Road Trip!
The Huz, Ailish, Moxie & Gabe at Pea Soup Anderson's, Santa Nella, CA.
We survived! And we still like each other. Driving 2,300 miles round trip with an 11-month old baby and two dogs to celebrate the holly-jolly holiday season with family was no small feat. And I am DAMN proud of The Huz and myself because nothing says, “Merry Christmas” like being crammed into a car together for 2-days straight.
“Well, I don’t know what to say except it’s Christmas and we’re all in misery” – Ellen Griswold
There was a lot of trials and even more errors made on this trip so let me share with you my TOP 5 LESSONS LEARNED while traveling with a baby and pets:
Lesson #1: Have a rest stop plan!
Sure, there was a lot of crying and screaming and not just from The Huz (ha! Kidding…I mean, me), but once we figured out our pit stop gameplan, we were able to stop wasting precious minutes putzing around in the cold at every rest area. It’s hard enough to time out potty-breaks for just The Huz and me, let alone adding the dogs and baby into the mix. The wee prisoner needs time to stretch her wiggly legs, crawling and climbing around the back seat THEN you have to add feeding everyone on top of that! The first day was so brutally slow going. No medals awarded here for “calm, cool and collected.” But we powered through and with each stop honed our plan.
“Ok, I’m about to pee my pants, so I’ll run to the bathroom first, you get the dogs out, I’ll come back and get Ailish to change her, then you hand the dogs off to me so you can go…”
It was a constant discussion, but being in the car for 12 hours a day, it gave us something to talk about. Shockingly, in the long run, each stop did get shorter and go smoother. Who would have thought clear communication would pay off!
We attempted to drive for 2-hour stretches between stops. Sometimes that worked and sometimes not so much. Ailish only likes to take 30-minute naps in the car, so we got very few long stretches in. One day we had to stop every hour for four hours straight! I have never second-guessed myself so much as a parent as I did in that car with a melting down baby. (Ok, I know that's not true, I've just erased all those angst-inducing moments from memory.)
Lesson #2: Easy Food
And LOTS of snacks! For EVERYONE. But to try and save our ears from the hunger screams and that dreaded time sitting in a parking lot going nowhere, we stocked up on food pouches and had all of Ailish's bottles premade in a little cooler ready for easy access. You do not want to be mixing formula or measuring out ANYTHING while cruising down the road at 70 miles an hour. Roads are bumpy as a hell. The squeeze-packs made it easy for Ailish to eat quickly and without a mess and the dogs were less likely to try and steal a pack away than say a cracker or freeze-dried strawberry. Although they do like to try and lick the mouthpiece or failing that just the messy-faced kid.
Lesson 3: Diaper Changes
WARNING, not every pit stop will have a changing station! Shocked? Yeah, me too. It's something I found SUPER annoying but never noticed pre-baby, because why would I?
We have this awesome Skip-Hop changing pad which was a lifesaver. Most changing stations are gross anyway so the flaps help keep that grossness at bay. The pad itself is cushioned and there's a spot to store wipes, extra diapers and a change of clothes so you don't have to lug your entire diaper bag with you. This also came in handy when we didn't have time to find a rest area but had to pull off on the side of the road and change a blowout on the hood of the car, because that's real life.
Lesson #4: Entertainment
Keeping The Little Monkey entertained was a tad challenging. I had her “briefcase” over-stuffed with different toys so every time she got bored with a toy and threw it across the car, usually hitting the dogs, BAM, Mama Bear smoothly pulled out another toy for her. I was like Houdini. She had no idea where they were coming from. I’d do a toy roundup at rest stops just so the briefcase was never found (gasp!) empty. Much to Ailish's delight, The Huz rigged up an activity center that’s part of her favorite push-toy (see the picture of happy baby). She had a ball kicking the crap outta that thing. So, it worked two-fold really, entertainment and exercise. She did reach her point of overstimulation with it a few times, but with the flick of a switch it was turned off and tucked it away. Friggin' Houdini over here, I tell ya!
Lesson #5: YOUR Entertainment
Yes, YOU parents should have some entertainment as well, it's a long-ass ride! I always love audio books for any kind of journey but picking one with a narrator that won't wake a sleeping baby (fingers crossed!) is crucial! Nick Offerman's "Paddle Your Own Canoe" gave us 10 hours and 53 minutes of peace of mind entertainment. A little crass at times but highly humorous and his voice is like floating in a lazy river; calm and entrancing. Plus his giggle is THE BEST!
All in all, for our first road trip, I think it’s safe to call it a mild success. Now with all holiday travel safely in the rearview mirror, we can get back to normal life.
