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Top tips for travelling with a baby/toddler

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Hands up if you’ve got a long journey planned this Christmas?

We have! My family are a 5.5hr drive away and it’s a trip I always dread now we have a little one to entertain.

Here are some top tips to help you prepare.

  1. Make sure your baby isn’t too hot or too cold. If she’s in her car seat for ages she may get quite sweaty.
    TOP TIP – Put a muslin between baby and the car seat, the fabric car seats are made of can get very sweaty.

2. Allow extra traveling time so you can take a break every few hours. Even a quick stop for a nappy change or a snack, will let him stretch and get rid of any pent up energy.

3. Take enough water, milk and toddler snacks in case you’re delayed.

4. On flights the hand luggage restrictions on liquids don’t apply to your baby’s food and drink. You can also keep your buggy right up until you board which is great if they’re likely to need a nap.

5. Pack a baby bottle filled with cooled boiled water in your hand luggage if you’re going by plane. Cabin air can be very dry so she may like to sip some water if it’s not time for her feed

6. Take a new toy as well as a couple of favourite ones. If you wrap it up your little one will also have the fun of unwrapping it too. Having fun car toys that they only get to play with in the car can help them look forward to a journey.

7. We got Emilie a car seat tray which she really enjoyed. It meant she could have things on her lap and do some reading/colouring while in her car seat.
8. If you’re on a train or flying, walk about with your baby as much as you can. She’s less likely to get bored or to start complaining if you’re pointing out different things to look at.”

9. If you’re flying and your worried about your little ones ears popping try and time their feed so they’re drinking during take off and landing.

10. It can get quite messy trying to spoon-feed a baby during a bumpy car, plane or train journey. Take a couple of spare muslins to cover you and the seat, and lots of wipes. Or we used to take Ella’s kitchen pouches when weaning and she would eat them straight from the pouch, which was a lot less messy!

11. If you’re breastfeeding and have a long car journey, plan plenty of stops! There’s nothing worse than listening to your baby scream because she’s hungry and you have another 30 miles until the next services. If you can introduce a bottle pre-trip then it is possible to feed them in the car seat, which makes life much easier!
12. Pack things you’ll need that day so they’re easy to get to. We once ended up turning our entire boot upside down looking for nappies and a spare change of clothes at a service station because we couldn’t remember which bag they were in.
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3. A CD or catalogue of nursery rhymes or childrens songs on your phone/tablet can help pass some time while you sing along.
14. If you’re driving and you have flexibility, setting off when they’re due a sleep/nap can mean a few blissful hours of driving! We usually set off an hour before her bedtime, it means some late driving for us but it makes life so much easier.
15. As they get older, I know it’s not ideal but a tablet with some cartoons on can help when they decide to have a total melt down and you still have hours of driving to go. You can get tablet holders that clip to the headrest of the seat in front (Ebay have a variety) and it’s saved our sanity on more than one mega long trip. They just don’t sleep as much as they get older and being stuck in such a restrictive car seat can get very frustrating for them as they’re limited to what they can do.
Any other top tips for those traveling with little ones? Leave your tips in the comments below?

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