Summer Vacation Favorites

May 19, 2013

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on our beach pictures, we really had an amazing time & can’t wait to do it again! 🙂 Overall, Harper did extremely well on the roadtrip & dealing with a messy schedule. As promised, I’ve compiled a list of our favorite products, tips & tricks for traveling with a baby for your summer vacation!

4Moms Breeze Playard. The absolute best & easiest to use playard, hands down. Literally, a breeze. You will not regret traveling with this beauty & being able to pop it up in a quick second when you need to use it.

Boon Snack Container. Nothing is worse than smashed baby snacks in a ziplock. We have a few different ones of these, but I like the little sliders that open so Harper can get snacks out easily herself, plus it is a cute little critter!

Babyganics Sunscreen, Burt’s Bees Bug Spray & Baby Powder. All three are must haves. I’m sure you all know the baby powder trick by now, but if not, just dust it on your baby’s skin after the beach to remove sand – works like a charm! 🙂

iGuy for iPad.We borrowed an iPad from my husband’s work & popped this cover on it for Harper to play with during the long roadtrip. Kept her entertained for hours. Another trick? Check out instructions for Guided Access for your iPad or iPhone so your kiddos can’t exit the apps you put them in & end up rapid-dialing your boss or deleting all your rap music. Eff.

Swimways Pool Float. A summer must have for your babe to float in the pool with you under a little shaded canopy.

BAGGU Bags. We packed a few of these in one of our other bags so that we could fill them with dirty clothes, sippy cups, things we bought, etc. for the trip home. Packing to come home from vacation is always such a mess, having a few extra empty bags with you will save you so many headaches.

iPlay Swim Diaper. You don’t want your kid to be the one clearing out the hotel pool because they shit through their disposable swim diaper. These had the best reviews & worked for us. (If only Harper had been wearing it in the hotel room.)

Here are some of the other things that we found to be helpful when traveling with a baby/toddler:

Stock up on excessive amounts of large ziplocks, they help you stay organized & sanitized (if at all possible).
A few new toys or items they have never played with before will entertain them more than you’ll ever know. Even if you don’t want to spend money on more toys, pick up some random things like a glowstick (these work WONDERS), a hairbrush or a calculator & you just bought yourself an hour.
On a long road trip, plan to take breaks to get out & stretch your legs. Letting Harper run around a coffee shop or Target for a few minutes makes a world of difference for everyone.
Skip fast food or heavy meals so you don’t get tired. There’s nothing worse than the full/fat feeling after eating & then having to get back in the car. Our favorite go-to roadtrip snack is smoothies! They are filling & refreshing, and baby can sip on it too! Be sure to have lots of kid friendly snacks as well, cereals, fruit pouches & bananas are perfect for snacking in the car.
Bring extra pacis. So many extra pacis. They will disappear right before your eyes, along with your sanity.
You can never have too many sanitizing wipes or hand sanitizer. Grossness is lurking everywhere.
If you’re spending a lot of time at the beach, look for hotels that offer beachfront cabanas for rent so you can keep your babe in the shade. Dragging a tent or umbrella along with your baby & all the bags/coolers/etc. is just an added pain in the ass.
If possible, get a suite if you are staying in a hotel, sometimes they are only a few dollars more or even the same price if it is a weeknight. This way, your kiddo can sleep soundly in a room separate from you. And don’t forget bedtime necessities, like your noisemaker & monitor.
Take advantage of playlists! We make separate CDs for when Harper is sleeping & for when she is awake. Calming music turned up like Kenny Chesney & Joshua Radin keep Harper sleeping & allow us to still talk in the front seat. Then when she is awake, we all jam out to ZBB, Eric Church & OAR to regain our energy.

If all else fails, stick cheerios to your kid’s face for entertainment.

We have also flown with Harper a few times & other than most of the things I have already mentioned, the best advice I can give is to feed them when you take off or land (to help with their ears) & try to plan flights during nap times. Another thing we learned is for just one of you to take advantage of priority boarding with your stroller/carseat/bags (if you are traveling with both parents of course) & to have the other person stay off the plane with the baby until the last minute. (We had her sit on our laps, not in her carseat on the plane since she was so young) Sitting on the plane waiting for others to board can add another 15-30 minutes to your time spent in your seat! Last time, Brandon went ahead with our bags & got everything situated, while Harper & I walked around a little longer & grabbed a snack. Then we waited until the very end to board & it helped so much.

I think that just about covers it, feel free to ask any questions in the comments section & I will do my best to answer or update the post! 🙂