Sharing our best newborn road trip tips & essentials to help you feel prepared and at ease for your trip!
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Planning a road trip with a newborn? The newborn phase is one of my favorite times to travel because newborns sleep A LOT!
Yes, you will have to stop more often and it will take longer to get to your final destination, but the motion and sounds of the moving car will *hopefully* soothe your little one to sleep for the majority of your trip.
I have taken multiple road trips with all three of my babies. My oldest had his first road trip at 10 weeks, my second at 4 weeks, and my third at 2 weeks!
I am sharing my best tips and essentials for your road trip with a newborn so you will feel more confident, prepared, and ready to hit the road with your baby!
11 Tips for Your Road Trip with a Newborn
1. Talk to Your Pediatrician
I am not a doctor – just sharing what has worked well for my family. Make sure to talk with your pediatrician if you have any concerns about taking a road trip with your newborn or have any questions.
Our pediatrician told us to take our baby out of the car seat every 2-3 hours (at minimum). Most newborns need to eat every couple of hours anyway, so it is good to plan on letting your baby eat, burp, and get a diaper change every 2-3 hours.
2. Schedule Oil Change/Service Car If Needed
Make sure your car is up to date with an oil change and address any issues or other maintenance before you hit the road.
No one wants to deal with car troubles during a road trip, especially when you have a newborn to take care of on top of it. Sometimes it’s inevitable, but do what you can before you leave to reduce your chances of having car troubles during the trip.
Renting a car is always an option too if you don’t feel comfortable taking your car on a long trip.
3. Make Sure Your Car Seat is Properly Installed
Car seats can be complicated! Most car seat companies have installation videos on their websites that can be super helpful.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends your child’s car seat be rear-facing in the back seat “for as long as possible”. I kept my kids rear-facing until age 2/2.5, but I have some friends who waited until age 4 to turn their kids forward.
Many communities have local resources for getting your baby’s car seat checked to make sure it is installed properly and you are buckling your baby in correctly.
Click here to learn more about how you can get your car seat inspected
4. Practice Taking Baby on Car Rides Before Your Trip
Practice running errands or taking short drives around town to get your newborn used to riding in the car. Test out changing a diaper on the go.
This extra “practice” will likely make you feel more comfortable and more at ease when it is time for your big road trip!
TIPS FOR DIAPER CHANGES ON THE GO!
- Get a portable changing pad with room to store diapers, wipes, and diaper cream. When you it’s time to change a diaper, you have everything you need.
- Bring plenty of diapers and wipes – many newborns go through 8-12 diapers per day, To play it safe, I pack about 15 per day during the newborn stage. So take 15 x # of days staying. If you don’t want to pack that many diapers, bring enough for the first couple of days, and you can buy more throughout the trip.
- Pack disposable diaper sacks to contain smelly diapers if you don’t have a place to throw them away right away. This will keep the car from smelling like a big dirty diaper. These bags are nice to use in hotel rooms as well!
- Where to change your baby on a road trip? You can try to find a gas station or rest area with a changing station, but I prefer to spread my changing pad out on one of the car seats, on the hood of the car, or on the ground.
5. Keep Eyes on Baby
You will want to monitor your newborn throughout the road trip. Don’t feel like you need to have your eyes glued on the baby the entire trip, just make sure to check in often.
You can plan to have one adult sit in the back next to the baby while another one drives. Or you could use a car mirror or car camera monitor to keep eyes on baby from the front seat.
6. Have an “Easy Access” Bag or Caddy
Pack a diaper bag or car caddy with essentials that you will need to access frequently during the road trip. Keep these in a handy spot so you can easily grab what you need throughout the road trip.
What to pack in your easy-access road trip bag:
- Snacks
- Drinks
- Wallet/ID/navigation and travel documents
- Medication
- Chargers – phone, watch, etc.
- Electronics (phone, headphones, iPad, etc.)
- Entertainment – books, magazines, notepad/pen, road trip games (this is one of our favorites)
- Wet wipes/napkins
- Kleenex
- Change of clothes
- Diapers/wipes
- Burp rags
- Pacifiers
- Swaddle Blanket
- Baby Travel Entertainment – newborns don’t need much entertainment, but a little rattle, crinkly toy, or mirror could be fun!
7. Use a Car Seat Liner
A car seat liner can save you a big headache and some serious time if your sweet little newborn decides to have a blowout during your road trip.
There are many times I wished I had been using a car seat liner – both with my newborns and my potty-training toddlers.
Just make sure that the liner is approved to work with your car seat – some brands sell liners designed specifically for safe use with their particular car seats.
8. Plan for Regular Breaks
As mentioned earlier, it is good to get your newborn out of the car seat frequently. It is best to stop any time baby needs to eat whether you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding.
We tried to give our baby a bottle in his car seat during our first road trip as new parents. We were trying to save time, but it backfired. He had horrible gas (I’m because of how he was positioned in the car seat while eating?) and was screaming inconsolably for the first 30 minutes after we checked into our hotel room for the night. We learned our lesson!
Plan on a diaper change, feeding, and some snuggles every couple of hours throughout your road trip. And remember, it is good for YOU to get out, stretch your legs, and go to the bathroom every couple of hours too. 🙂
TIPS FOR FEEDING ON THE GO
- If bottle feeding, bring a thermos of hot water to warm bottles in, or consider getting a portable bottle warmer. If you’re in a pinch, sometimes Starbucks or other restaurants will provide hot water for you to heat a bottle.
- This little portable drying rack and bottle brush set is super helpful for cleaning bottles, pacifiers, and pump parts on the go!
- These sterilizer bags can be reused many times and provide a quick and easy way to sterilize anything that will be going in your newborn’s mouth.
- I love this pump bag for taking my pump/pump supplies on the go.
- If you are breastfeeding and want privacy in public, use a swaddle blanket or one of these versatile nursing covers.
9. Pack a Cooler with Snacks, Drinks, & Milk/Formula
If you don’t want to load up on fast food and gas station snacks, consider packing food and drinks in a little cooler that you can access throughout the road trip.
A cooler or a portable refrigerator can help keep breastmilk or formula cold if needed as well.
10. Be Flexible With Your Travel Plans
It might take you longer to get to your destination than anticipated, but it will be ok!
If you get too tired, find a place to rest or stay for the night, even if your original plan was to drive further that day. It is much better to deal with a change of plans rather than risk falling asleep while driving.
If your baby is fussy and just needs some time to snuggle or be out of the car, then find a park or somewhere nice to stop and relax for a bit.
Try to enjoy the journey and find the good in each stop rather than rushing to the final destination.
11. Take Care of Yourself
I know this is easier said than done with a newborn, but make sure that you feel well-rested so you are alert and awake while driving. If you are driving with another adult, try to take turns driving, so one of you can nap or rest and relax while the other drives.
Make sure you are staying hydrated and fueled too! It can be easy to forget to eat or drink enough water when you are taking care of a newborn. Set reminders on your phone or use a water-tracking app (I like Waterllama) – whatever it takes to make sure you’re taking care of yourself!
I hope you have the best time on your road trip with a newborn!
Wishing you safe & happy travels with your tiny traveler!