We did our fair share of driving during July with the girls and with great success I think. It may have taken awhile to plan, pack and ready the car but it was all worth it considering how the trips played out. I have a few suggestions for those who are thinking about long rides with the kiddos...
1.Plan- what do you need...and what DON'T you need. If there is a washer and dryer think about packing less clothes...and the kids don't need ALL their toys from home.
2.Pack smart- This trip I used clear storage bins for 'luggage'...I needed them to pack up the clothes the girls grew out of and figured I would use their easy packable size/shape for the trip. When I pack now, esp. with the girls I pack with themes in mind. For instance my packing list has different sections, sleeping, eating, playing, bathing, etc. and when I actually gather the items for each specific 'section' I pack them together. I had a small makeup like bag and put all of the kids bath items in there, shampoo, toys, washcloth, cream. There was a small box for items needed in the kitchen, kids plates, sippy cups, spoons, snacks...and the packing list continued from there. Keep like things together- life will be easier.
3. Backseat- In our backseat we had a cooler placed so it could be opened by the passenger. We also had a bag of snacks for kids and adults, another for kids toys/books/entertainment, and a 3rd for diapers, wipes, and cream.
When packing food for toddlers it was tricky of thinking what to do since 90%+ of what the girls eat is fresh and finger food which isn't always easy on the road so I bought Plum Organics food pouches which was a great success! If needed we could feed the girls in the car with a spoon, but if you train the kids they can drink the pouches* and life will be that much easier. We also brought fresh blueberries which were a big hit and not really messy- perfect car snack for the trips.
After driving 10 hours to South Carolina and then another 7+ to North Carolina I feel like we are experienced travelers with toddlers and more importantly our toddlers are experienced travelers and they were amazing! We couldn't have asked for better passengers and I could not have asked for a better husband! He had those girls laughing and happy whenever they were getting bored or antsy-High Fives were a HUGE hit!
Travel safely this summer! and don't forget the snacks :)
*There is a learning curve to these pouches...I would not recommend giving your child these as a drink your first time out in a car :) It will most likely end up with a mess!
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