“Horrified looks from everyone in the room, but…” we’d seriously do it all over again. Our road trip with a baby to Rosemary Beach in 30A was in fact not the nightmare many assumed it’d be. In fact, it’s now one of our favorite family memories ever.
Do yourself a favor…
Save this post to your Pinterest board for later. It’s a LONG one, because it’s very comprehensive and touches on virtually every aspect of traveling (minus flying) with an infant. Let me help you, even if it’s way down the road! Hover (desktop) or tap (mobile) the image below to show the “Pin It” button.
We received mixed feedback when sharing we wanted to take a road trip with Alexis at six months old. Surprisingly to me, several of Kevin’s friends with little kids who’ve done this very thing said it was the ideal time to do so. On the other hand, several people were appalled and shocked when we mentioned the idea. So really, this could’ve gone either way.
But we know our baby and we believed she’d do well, and we were so right! Let’s talk about what made this trip such a success.
Really Know Your Vacation Living Space Before Packing
I spent a lot of time going over what our Airbnb host provides and the space we had before deciding what to pack. Thankfully, our Airbnb was well-equipped for a baby, which made packing simpler. Our host keeps a few baby bowls and spoons, a booster seat and a mini crib in her unit. Leaving our pack and play at home gave us a lot of extra space in the car.
Things to Check Before Your Road Trip with a Baby
Does your destination have baby sleeping solutions, feeding gear, bathing seats, toys, books, etc.? Our Airbnb host had the aforementioned feeding gear, mini crib and some books for bedtime stories. Plus, they were all books we didn’t own so she got to hear new stories on vacay!
- Does the property provide baby sleeping accommodations?
- Many hotels provide a play yard upon request, ask when booking! Your Airbnb host may also have a crib or play yard you can borrow. Message them via the app to see if they can provide one! Pro Tip: All Marriott properties provide cribs/play yards upon request.
- Do you need black out curtains?
- Our Airbnb host provides this suction cup black out curtain which rocked!
- Where will you change diapers?
- You can change diapers anywhere, including the floor. However, in a shared space it may not be the cleanest, so I suggest packing a baby play mat. It rolled up compactly and served as a clean place to put baby down for play and changes.
- Do they have a baby bottle sterilizer or drying rack?
- These bottle sterilizer bags pack flat and one can be used 30 times. Pack two though, in case one breaks! For bottle storage, we got this incredible baby bottle caddy on Amazon. It’s organization and drying all in one! It was hugely helpful both at the Airbnb and kept the in-car bottle setup SUPER organized!
- What’s the plan for bath time?
- Our situation was unique. Our host suggested using her booster seat in the tub since it’s all-plastic, or she said some guests stand in the shower with baby and make that work for the few days you’re on vacay. Which is exactly what we did and it was perfect!
Pack Essential Baby First Aid & Hygiene Items
It’s easy for us to use fast food napkins as tissues or pick up ibuprofen at a local rest stop, but for baby, not so much. They use items that aren’t as widely available, especially on the road in the middle of nowhere. Be sure to pack a solid baby first aid kit and have it accessible during the car ride. We were able to pack all of her essentials in with our own first aid.
Here are the baby items we included in our first aid kit:
To pack more lightly, I trimmed her nails right before we left so we could leave our electric baby nail file at home.
Best Gadgets to Help Road Trip with a Baby Successfully
Spending 14+ hours in a car with an infant is no joke. But it truly wasn’t scary for us! I’m really proud of how well I prepared us for this adventure, and I’m thrilled to share my tips and Amazon finds that helped us the most.
- There’s more on our travel baby bottle caddy in the ‘Things to Check Before Your Road Trip with a Baby’ section, but this is a top recommendation from both of us! It made feeding her while driving super simple. One of us was in the back seat for a leg of the trip while the other drove. We actually only did that maybe 3-4 times the whole 28 total hours, too. She slept a good bit or was playing with her toys and we could also interact and talk to her from the front.
- I got this headrest tablet holder for our iPad to let her watch videos when she got really cranky, oftentimes right before falling asleep.
- All four of our silicone toy straps got packed for this trip so nothing got left behind.
- This car seat fan kept her really comfortable on the long ride.
- We each have this car window shade in our cars, definitely grab one before hitting the road for an extended period of time!
Baby Vacation Essentials We Recommend
The biggest space saver for us, aside from not having to pack a bed for Alexis, was taking a compact travel stroller versus our everyday stroller. For everyday, we have a Mockingbird single-to-double stroller, but it takes up a lot of room when folded. We received this travel stroller from Maxi Cosi prior to Alexis being born and it ROCKED for our trip!
It folds up SO compactly, is compatible with our infant car seat and has a lots of storage room underneath. Plus, this was the first time she got to front-face in a stroller and you could tell girlfriend was living her best life! 🙌
Other Baby Vacation Essentials
The list of things that helped make this trip such a success is never ending. These are miscellaneous extras that might also help you on your next adventure.
- We brought our Ergobaby carrier and used it a bunch, we HIGHLY recommend a baby carrier of some sort (we had to take a golf cart shuttle to the beach and felt 1000% better with her in a carrier attached to dad on this short ride).
- These sunglasses came with us everywhere, the ones we brought didn’t fit well so we ended up buying these at a local shop.
- This is our clean baby sunscreen, a MUST for beach/outdoor vacations, save 10% off with FORYOUASHLEYBURK23.
General Road Trip with a Baby Advice
Here are general themes that set us up for success on our road trip with a baby vacation.
Be Flexible on Napping
In the seven days we were away from home I think Alexis took one single traditional looking nap. It was right after we were at the beach and she was just exhausted. So we put her down in the Airbnb crib and even then she only slept for 20 minutes, but she was definitely a better person for it.
Every other nap was in the stroller, car seat or on me at the beach (below 🥺) and it worked out just fine! Every baby is different but ours is a party girl and wants to be part of the action, so we were happy to let her nap on-the-go instead of forcing one at the Airbnb that may not have even been as long.
Remember, you’re only on vacation for a few days. If an abbreviated and/or altered nap schedule works, let it happen. Enjoy your time away, you will get back to a normal routine when you’re back home.
Try to Stick to a Normal Bedtime Routine
Find things you can do at your Airbnb/hotel room after bedtime to try and keep the bedtime routine in tact. That really helped us. She was fresh for the day and able to take flexible naps because she got a solid 12 hours of night sleep every night.
Our Airbnb was part of a condo complex that truly felt like a resort. Our unit was right off the pool so at bedtime we’d put Alexis down, lock up tight and head down to the hot tub, which we could literally throw a stone from and hit our patio door. It was so close it was like being in the next room so Alexis could go down safely at her usual bedtime and we could enjoy a cocktail in the hot tub.
Baby Travel Bedtime Amazon Recommendations
These are all things we used either for bedtime or mid-night feeds and changes on vacation. Most of these things we already had and repurposed for on-the-go vacation solutions.
- For dining out, we got this portable baby high chair after the trip and wished we had it in Florida. Sitting in the stroller was fine but a chair would’ve given her a welcome change of scenery.
- Our baby play mat mentioned above was CLUTCH for diaper changes, bed time routine, etc.
- Our usual touch-activated egg night light was easy to pack and use on the go.
- This universal baby monitor holder and extra power cord allowed us to use our regular baby monitor setup on vacation without taking apart our already installed home unit.
- A familiar travel sound machine is a MUST. We have the Hatch at home and having the exact same sounds on vacay were clutch. I suggest checking if your sound machine has a travel version or just bringing your everyday one.
General Road Trip Amazon Gadgets We Used
- Kevin worked on Monday while I drove and used a power converter to keep his laptop running.
- My iced coffee sleeves were great, I don’t drink my lattes the fastest and Florida = warm.
- If you plan on doing quick meals in the car, these sauce cup holders are a MUST.
What do you think? Will you ever take a road trip with a baby? I think it depends entirely on the specific baby or infant you plan to take. If you think your little one is ready for the cross-country haul we say go for it!
Let me know with any questions you have in the comments, I’d love to share anything I missed!
