The reality of what a lot of family photos look like
When you become a family, lots of different aspects of your life change completely. The way we travel is just one of these things. To begin with, we only traveled short distances so we had to sell our swift little city car for a bigger one that would fit all of us in. We had to get used to having a big car, learn how to get car insurance for such a large vehicle, and make a few changes to our garage to make it fit, but it was worth it in the end! It’s much roomier and safer to have our big car – plus it means we can travel a lot more often!
You know what is one of the best parts about traveling with kids is? The memories made. You know what is one of the worst parts about traveling with kids? Almost everything else. Ok, I kid- I kid. But in all honesty, traveling with kids is not always the easiest thing. It is worth it, and it is {im assuming} going to get easier the older they get. But for now? Well, at the ages ours are at- it is kinda hard.
We just did a two week vacation in California with the kids. It can be hard to decide where to go with all the options around (like those on rentalcloud.com, for instance), but we decided on the sunny shores in the end. The first week was with other friends, and the second week was with Jeremy’s family. Jeremy couldn’t meet us out there until the first week was almost over, but I had my amazing best friend Melissa out there to help with Bray and Winston {she was a lifesaver- thank you Mel!} There were a few things I had anticipated going in to this trip, and prepared for well..and there were a few things that totally threw me for a loop!
First things first- don’t have any expectations. SERIOUSLY. Don’t go in to it thinking that anything in particular is going to happen. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst {yes that sounds dramatic, but kids are drama aren’t they?!} I went in to each day of the trip hoping that it would be full of some fun things, but also expecting there to be a few melt downs and a decent amount of tears. Unless your kids are well seasoned travelers, change is kinda hard for them. Sleeping in a new space, not having their things, new surroundings, etc. can be overwhelming for any kid {or adult, heck!}
Bring things that comfort them. Make sure you bring any blankie, paci, white noise maker, etc. I brought all the exact things that they use when going to sleep, including Brays night light. This made the transition to different environments a little bit easier on them. To help your baby fall asleep in their new surroundings, you could always try showing them some fun songs online on an iPad for example. This might be enough to tire them out and get them to eventually fall asleep, allowing you to have some peace!
Have a few new toys or snacks for car trips/flights. I had this amazing Color Wonder Travel tote for Bray, and he loved it. Color Wonder markers are the best because they are clear, but show up on paper, and the paper is clipped to a board {that also holds the pens}. I also got an Ipad holder that attached to my headrest. I downloaded two new movies that he had never seen, and he listened to them with these headphones. If your kids aren’t in to watching a movie more than once, then you can also Rent a movie from iTunes for around $4. It allows you to download it whenever {so we downloaded them while at home with Wifi}, and then once you hit play you have 24 hours of viewing. That was a great option for us because one movie is around $18 to buy, but we never know if it will hold Brays attention, so we love the rental option. I also got a new Melissa and Doug reusable sticker pad for him. He loves these at home, so I figured it would make him happy in the car. If you’re running out of time to source, buy, and download a film online, I’m not saying you should but it’s worth bearing in mind that Pirate Bay still exists – despite what you may have heard about it being blocked and censored. Many don’t feel comfortable but, for others, it’s a legitimate option for consuming digital content on the go.
If traveling by car, attempt to time it with naps. Now this could backfire if your kid doesn’t nap in the car, but for most- it will be great! Winston still naps twice a day, and Bray once, so we left in the morning right before Winston usually goes down for his first nap. He slept for about 1 1/2 hours, was up for 2 1/2, and then slept the rest of the way till we arrived! Brays nap overlapped with Winstons as normal, so we had a few hours of peace and quiet!
Expect for their sleep to be messed up. If you are a parent who loves/lives by a schedule, let it go! Try and keep a routine the best you can, but don’t stress when they go to bed a little late, or nap shorter {or longer} than normal. ALSO- and this is HUGE- don’t be surprised if your baby wakes up at the butt crack of dawn if they are sharing a room with you. Winston doesn’t share a room with us at home, but these two weeks he did. He normally sleeps 7-7 at home, but man oh man- on this trip he would wake up on average at 5:45, but a lot of mornings as freaking early as 4:20!!*#($&@@ Yes, FOUR TWENTY. I didn’t even such a thing was possible. I am not going to lie, it sucked. Real bad! He would stir and wake up a little, and then see us, and think- “hey- lets start the day NOW!” We couldn’t let him cry or even really talk too much because we were all in close quarters, so we didn’t want him waking everyone else. We tried our best to rotate who took the morning duty of getting him out of the house ASAP, and going for a run, walk, get breakfast {you know- when places opened two hours later!ahhh!}. And then we would return to the house when everyone else would be getting up, and Winston would be ready for his nap! The good news here is that he just needed to be back home to be back to normal. The first morning back home he woke again at 5pm and I let him fuss for about 30 minutes and he went back to sleep till 7:15. Next morning he slept straight through to 7! Glorious!!
If staying in a house, bring monitors and a portable highchair. I loved having our monitors in the homes we were in for not only Jeremy and I to see that the kids were asleep, but also the couple of times we got to go on a date- the babysitter/family didn’t have to do anything other than check the cameras! Also, Winston still sits in a highchair {obviously- hes only 1:) } so having our favorite Ingelsina Fast Table Chair with us to attach wherever we went was so convenient!!
Lastly, know that you are making amazing memories with your kids- and have a glass or two of wine!
