This post is brought to you by Boudreaux’s Butt Paste and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.
Just last night we returned from a whirlwind car trip with 5 children. We were pretty much gone for 17 days! I’m going to give you a few tips for traveling with a baby.
Tip #1: Have naps and/or Quiet Time
The first stop on our trip was our annual family reunion. We typically go to Wisconsin Dells, but this year we rented a cabin from a family member at Little Paw Paw Lake, MI. I was so glad that I remembered to pack Boudreaux’s Butt Paste in my bag. The first day we were at the lake, Quinny had an accident in her swimsuit and no one caught it. Between poop and sand, her poor little butt got rubbed raw. She was screaming every time she would go potty. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste was able to give her some relief and provide some protection between her diaper and her skin. While at the lake house I did my best to try to get the babies to take a nap or at least get some lay down time every day. I did that to give the rest of my family some sanity from cranky babies!
Tip #2: Be prepared
Our next stop on our trip was unplanned. We returned home from our family reunion on the 16th only to find out that a dear family friend had died so we got things repacked on Wednesday and headed out to Iowa for two days to attend a wake and funeral. Unfortunately my husband had to fly out of town for work on Wednesday so he was supposed to meet us in Iowa via plane. Since I was the only adult traveling 5 hours with 5 kids, I wanted to make sure things were organized, easy to handle, and I didn’t have to make a million stops. One thing I did was made sure that I had one bottle ready to go with water in it (just had to add the formula, which was pre-portioned) and an extra bottle of water in my backpack. Any one of the big kids were able to make a bottle quickly for Joey without having to pull of the road to make sure he was taken care of. The picture above was on our way back from the funeral; we stopped at a rest stop that overlooked the Mississippi River.
Tip #3: Have a baby carrier ready
So we got home late Friday night from Iowa and then got up super early Saturday morning, packed the van and headed out to New York City. My husband had work in the city so the kids and I went with since he’s been traveling so much that we never see him anymore. When you’re in a city as fast-paced as NYC, you have to learn to be flexible. You want to fit everything in, but you can’t always do that. That also includes naps! So we took an on/off bus tour and while we rode the babies would nap on our laps. It’s not necessarily an ideal napping situation, but knowing the babies got their sleep made life a lot easier. It also rained on us one day. Quinn loved playing in the rain and we just went with it. A tip for handling NYC with a baby is to use a baby carrier. There are so many people and pushing a stroller isn’t always the easiest, plus some areas are way too small to fit the stroller. I would have felt better having baby snuggled up next to me instead of so far away in the stroller.
Tip #4 Be Flexible
On Tuesday we left my husband in NYC and headed to upstate New York to visit my friend. She is a super busy woman and we had to be flexible to fit into her schedule. She is a homeschooling mom of 5 kids as well. She’s successfully running her own business and occasionally fills in as a morning news anchor at a Christian Radio Station. Trying to fit time in with us last week was a challenge so we had to be ready to go whenever we could and just enjoy the time making new friends and exploring new places. The kids got to visit her at work on our last day there. They enjoyed getting the radio station tour and meeting the morning personalities.
Tip #5: Find the Beauty and Just enjoy each other
On Friday my husband flew up to Rochester and we picked him up so we could spend the weekend with his Aunt and Uncle in upstate New York. It was so great spending time with them and I really didn’t want to leave. We went to visit Niagara Falls on the way home and I have to admit, I was a crabby mess. I was hot and I saw a thunderstorm approaching and then my husband parked about a half a mile away from the falls. Unfortunately I was snapping at all the kids and the baby was crying because he was hot and stuck in the sun and I had just had enough. I had to take a step back from myself and think “Do I want the kids to remember this trip as the time that mom was angry about everything? Or do I just want to smile and have fun?” Traveling with babies and 5 kids can be hard, but it’s worth it and I’m glad we are taking the time to show the kids the world we live in.
Keep in mind when you pack up to travel with your baby (or toddler) that you shouldn’t leave home without a tube of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. You never know when your child will get sand in their diaper or eat something that doesn’t agree with them. They’ll be happy to have that extra protection on their bottom. Butt Paste is available in three types: Original Butt Paste (for minor or moderate rash), Maximum Strength (for stubborn rash), and All Natural (for minor or moderate rash but made with natural ingredients and is petrolatum free). To learn more about Boudreaux’s Butt Paste you can follow them on social media here: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and their website.
