Do you remember that scene in Titanic where everybody is boarding the ship and the baggage is being loaded? Enormous amounts of steamer trunks, suitcases, hatboxes, and even cars are piled onto the ship. This is what it feels like to pack for a short trip with a small child.
I’ve just finished packing myself and my son – the husband packed himself – for a three-day vacation in Vermont. I am dripping in sweat, my mind is racing, and I can’t remember if we packed the nasal aspirator.
Though it can be overwhelming, after doing this a couple of times, I feel like I’ve got it a bit more under control. Here are a few tips and tricks if you’re planning your first road trip with your baby.
1. Make a list.
I am a HUGE fan of lists. It’s a great way to keep track of those things that pop into your mind (like last night when I was watching “Chopped” and scrawled “Don’t forget sippy cups” on my list) and to make sure you can tick through items by item as you put things in bags.
I like to write down the number of each type of item I am bringing – i.e., “five short sleeve shirts, three long sleeves” – as I find it stops me from overpacking when grabbing things out of the drawers.
On my list, I sort things by the bags they’re going in: clothes in a suitcase (usually with mine – remember that babies don’t need their own suitcase!); sippy cups, toys, and books in another; diapers, wipes, and toiletries in another; and so on. This helps me find things once we reach our destination. I also bring the list to make sure everything I pack on one end comes home with us.
2. Create a “staging area.”
Rather than move things directly from dresser to bag, I like to lay everything out in one space so I can re-count things and cross-check from my list, confirm that there’s nothing that can be weeded out, and make sure it’s all folded as small and neatly as possible.
3. Prepare for the inevitable, but not the unlikely.
This is another thing that keeps me from overpacking. For example, my son will inevitably smear hummus from his lunch all over his shirt one day, and we’ll need an extra. It’s unlikely that it will happen daily, so I don’t need too many spares.
4. Something’s gotta give.
We have an SUV with a big trunk and a roof rack, but once we load in the stroller, the Pack’ n’ Play, and the baby gates we’re bringing to childproof my parents’ house in Vermont, there’s very little room left. So I’ve had to choose a few things to leave at home.
There’s no tub at my parent’s house, but rather than pack our baby tub – which takes up a ton of space – I’m hoping my son will handle a sponge bath or shower (or maybe we can rinse him off in the lake?). He loves his farm toy, but rather than try and pack the whole thing; I am bringing the sheep and the cow and figuring we’ll make a makeshift barn out of pillows and our imagination – plus, there will be actual farms to visit!
5. Don’t forget yourself!
I am a (slightly reformed) terrible over-packer who almost never forgot to bring a thing pre-baby. Since becoming a mom and having my mind filled with remembering my son’s sweatshirt and nail clippers, I’ve forgotten my glasses, pajamas, and, on one memorable trip, my hair care products.
You have to know me and how frizzy my hair can get to truly appreciate the seriousness of this situation. I thought I had everything under control for this last trip until I sat down to write this post and realized I’d forgotten my bathing suit.
6. Remember your safety net.
Unless you’re going camping or to a very remote location, you’ll likely be near a supermarket and a drugstore when you arrive at your vacation spot. If I don’t bring enough diapers, I’ll be able to run out and get some. Is it ideal? No. Is it better than bringing the 250-count box of diapers? Certainly.
Like everything with having little ones, I have learned about packing for a trip through trial and error. It took bringing ten spare onesies I didn’t need last year to learn I only needed a couple of t-shirts this year, and it took forgetting the diaper ointment to learn that I should always remember it going forward.
I try not to let anything I forget ruin our time, and I hope my husband – our family Sherpa – doesn’t mind the unnecessarily heavy bags too much. After all, the packing is just step one – we’ve got a whole vacation ahead of us!
Funny you should post this today. We’re taking a week long trip in August and I just started to think about packing for A a couple nights before. My brother doesn’t have kids, so we’ll need to take just about anything A is going to need. Perhaps, after this, I should pare down my list.