So last week we traveled by car to and from South Padre Island, TX. We live in Dallas, so it is around a 10 hour drive without kiddos. With both kids, we managed it in 11 hours, therefore I would say we did really well! I know that many mamas out there are scared to do a long road trip with a baby or a toddler, let alone both. Here are some tips that helped me stay sane and survive the 11 hour car ride there and 11 hours back.

1. Be flexible with your departure time

While we had planned to leave at 7, the baby wasn’t quite ready to eat again at 6:45, so we fed him at 7:15 and we were on the road by 7:30 instead. I know you can’t always get the man of the house on board with a flexible departure time, but it’s way easier to plan around the baby than to have to stop in the first half hour!

Whether you’re breastfeeding or formula feeding, a lot of road trip starts and stops include the baby eating, just be mentally prepared.

2. Write out your normal routine, and only snack when you would normally snack.

Being in the car can be pretty boring after a couple of hours, and sometimes we mistake that boredom for hunger. If I wasn’t careful, I’d eat during the whole road trip. I scheduled out the normal eating times, especially for my toddler, so that I could be prepared on when was the right time to eat and snack.

I see all kinds of posts with people recommending what to pack for snacks on a road trip, but I look at those and think, why? Usually they have about 50 snacks in a container, but that just doesn’t make sense and takes up a ton of extra space. We brought: Homemade rice krispie treats, cheez-its, and trail mix.

We also limited our drinks to one or 2 bottles of water, so that we would not be tempted to fill our bladders and have to stop within the next hour.

3. Plan out an extra stop for potty training toddlers

I sang all the hallelujahs on the way down to SPI because my 3 year old onry son who has still been in diapers, stayed dry the whole road trip!!

We weren’t prepared to make the extra stop, but we had to when he told us his tummy hurt and he needed to go potty. This was such a turning point in our potty training struggles, that I didn’t care if we had to stop 10 extra times (just kidding, that would be crazy excessive)

4. Bring a Diaper Caddy

I have this amazing invention that is a waterproof changing pad, with pockets for all the supplies. I use that sucker all of the time, but it was especially awesome for this trip!! You don’t have to haul a diaper bag into the rest stops with you. And let me take a moment here to rant about all the places that don’t even have a changing area in their restroom. Have you ever tried to put a baby on the seat of a car to change them? Not easy! Then you pray that your baby boy doesn’t spring a leak in your car, lol!!

There are a ton of those diaper changing pads on the market, but I really like this one here:

5. Toddler Entertainment

Books saved us this trip! My 3 year old loves all the books, so he tried to pack about 20, he was sad that I limited him to 5. The books we brought have flaps in them so it really was more like several books in one and he stayed entertained for HOURS.

You can check out more more lift-the-flap books like this See Under the Sea book here

I also brought a tablet with some pre downloaded movies, however we only used it for one movie on the way down and didn’t even need it on the way back.

Spot it games: my 3 year old loved this! We adapted this from a game his daddy played with his family when he was younger. We just listed off a couple of things at a time and you had to see if you could spot it. Things like: an American Flag, a Whataburger Sign, a School Bus, a number 4, etc.

Try this amazing travel kit! Here’s how it works:

Parents can reward their child’s good behavior by handing out “travel bucks.” The children can then “cash in” their travel bucks for prizes or privileges. Included in each travel rewards kit: a set of travel bucks, a handmade wallet with button enclosure to store them in, a set of age appropriate privilege cards and 10 prizes.* (Prizes and wallet design may vary with each kit.) Travel reward kits make a great gift for anyone traveling or vacationing with children. They are geared toward 2 different age groups 3-5 and 6-8 and you can choose a gender or neutral!

Instructions:
1. Decide what type of behavior you wish to reward.
2. Reward the behavior by giving the child “travel bucks.”
3. The child may cash in the travel bucks for prizes or privileges in the reward kit.

*The prizes will come pre-wrapped with travel buck price tags on them.

This is such an AMAZING kit and I’ll be writing a review on it soon!!

Click here to get yours. (This is not a sponsored or affiliate post)

6. Make room for a seat change if possible

The back of my SUV is a tight squeeze these days, but I made sure there was enough room that I could move to the back if needed. Sure enough, about 45 minutes at the end of the trip, the baby needed some social interaction. Granted he was only 8 weeks old, but just the fact that I was there interacting with him calmed him down. I would definitely recommend you do this if at all possible and you are not the lone adult in the trip.

7. Download some music before you leave

As you are traveling for hours on a road trip, your normal radio stations obviously won’t work! If you already have satellite radio then you probably don’t need this tip.

By having pre downloaded songs on an ipod, our sanity was saved from the constant searching through the random radio channels every five minutes.

But my next car I think I’ll just invest in XM radio if you know what I mean 😉

8. Bring a paper map for backup, and stock the car with normal emergency items

Here’s my plug about a paper map: You need a map of your state in your car AT ALL TIMES. If you are traveling across state lines, invest in a US map. WHY? Because technology fails you sometimes. Even if you did good and downloaded that map on your phone to use offline, what if you drop your phone at a rest stop and it breaks, or heaven forbid it dies and you forgot the extra charging cable. Just do it, even if you don’t use it this time, you might need it next time!

Here’s my plug about emergency items: You need these in your car AT ALL TIMES. Do I sound like a broken record? You need that emergency first-aid kit, the fix-a-flat, the jumper cables, the road flare! But double check that all of these things are in your car before you leave. Oh and if you don’t know how to change a tire- watch a youtube video first. Just in case AAA can’t get to you fast enough.

9. Plan stops in advance

Thankfully we have made the same trip to South Padre Island many years in a row, so we know where the best stops are. Last year when we went to New Mexico we did not! It helped so much when I planned out our stops. Sometimes you don’t realize how desolate it can be in certain areas while driving, so it’s best to try and find main towns to stop in along the way. You may have to throw an extra one in there, but at least you have an idea of where good places to stop are. It will save you so much stress because you won’t pass up that last town for 50 miles and all of a sudden have to use the potty.

10. Make a change of clothes easily accessible

We were 2 hours from home, I was feeding my baby in the car at our last stop, when I feel something warm on my stomach and leg. My son had peed through his shirt onto my clothes! Unfortunately, the suitcase was at the bottom of the pile of stuff we brought so I rode home in those dirty clothes. Don’t make that mistake, and stick a change of clothes for you AND the baby somewhere easily accessible!

All in all, it was a great trip! We had so much fun, but I was glad my in-laws were at the beach with us, because a toddler and an infant are hard to manage with all the stuff you carry to the beach every day. But that is a story for another blog!

Have you roughed it on the road with a toddler and and infant? What are your success or horror stories that taught you along the way?