Six Tips for Road Trips with Infants

We recently published a post with some of our top tips to make flying with your baby easier.

But road trips are a little bit different, and you’ll want to prepare differently.

In this blog, we’re breaking down our six favorite tips to make road trips with infants easier, more comfortable, and happier for everybody.

1. Be flexible. Be open to getting there when you get there, stopping when you need to, and things taking a lot longer than you think they will. Know that you’ll stop when your baby needs to be fed or changed, and that’s when you’ll get food or go to the bathroom. You won’t want to stop when the baby is sleeping, even if it’s dinnertime. With that being said, we recommend packing food you can easily eat while driving, like sandwiches, so you don’t end up having to stop because you’re starving while your baby is napping.

In general, your road trip is going to be on baby time which means you’ll likely get where you’re going much later than you thought. Try to breathe and stay flexible!

2. Plan to change diapers in the car. You can always do diaper changes at rest stops, gas stations, or restaurants. But when you do diaper changes in the car, you can take your time and control how clean the environment is. If you can, try leaving a free space in your trunk that can become a makeshift changing table. We also recommend bringing empty grocery bags to wrap up dirty diapers and keep the odor from permeating your car.

3. If you breastfeed, pump or feed regularly. Don’t wait too long to pump or feed just to get a little further on the road. It’s not worth it! We also recommend wearing clothes that make it easy to pump or breastfeed and packing a small cooler you can use to store pumped breast milk or drinks and snacks for the breastfeeding parent.

4. Time your road trip right. Nothing is going to be perfect, but you can plan your trip’s timing to make things a little easier. If your baby isn’t a great sleeper in the car, try to leave just after they wake up or just after a nap so they’ll be happier and well-rested to start the trip. If your baby is a great car sleeper, plan to start your trip just before nap time or bedtime to start things off on the right foot.

5. Recreate their sleeping environment with Quilbie. Getting your baby to rest and sleep for part of your trip is super helpful for everyone. Using a Quilbie cover over them can help recreate a womb-like, dark, quiet environment to support their sleep - keeping everyone a little bit more sane. Learn more about Quilbie and shop our classic, parent-approved cover here.

6. Keep baby entertained. On any substantial road trip, your baby is of course not going to sleep the whole time. When they’re awake, make sure they have a wise selection of toys to explore - ideally, toys that are new to them (or toys that have been stashed away for a week or two so they feel new to them!). You can swap toys with friends, pick up a few new ones at the thrift store, or make some homemade toys to play with.

We hope these tips support you and your family in having happier and easier road trips through the rest of the summer and always!

Parents, what other tips would you share for taking road trips with your baby? Let us know in the comments or over on Instagram.