How to Survive and Thrive Your First Family Road Trip Adventure with a baby!

We may have mentioned before, we definitely do not have the perfect Facebook baby. Knowing that travel is a major part of our life, we thought we’d give it a try at trying to plan a trip with our 7-month-old, at the time. As Ray still had a few more U.S. States to check off his bucket list, and to escape some of the Florida summer heat, we thought we’d try a trip up north on a road trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Being that this was our first travel experience with our little guy, we did not know exactly what to expect, besides potentially a much harder trip than we’d normally have. We definitely got more than we bargained for. However, we were smart enough to bring along an extra pair of experienced hands, my mum.

We packed everything we could think of that our little one may need to try and keep his home routine as similar as possible, on the road. We planned a very slow-going itinerary, different from our typical, push it as hard as possible kind of usual trip, like our 1-day in Paris trip. We chose to fly to our first destination and then rented a one-way car to get us the rest of the way. Luke got his wings on Sun Country Airlines. To our misfortune, our little guy struggled greatly with his first flight, which started by boarding first, along with being stationary on the plane with the plane’s AC turned off while on the tarmac. He cried for close to half of the flight. On the way back, we did not make the same mistake, but still had plenty of tears.

Road trip-wise, he did well overall, napping throughout the day in the car. He would often cry until he fell asleep, with my mum trying to sing and entertain him in the back seat. Trying to plan pit stops around naps can present another logistical challenge when traveling. We had to book a few pre-planned tours, and that meant it could be during nap time. We ended up being on a boat tour in Voyageurs National Park during which Luke needed a nap. It was exceptionally difficult as it was too bright and loud for Luke, who is used to his usual dark and quiet nap environment. However, pacing in the baby carrier, and with a blanket draped over us both, he eventually succumbed to his nap. Again, travelling with little ones is not without its challenges. They do say that the earlier you travel with them, the better and more accustomed they get. But at this moment in time, we unfortunately do not have a flyer!

We made sure to stop frequently during the road trip to provide stretch breaks and get out of the car, which is exceptionally important for little ones. In Minnesota, we found the following activities manageable in one day, with a little one: the Mall of America, Minnehaha Regional Park, and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. By manageable, we mean that Luke was too hot when we started to walk around the sculpture garden, so we had a faster-than-intended visit, and split into two groups so some could spend a little longer in the park, while others enjoyed the AC in the car. By the time we got to the regional park, the little guy had fallen asleep, so we took a tag-team partner approach to go see the falls. This is why having more people with you is better, to be able to tag-team with someone, rather than seeing the falls with each parent going solo. By tag team, we mean switching. One of us would stay with him, and then we would switch.

On top of the logistics surrounding traveling with little ones, we experienced the fun of everything going wrong in a day, with all our attraction sites in Wisconsin being unexpectedly closed, and then finding out one of our hotels was hit by a tornado and was now inoperable, and needing to find another hotel at the last minute. You never know what a trip is going to bring, so being flexible and quick-thinking can help prevent disasters, like having to drive through the night with no hotel to stay at. Thankfully, we found another suitable location for our last-minute accommodation need.

We also added Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Wind Cave National Park to our itinerary. We tackled TRNP in two days, knowing how big it is. Another fun curveball we had to navigate was our little guy not enjoying sitting and waiting for a herd of Buffalo to cross the road. We had to stop for the herd during his nap, for about 30 minutes, and the lack of motion caused him to wake up, and he was very upset until we could move again. This is why, in the middle of nowhere, sometimes screen time can save the day.

We weren’t sure how the little guy would do for the Wind Cave tour, so we booked the shortest and easiest level tour possible, and he went in the baby carrier. He overall did pretty well, but didn’t care for the excessive stopping, which is expected with a large group, and some of the areas were a little dark for him. But was it doable? Absolutely! We just had to keep him moving the entire time to keep him happy. A lot more effort is involved in trying to pack sightseeing into a road trip with a little one, but you can still make it doable and enjoyable, as long as you go at a slow pace. Just be ready to pivot at any point or tag-team when needed, and you can work through most of the kinks. Our main equipment that helped greatly for the Wind Cave tour was putting our son in a baby carrier. My husband, Ray, usually carries him around and loves our Infantino Carry On Baby Carrier. It is sturdy, and its unisex design allows both of us to use it. Check it out here.

Family Travel Tip: Bring as many pairs of extra hands with you as possible. When flying, have one person with the baby board LAST, while the rest of your party takes the bags and gets on board the plane. This gives your little one less time stuck in a specific spot, as planes can take a long time to board, close the doors, and get moving. During this time, the plane may also not have full power, so if it’s hot, your baby will get overheated and agitated quickly.

Wellness Tip: On road trips, make sure you stop every 2-4 hours, depending on the age of your child. The younger they are, the more frequent stops you need to plan for, to get them out of the car seat from their scrunched-up position. We were grateful we took our Evenflo Shyft Dual Ride with us, as the app it comes with, notified us to stop and take breaks. Follow this link if you would like to learn more about this travel car seat. If possible, also take a picnic blanket or tummy time mat with you, to give the baby a chance to stretch their little arms and legs and play.