Everyone says that once you have kids, you won’t do the things that you used to. For my husband and me, that meant traveling. Whether it was a quick day trip or a week away, we love to travel! Since having Oliver, we have tried to keep up with our love for travel.
Sadly though, being 2020, Coronavirus has reared it’s ugly head and we’ve not been able to travel like we’d like to. Nonetheless, we have still done what we could, all while still being safe.
That being said, I have some tips for you on how to make traveling with your baby easier. I hope you find these tips as useful as I have over these last several months.
Thawing Milk While Traveling
For breastfeeding moms, nursing on the go it’s always the easiest. Sometimes using pumped milk is the best option. That being the case, one of the best tricks I’ve discovered is to fill a large thermos with hot water from the coffee maker so that you can thaw your milk on the go. What you’ll need is a large thermos, an extra cup, and of course some pumped breastmilk.
After I had Oliver, I worked on creating a freezer stash of milk so that I could offer a bottle if out and about. So when we are getting ready to head out, I will grab a bag from my stash and put it in a cooler. Then while out, I’ll get my “warming cup” as I like to call it, and put the hot water from the thermos into it and then the milk. Then in just a couple of minutes, we have warm milk for a bottle!
Napping While Traveling
Babies need their sleep. To help with their mood and their development. Sometimes when traveling it can seem daunting to think about making sure your baby gets all their naps in. Thankfully most babies are great at napping on the go.
In order to make sure Oliver gets his naps while on the go, I have two strategies. One is to line up our drive time with his nap so that way he falls asleep on the drive. This is great if you’re going to see people where you’d like them to be able to interact with your little one.
My second strategy is to line his nap up with our destination. I typically opt for this one if we are going on a hike or if we’re planning on walking around town for a while. This way, I can wear Oliver in a carrier and lull him to sleep while walking around. This is one of the best ways for me to get Oliver to nap. So much so, that whenever we go on a hike, even if he napped on the way there, he’s bound to fall asleep again.
Nursing While Traveling
Sometimes when traveling you may not have milk for a bottle so you have to nurse even if it’s not the preferred option. Now that may seem like a crazy statement to some of you, but I like to stay modest, even while nursing so nursing out in the open whenever is not an option to me. The thought of being exposed or even having people think about what is happening under my nursing cover, makes me blush.
So if you are like me, you may want to find a place away from prying eyes to feed your little one. For me, this means the comfort of my minivan. Thankfully with tinted windows and shades in my van is the perfect nursing retreat.
When our family took a trip to Georgia last year before all this Coronavirus stuff, I opted to nurse Oliver in the van when we went into town. This way, I didn’t have to hide in a bathroom stall or risk being exposed by my very wiggly baby. I’d turn the van on, sit in the second row with the shades up, grab my nursing cover for extra protection, and nurse my little one until his heart’s content. Then rejoin my family as we explored downtown.
Thank you for reading!
I sincerely hope these tips help you as you travel with your little one. If you have any additional tips, we’d love to hear about them! Leave them in the comments below. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with others.
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