Trailer Wife

Our trip was well over 2,200 miles long - from Oregon to Alaska - which meant at least six long days in the wretched confines of the car. Gus was only 11 months old when we struck out, but he is a very active kid, thus the following could apply well into the toddler years.

1. A comfortable car seat is a MUST. We decided on the Maxi Cosi Priori because it didn't cost a fortune, has superior safety features and a 3 setting recline (SO great for naptimes!). These car seats are much more popular in the UK (where we had spent the last 2 years prior to our trip), but can be easily found online at good prices. A dark color is smart, since you will undoubtedly experience a few spills (baby-expelled and otherwise) on the road. We also took and old towel, cut a few well placed holes, and lined the seat for added protection and absorbency. Retails around 179.00.

2. Unless you want to do serious damage to your upholstery/leather, I strongly suggest the Eddie Bauer Car Seat Protector. It covers the seat without bunching or gumming up the buckles, and has nifty pockets that hang down for easy access - that's where we kept the sippy cup, wipes and spare pacifiers. We bought ours at Target for $14.99.

*E.Bauer also makes great sun screens for baby's window. We bought two to overlap and were glad we did.

3. Contrary to what you might think, you can't always find restaurants with high chairs - especially in small towns. And often, the travel snap-on seats are very difficult to install on the fly (contrary to their advertisement). So we brought a free-standing, collapsalbe high chair, which proved invaluable when long stretches of barren landscape left us with no option but to pull over and feed Gus out of the cooler. We found a great option at Ikea - the legs snap on and off and the seat is small enough to stow just about anywhere. Add a tray and you're set. All told, $25.00 and well worth it.

4. A couple of open-topped baskets saved us from constantly rooting around in diaper bags and grocery sacks. I just set two of them - one for snacks and beverages and the other for toys and books - on the floor of the back seat where they were easy to reach. Easy to replenish from larger stores in the trunk or hatch and super convenient to bring with you into hotel rooms. Make sure they are sturdy though, or you'll have a hell of a time grappling it and the contents with one hand, with your rugrat in the other. I found mine at a garage sale, but these would have worked just as well. $20.00 for two.

5. Believe me, when you finally reach the hotel at the end of your day, no matter how tired the kid is, you'll want to give them a bath. We brought a few of his normal toys and chucked them into a nylon mesh stuff sack along with his shampoo, toothbrush and after-bath lotion. That way, we could pop them all back in post-bath, and let the bag hang on the shower head overnight to dry out. Also, it keeps everything you need in one place so you don't spend maddening minutes trying to locate the rubber ducky before baby loses his mind. We bought ours for $14.99 at REI (but cheaper versions surely available elsewhere).

1. A few days (or even weeks) before your trip, take a few of baby's favorite toys and hide them away. Then, dole them out one by one (it was better for us not to give Gus many options) and it will be like Christmas again. I even bought a few special road-trip toys for him to experience along the way. But honestly - the most popular/distracting thing he played with was a half empty water bottle. Go figure.

2. Set up a changing station in the back of your car. We took an inflatable mat from Ikea and set it up atop the ice chest, with wipes handy. And seriously - change the baby EVERY time you stop. The last thing you need is a diaper rash en route. Take it from me.

3. Plan for colds, bites and invading molars. We had been waiting for Gus' top teeth to come in for months. And wouldn't you know it, they decide to tear through his tender gums on day three of our trip. Luckily, I had packed a see-through zippered bag with all of his baby Tylenol, Orogel, and other in-case meds (calomine lotion, baby zertec, decongestant rub, thermometer). Might also be a good idea to throw some teethers into the cooler - if nothing else they will be a nice distraction from the cramped, stuffy ride.

4. Position the car seat behind the passenger. This seems counter-intuitive, since you'd have easier access across the car (behind the driver). But it's actually a shorter distance to reach (albeit, there is some spine-twisting involved), and worst-case-scenario, you have to crawl into the back seat, it'll be much more manageable.

5. Hydrate! I repeat, Hydrate! The biggest concern for traveling babies is dehydration. We bought several sippy cups, mixed water with low-sugar apple juice, and stuck them into his face every fifteen minutes or so. Even then, Gus was none-too-interested most of the time, and had to be seriously persuaded to imbibe. Unfortunately for us, he ended up with the potty-trots, as my southern godmother calls that particular condition, (exacerbated by teething, causing a diaper rash and Mommy's slow decline into insanity), which was, in a word, horrific. We eventually managed to get him back on track with a bottle filled with water, ice chips, and fun but messy sips through a straw.

1. Fruit Overdose. If you're experience was anything like ours, you'll find yourself in a constant meal-time standoff. Gus was just too aggravated and uncomfortable to want to eat anything but... you guessed it, fruit. And it's a super easy/portable/basically mess-free food, so we gave in for the first couple of days. I'm sure this contributed to the potty trots. Be sure to provide a nice assortment of bland foods. What worked for us: Gerber Graduates L'il Crunchies, boiled and chopped sweet potatoes, and Babybel cheese rounds.

2. Overheating. Gus is a hot baby and will regularly sweat through his T-shirts on long stroller/car seat rides. Even when the AC is blasting, I would lift him out and find him steaming. So I suggest picking out light, cotton traveling clothes, the afore-mentioned towel liner in the car seat, and socks to keep in your handy side pockets. That way baby won't have to suffer a sticky back AND chilly toes.

3. Leaving your schedule behind. If at all possible, I highly recommend keeping baby's sleep schedule intact while on the road. We managed this the first four days, but abandoned it when the fever to reach our destination took over. Let me tell you, Gus noticed. Not only did he sleep more fitfully, he also woke MUCH earlier. Say, 5:00 AM, on the mornings when he'd got to bed late the night before. And then he was a Holy Terror the next day. So if at all possible, decide that you will drive X hours a day, plan your route to allow for stops just prior to dinner time, and give the kid a play break, bath, and normal bedtime routine. This means you'll have to tiptoe around the hotel room for an hour or so, but you'll be glad you did.

4. Rest-Stop bathrooms. 'Nough said.

5. Other children. Kids are great, love 'em, blah blah blah. But seriously, they are small harbingers of disease and disaster, and will set your baby on a fast-track to misery in a vomit-mobile if you're not careful. They can make friends when you get to where you are going. Is that harsh? Eh.