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Taking a Road Trip with Your Baby
By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of Gentle Baby Care
To
Grandmother’s house we go! And you’ll be in the car for five whole
hours ¾
how can you make the trip enjoyable with a baby along?
Learn
about it
There’s no question: Marathon car trips with a baby on board take a
good amount of planning and organization. But it can be done
¾
and yes, it can even be fun!
Planning the trip
In the
hustle that precedes a trip, it can be easy to let things
happen, instead of make things happen. Be proactive in making
your trip decisions. Contemplating these questions, and coming up
with the right answers, can help make your trip more successful:
-
Does your baby sleep well in the car? If yes, plan your travel
time to coincide with a nap or bedtime so your baby can sleep
through part of the journey. If not, plan to leave immediately
after a nap or upon waking in the morning. Don’t fool yourself
into thinking your baby will behave differently than usual in
the car just because it’s a special occasion.
-
Is
it necessary to make the trip all at once, or can you break it
up with stops along the way? The longer your baby is strapped in
the carseat, the more likely he’ll become fussy. Planning a few
breaks can keep everyone in a better frame of mind.
-
When estimating an arrival time, have you factored in plenty of
extra time for unplanned surprises? A diaper explosion that
requires a complete change of clothes or a baby whose
inconsolable crying requires an unexpected 20-minute stop are
just two of the things that can easily happen.
-
Do
you have everything you need to make the trip pleasant? Items
like:
-Window shades to protect your baby from the sun and create a
darker, nap-inducing atmosphere.
-A cooler for cold drinks; a bottle warmer if needed.
-Plenty of toys that are new or forgotten favorites saved just for
the trip.
-Baby-friendly music on tape or CD.
-A rear-view baby mirror to keep on eye on baby (unless a second
person will be sitting with your little one)
-Books to read to your baby.
Preparing the car
Take
plenty of time to get the car ready for your trip. If two adults are
traveling, consider yourself lucky and arrange for one person to sit
in the backseat next to the baby. If you are traveling alone with
your little one, you’ll need to be more creative in setting up the
car, and you’ll need to plan for more frequent stops along the way.
Here
are a few tips for making the car a traveling entertainment center
for your baby:
-
Use ribbon or yarn and safety pins or tape to hang an array of
lightweight toys from the ceiling of the car to hang over your
baby. An alternative is to string a line from one side of the
car to the other with an array of toys attached by ribbons.
Bring along an assortment of new toys that can be exchanged when
you stop the car for a rest. Just be sure to use small toys and
keep them out of the driver’s line of view.
-
Tape brightly colored pictures of toys on the back of the seat
that your baby will be facing.
-
If
no one will be sitting next to your baby and your child is old
enough to reach for toys, set up an upside-down box next to the
car seat with a shallow box or a tray with ledges on top of it.
Fill this with toys that your baby can reach for by himself. You
might also shop around for a baby activity center that attaches
directly to the carseat.
-
If
you plan to have someone sitting next to baby, then provide that
person with a gigantic box of toys with which to entertain the
little one
¾
distraction works wonders to keep a baby happy in the car. One
of the best activities for long car rides is book reading. Check
your library’s early reading section; it typically features a
large collection of baby-pleasing titles in paperback that are
easier to tote along than board books.
-
Bring along an assortment of snacks and drinks for your older
baby who’s regularly eating solids, and remember to bring food
for yourself, too. Even if you plan to stop for meals, you may
decide to drive on through if your baby is sleeping or content
¾
saving the stops for fussy times.
-
Bring books on tape or quiet music for the adults for times when
your baby is sleeping. The voice on tape may help keep your baby
relaxed, and it will be something you can enjoy.
-
If
you’ll be traveling in the dark, bring along a battery-operated
nightlight or flashlight.
Car
travel checklist
q
Well-stocked diaper bag
q
Baby’s
blanket
q
Carseat pillow or head support
q
Window
shades (sun screens)
q
Change
of clothes for your baby
q
Enormous box of toys and books
q
Music
or books on tape or CDs
q
Baby
food, snacks, and drinks for your baby
q
Sipper
cups
q
Snacks
and drinks for the adults
q
Cooler
q
Wet
washcloths in bags, or moist towelettes
q
Empty
plastic bags for leftovers and trash
q
Bottle
warmer
q
Cell
phone
q
Baby’s
regular sleep music or white noise (if needed, bring extra
batteries)
q
First
aid kit/prescriptions/medications
q
Jumper
cables
q
Money/wallet/purse/ID
q
Medical and insurance information/emergency phone numbers
q
Maps/driving directions
q
Baby
carrier/sling/stroller
q
Camera
and film
q
Suitcases
During
the journey
If
you’ve carefully planned your trip and prepared your vehicle, you’ve
already started out on the right foot. Now keep these things in mind
as you make your way down the road:
-
Be
flexible. When traveling with a baby, even the best-laid plans
can be disrupted. Try to stay relaxed, accept changes, and go
with the flow.
-
Stop when you need to. Trying to push “just a little farther”
with a crying baby in the car can be dangerous, as you’re
distracted and nervous. Take the time to stop and calm your
baby.
-
Put safety first. Make sure that you keep your baby in his
carseat. Many nursing mothers breastfeed their babies during
trips. This can be dangerous in a moving car, even if you are
both securely belted: You can’t foresee an accident, and your
body could slam forcefully into your baby. Instead, pull over
and nurse your baby while he’s still in his carseat. That way,
when he falls asleep, you won’t wake him up moving him back into
his seat.
-
Remember: Never, ever leave your baby alone in the car
¾
not even for a minute.
On the
way home
You
may be so relieved that you lived through your trip that you sort of
forget the other trip ahead of you: the trip home. You’ll need to
organize the trip home as well as you did the trip out. A few days
in advance, make certain that all your supplies are refilled and
ready to go. Think about the best time to leave, and plan
accordingly. In addition, think about what you learned on the trip
to your destination that might make the trip home even easier. Is
there something you wish you would have had but didn’t? Something
you felt you could have done differently? Did you find yourself
saying, “I wish we would have…”? Now’s the time to make any
adjustments to your original travel plan so that your trip back home
is pleasant and relaxed.
This article is an excerpt from Gentle Baby Care by Elizabeth
Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2003)
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