It’s not a new revelation that traveling with a baby is tough, but being that this is my first vacation with my son, I am quickly learning how hard it really is. I have visited my parents, but my mom has pretty much stocked their house with anything he could need. What I find the hardest is trying to prepare for all scenarios, because a comfortable baby is a happy baby. Not only do you have to prepare, but you also have to fit it all in your car. This my friends can be tricky! As a matter of fact a lot is tricky when it comes to traveling with a baby, but we all must do it at some time, so I better get used to it now.

I don’t want to allow myself to be that person who gets stuck staying home all the time because I am scared to travel with a child. Yes it’s hard, but I know I’ll be missing out on a lot if I give into my neurosis. Therefore, practice makes perfect! So starting out with an easy trip with my family is the best way to go. Why? Because my mom is a pro at packing for our beach trips, so I don’t have to think of EVERYTHING. She takes on a lot of the slack. Plus, this trip is a drivable one, and everything is easier when  you aren’t dealing with planes.

The Captain just laughs at me when I stress about packing and getting ready to travel. I find that amusing because he doesn’t even pack for himself…I pack for him, so he has ZERO clue what it takes to make sure we have what we need. For the baby I have to make sure he has a comfortable place to sleep, clothes for all weather, food, bowls, spoons, mamas milk,….should I go on? If it were up to him we’d figure it out as we went and just go with the flow. Ummm…sorry dear…not so easy to do with a 7 month old. And who has to deal with the unhappy baby in a new environment??? ME! So yes, I do tend to stress.

I am lucky that I have an easygoing baby. Thus far he has adapted well to our new surroundings. It helps that I am able to keep him close to his normal schedule, and it helps that I have a ton of help from my family. But no matter what it is appalling all the things that needed to come on this trip. You may ask do I NEED all those things, and to be honest I think the answer is YES! I could’ve cut back on a few toys but the rest are a must.

Traveling by plane sounds extremely overwhelming to me. I got a packing checklist from baby center and was so scared after seeing so many items I didn’t even think to bring. One of those items? So far now I am going to hold off…that is until October when The Captain and I will be taking the little man to Atlanta. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it. I will try not to dwell on it in the meantime! (not sure that’s possible)

Like everything else with kids, everything with traveling is a learning process. We each must figure out what works best for us, and hopefully we all can find it sooner rather than later. Once we figure out what works it will change, because our kids will get older and their needs will change. Ahhh the joys of parenthood right!? But all the stress and the planning is worth it, because I am so excited to share all these things with my son. I just can’t wait to show him more!

So how do you like traveling with your kids? Any good tips?