Road Tripping with a Toddler

Traveling with a baby can be overwhelming—especially if you’re exclusively pumping! Luckily, I’ve broken everything down on how to travel (by plane or car) while still sticking to your pump schedule, maintaining supply, and enjoying your vacation in a guide that costs about the same (or honestly less, in this economy) as a coffee + sweet treat. You snag it (and some cute shirts!) here.

Now, let’s switch gears. I’m breaking down how we traveled with our sleep-environment-sensitive toddler on his 5th road trip in under two years!

Granted, this was only about a 3.5-hour drive, we stayed in-state, and there was no time zone change—but I still learned a few things along the way that might help if you’re in this season of life too.

What I Used to Pack

Storage bins. Yep, the same big plastic tubs you grab at Home Depot or Costco for holiday décor. Game. Changer.

Now, I know not everyone can do this depending on car size or how much you’re hauling, but if you can fit them—highly recommend. Everything was so much easier to load, unload, and organize.

Here’s what else I used:

• This set of packing cubes for me
• This set of packing cubes for my toddler
• This Ikea drawer organizer (not for clothes—wait until you see how I used it for toddler electronics!)
• This hanging toiletry bag (once a pump bag, now back to toiletries for me)
• This makeup bag (another former pump bag, now my toddler’s toiletry kit because it keeps everything contained)
• My Sarah Wells Allie bag + Sarah Wells Norah backpack
• These toiletry/makeup bags for toys + books
• Ziplocs (always, always Ziplocs)
  

What Was on the Packing List

To keep everything straight, I use AnyList. My husband and I share a toddler list so we can both double/triple-check what’s packed for our little guy. I love it because you can customize categories!

Each of us got a bin, then we added one extra for dry food. We also brought a soft cooler and a smaller hard cooler for cold items.

We stayed at a gorgeous VRBO courtesy of my in laws, which we prefer over hotels so our toddler has his own room. He’s never liked room-sharing—even as a baby, he slept better separately. If you want to read up on how we dealt with a sleep sensitive toddler, you can read up on that here.

Here’s what went into his tub:

• Clothes/shoes (organized in these packing cubes)
• Camera/monitor, camera stand/clip, sound machine, and water cup he keeps in his crib
• Diapers (regular pack + one size up for night—skip the “nighttime” marketing gimmick)
• Wipes
• Blackout Pack ’n Play cover
• Travel blackout curtains
• Toiletries (packed in makeup bag turned pump bag)
• Thick jacket that wouldn’t fit in cubes
• His lovey
• Toys, books, and his Tonie (which we didn’t use, but packed anyway)
  

Here’s what went into my tub:

• Clothes (in compression packing cubes)
• Shoes at the bottom
• My trusty hanging toiletry bag (GOAT status—also a great pump bag)
• Toiletries + fertility tracking items (because infertility doesn’t take vacation)
• Cord/electronics organizer (same set I used for my toddler)
• Sunscreen + my sunscreen brush (we were at elevation—sunburns sneak up quick!)

For the car ride:

We love these Melli snack boxes, paired with a Munchkin snack cup to keep things somewhat mess-free. Snacks started in the Melli box, then got transferred to the cup. We also packed his favorite First 100 books, busy toys, and a Potty Training Elmo he grabbed secondhand and is now obsessed with.

We timed the drive with nap time and he slept about 2 of the 3.5 hours. When he was smaller, we’d plan stops around feedings and stretching, but this time he was content, so other than a quick snack grab—we drove straight through. He did amazing!

💡 Pumping tip: Time your stops around pump sessions so you can feed fresh milk right away and worry less about storage.

Toddler Proofing the VRBO

Something you might want to consider is bringing baby/toddler proofing items with you to wherever you’re staying. After a few nights at a friend’s house that was not toddler proofed, we realized having a travel set of these items really come in handy. 

The house we were staying in was three levels and had two sets of stairs. And since we happen to have a toddler who likes to make lightning-fast moves, we brought the following:

• Baby gates — we’ve collected a variety from Nellis Auction
• Plug covers
• Cabinet locks
  

Soak Up What You Can

Whether it’s a 2 hour trip or a road trip broken up over a few days, it’s not impossible and just takes some planning! Remember to give yourself grace and be as flexible as you can with stops and breaks. Is every trip going to be perfect? No! That would be unrealistic to have that expectation of ourselves or our toddlers! BUT! Our toddlers are more resilient than we think and honestly, so are we. Even if your trip doesn’t go exactly as planned, the memories are going to be worth it!

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