Nate and I are convinced we have the best baby in the world. Therefore, when the opportunity came to make the 6 hour drive from Salt Lake City, UT to Las Vegas, NV we jumped on board.
“It can’t be that bad,” we thought. “Having a baby has been easier than everyone says anyway.” If only we knew beforehand how different it would be!
Back when we lived BB (Before Baby), Nate and I loved traveling together. It was simpler then. All we needed was to stuff our clothes and toothbrushes into a bag and we were ready.
Now we have to pack the diaper bag, make sure we have enough diapers and wipes for the entirety of the trip, bring extra clothes and blankets just in case of blowouts, the play pen, and somehow configure them to fit around the car seat.
A 6 week old baby has a lot of power!
Allow me to share with you three tips we learned during our road trip with a newborn baby.
Tip #1: Plan Ahead of Time
Expectation: Help Nate’s aunt clean her house that morning, do our laundry, feed Parker at 2:30pm, have the car packed and ready to leave when Nate comes home from work at 3:00pm, and leave right away. That should be easy, right?
As I was trying to pack the morning of our trip, thinking I had plenty of time, I realized we still needed to buy snacks and more diapers. No big deal though, I will pick them up on my way to the aunt’s house.
I should have had plenty of time to go to the store and the aunt’s house, and pack the car by 3:00.
Reality: Due to Parker’s undeniable charm, I allowed him to sleep through his nap in the morning, which made us arrive at Nate’s aunt’s house late and not have time for the store.
I then sent Nate my list so he could grab the needed items from Walmart on his way home from work.
He went to the store as promised, but had trouble finding certain things, causing him to be later than planned too. However, he also sweetly stopped at McDonald’s after Walmart so we could have dinner on the way.
Meanwhile, I fed Parker at Nate’s aunt and uncle’s house before we left.
Instead of feeding Parker and leaving at 3:00pm, we shut the door on our apartment at 4:15pm. Driving through rush hour and stopping to feed halfway through was not part of our itinerary, but it is what happened.
Next time we will plan a week in advance and double check we have everything we need.
Tip #2: Plan for Extra Time
Everywhere we went, it took longer than normal. First, you have to refill the diapers in the diaper bag and buckle the baby in the car seat. That takes time. Once we arrive somewhere, we have to make sure the baby is well fed (oftentimes feeding him at our destination), and staying wrapped up nice and warm. That too takes time.
Expectation: Never arrive late to anything and adhere to our schedule. We were to leave Las Vegas Monday morning so we could visit the Hoover Dam and still consider ourselves adventurers. After taking a tour, we planned to make a quick pit stop in St. George, Utah, to spend time with Nate’s grandparents and refuel with food.
Finally, the day was to end back at home with plenty of time to unwind and rest that night.
Reality: Parker had a horrible night and kept Nate and I up for most of it. Due to lack of sleep, I succumbed to my natural woman and tucked Parker in bed next to me so I could catch a few more zzz’s that morning.
That triggered a domino effect on the rest of the day. We didn’t see the Hoover 
Dam and we stayed in St. George longer than necessary.
Just when we were about to leave the grandparent’s house and put Parker in his car seat, he had a huge blowout on my lap. And when I say “huge,” I mean “HUUUGE.”
The poopy mess stained his onesie, the muslin blanket that was on my lap, and my shirt.
Instead of driving back home, we spent the next 30 minutes cleaning everything up. I should have known that we weren’t going to make it home until it was bedtime.
I have since learned to always leave a little wiggle room in the day’s agenda and pack extra baby clothes in the diaper bag.
Tip #3: Feed the Baby
Okay, this may sound obvious to you, but I still consider it worth explaining. My baby feeds around every 4 hours typically, but it changes when he’s in a new environment. On top of that, I have not yet begun to pump so every meal is up to me to provide.
Expectation: Parker would sleep in the car like he normally does and not have to eat until we got to St. George 4 hours later. I could then feed him upon arrival and again right before we left for Las Vegas.
The feedings would then repeat on our way back home.
Reality: Remember how we left our apartment late on Friday? We thought Parker would still be able to sleep in the car, but he woke up about an hour outside of St. George ready to eat. Since we were already running late, we thought it wouldn’t hurt to stop at an exit off the highway for me to feed him.
It added time to the drive, but it was worth it to have Parker happy when we made it there.
We really learned this lesson on our way back home on Monday. I will take credit and admit the tragedy was my fault. It was late and I was tired, hungry, and feeling crampy. Maybe Parker could sense we weren’t in the best of moods because he himself was cranky.
Oh yeah – he cried the entire 4 hours back home.
While Nate drove, I turned around and tried my best to stick the pacifier back into our newborn’s mouth to soothe him. We even tried increasing the volume of the radio, then tried a station with just static to recreate white noise.
Nothing worked and the crying continued.
Of course, we should have stopped on the way for me to feed him, but all I wanted to do was go home and lie in bed.
Instead of pausing the drive, we continued our journey straight through until we could finally park the car at our apartment. Parker was still alive, but I ran up the stairs as fast as I could so he could eat and be in a happy state of mind again.
But hey, all that crying made him tired enough to sleep through the entire night for the first time!
I hope you can learn from our mistakes and plan for additional time to take care of your baby!
Let me know if you have any tips or tricks of your own regarding traveling with a baby in a car.
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