A Mom’s Road Trip Survival Guide

Sarah R 121013Sometimes I feel like motherhood is one ongoing “to do” list. I try not to focus on those pesky things that make me feel overwhelmed, but during the holiday season – and especially when traveling with kids – I feel like that “to do” list is the only thing keeping me sane.

My husband and I are very fortunate to live near so much of our family – well, most of them. We frequently make weekend treks to Iowa to visit with my husband’s grandparents and other extended family. While we look forward to enjoying everyone’s company, I do put a lot of time into the preparation ahead of the trip. Our first couple of trips were a bit rough and caused a bit of angst between the hubby and I; for instance, I tended to make sure we had everything we could possibly need and sometimes I had a hard time keeping with the time schedule while he tended to rush and want to leave as soon as possible. One year, while attempting to leave at the agreed-upon time, we discovered that our then-toddler twins did not have appropriate-sized utensils for Christmas dinner; it worked out, it just wasn’t the ideal situation for a family on a schedule. Another year, my attempt to “loosen the reigns” by asking my husband to help pack the car resulted in us arriving at grandma and grandpa’s house without our suitcase. Fortunately, I had packed an overnight bag with everyone’s pajamas and essentials to get through the night and the children’s clothes were in a separate bag. We simply washed and re-wore the same day clothes that weekend. 🙂

Eventually, we learned that a detailed checklist serves us both. The checklist – on a single piece of lined paper – has probably saved our marriage more than once. We can both see the list (no mind-reading required), add to it, and check things off. Here is what my preliminary road trip list looks like:

Car preparation: oil and tires checked, car de-cluttered and vacuumed, car seats safely installed.

Clothes: overnight bag with pajamas, toiletries, and other overnight/”first thing in the morning” essentials. This is especially beneficial if you get to your destination late in the evening and don’t want to unpack the car in the middle of a snowstorm. Kid clothes are packed in stacks by day to ensure each child has the right amount of socks/underwear/pants/shirts for each day. If we’re staying at a hotel, we generally pack an extra set of clothes.  Mom and dad’s clothes are packed in a similar fashion, different bag.

Medications: any current and contingent prescriptions are packed (i.e. inhalers and ear drops), as well as OTC medications. While there are plenty of places to buy children’s ibuprofen, I hate spending money on something I already have. Don’t forget the adult headache medicine, either. 🙂

Gifts: it’s Christmas, so don’t forget the gifts.

Bedding: our kids get to “camp” when we stay with relatives, so we pack their sleeping bags and pillows.

Food: while access to food isn’t usually a problem, we do pack enough to know our kids will be comfortable between official meal times. Sometimes that means a loaf of bread, PB&J, and sliced apples or bananas. Also, water bottles for everyone!

Entertainment: it’s a car ride, which means our kids will sleep for most of it. But before sleep, we listen to a lot of children’s CD’s. The kids can bring a backpack with a few travel-sized toys and books. We’ve tried sharing electronics and DVD’s, but those usually result in more conflict than entertainment so we tend to leave those at home.

Traveling with littles: is your little one used to a certain size bowl, plate, spoon, cup, booster seat, diapers, potty chair? Pack those, and it will decrease stress all around. Bonus tip that we’ll get to try out this year: put a diaper in the bottom of the potty chair while traveling (it’ll absorb the urine and leave you without an awkward disposal until you arrive at your destination). If you’re cloth diapering and traveling, make sure you pack your detergent and know you might get a couple of funny looks … but you’ve probably already had a few funny looks, anyway. 😉

So, what are your traveling must-haves? I’d love to hear your traveling secrets!

Sarah Rotert
I grew up in Liberty, just a few blocks off from the square. After a brief stint at Iowa State University, hubby and I returned to the Northland in KC to welcome our twin girls into the world. Soon after we were parents to 2, we were parents to 3. And after a bit of a hiatus, we returned to infant hood with the birth of our 4th child. As our twin daughters have special needs, I changed my course of study and earned an A.S. in Sign Language Interpreting. We used American Sign Language as our primary communication for the first 2 years of their lives. Over the last 9 years since becoming a mom, I've learned (and am still learning) about childhood advocacy, living on budget, baby wearing, cloth diapering, figuring out how to plan/shop/execute yummy/kid-friendly/healthy meals. While we've been life long KC residents, we are continuously in awe of what this city has to offer.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Sounds like you and I have similar packing procedures:) My husband likes to joke that take “everything but the kitchen sink.” We have travel inflatable beds for the boys, and we also take sleeping bags! Depending on where we are headed, and how comfortable i feel with our hosts..I will send ahead a small grocery list, and ask that they have certain things on hand; milk, bread, fruit, and carnation instant breakfast:) Happy Holiday traveling!

  2. Cali that does sound remarkable familiar. In the past, our hosts have requested grocery lists from us.

    Footwear should also make the checklist. Over the summer, we went to an out of town funeral and my husband told me all of his things were ready to go. We were about 45 minutes from our destination when my husband realized he’d left his dress shoes at home. Since the funeral was the next morning, there was a little bit of time for grace and figuring out a plan.

  3. I fully understand and love the “checklist”. Even in a non-kid household, it’s what keeps us functioning on an everyday basis. Hope y’all had a lovely (well organized) holiday!

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