See, traveling with baby doesn't have to be daunting, and as long as you pack the right items your baby should stay happy. Have a safe and fun trip!