My must haves for road trippin!

If you have been following along you know we just took a 9 hour drive to Florida to visit my sister. I was so worried that my normally happy car rider would be restless and I would be trapped in the car with an unhappy monster. I put a lot of thought in to scenarios and tried to plan for them as best I could.

So if you are planning a long road trip in the future and need some helpful tips for travel....take a peek!
Keep in mind these are all recommendations for items you may need while travelling to your destination.

1.) DVD player - Highly recommended for children 1 and older on longer trips. Suggestion, bring more than one of your child's fav DVD!!!! I am ready to knock Muno's block off, and will poke my eyes out if I have to see Elijah Woods dancey dance one more time!!!!!
TIP- Don't want to spend the $ for a portable player? Do you have a laptop? If my frugal mommies answered yes, buy one of these converters(about $25) and use your laptop in the car as a portable DVD player instead!

              


2.)New toys- I bought a few little things and had them in a special bag waiting for the perfect whine fest opportunity. Worked every time!!! I had a bounce and giggle cow, light up egg wand, a new pirate rubber duck(she is obsessed with ducks) and bubbles.

3.) Blanket- super soft cozy one to cuddle..in the car and at your destination.(see next picture)

4.) A favorite toy or two- We brought her pal Violet, because she likes to play with her everyday and it provided that familiar feeling in new places. We also packed a book for her to chew/read.
TIP- I recommend the indestructible's I bought at target. Baby can chomp, crinkle, and try to rip but to no avail..those books are awesome- even more so bc they are non toxic and washable!!





5.) Snacks- Variety is key! We had organic gummy fruit snacks, dried fruit, gold fish, granola, some teddy grahams, and lunch/dinner item's depending on planned travel times.




6.) Small Cooler- I packed a thermos of her juice, 2 sippies of milk, and a bottle of water to mix with her juice.(I had 2 soda cans for me in there too). This conveniently compact cooler was perfect!





7.) Diaper disposal bags  When I had to change her in the car the disposal bags came in handy- and doubled as trash bags for left over lunch crumbs and wrappers.



8.) Changing pad/receiving blanket- You never know when or where you will end up changing a diaper. I saw some horrific things in those public restrooms. Don't risk getting stuck in a dirty bathroom fresh out of changing table covers!




9.) Pacifier clip- If your kiddo uses one of course..I forgot mine and I can't tell you how many times I had to  reach break my back/arm/neck trying to find it- learn from my mistake!


10.) Umbrella stroller with optional canopy- Let's face it you are going to need the space for all the over packing you did. Annnd you never know when you want to make a pit stop. Came in handy for us!
Tip- they don't cost much to begin with so spend the extra $10 and get one with a canopy. I can attatch or detattch it so easily depending on the weather.

Please excuse the fact that my daughter picked out Yoda of all the stuffed animals in the bin!