First Time Traveling with a Toddler
I’m sure we’ve all heard and/or read plenty of horror stories of traveling with toddlers and kids; it’s certainly not easy. Adam and I love traveling, though, so we decided we were up for the challenge and planned our first trip with Jack. Not only was it a trip – it was a road trip. We decided to drive from NJ up to New England, with stops in Providence, RI, Portland, ME, and Boston, MA. Read on to find out what was good about the trip, what was “bad” (really, nothing was that bad!) and what I think we should do differently next time.
THE GOOD:
My favorite photo from vacation is a blurry selfie in Fenway Park
Being away from work and home as a family and getting to spend more time than usual together.
We did AirBnB instead of hotels; this meant there was a room we could put Jack in for sleep, shut the door, and then have time for just Adam and I to spend together. If we were in a hotel, this wouldn’t have worked out so well. I know this as a fact because our place in Providence did not have a door between the bedroom and living room and Jack would not go to sleep. We wound up calling it an early night and snuggling with him in bed (plus more, which I will mention below in the bad).
We made a last minute decision to bring our jogger along with the umbrella stroller, and thank god we did! We went to a baseball game in Fenway and had to walk across Boston and back in the umbrella stroller and it was not a good ride for Jack – super bumpy! Also the umbrella stroller have does not have a 5-point restraint, so he may have gotten some minor whiplash when I hit a few curbs :/ !!
I brought a reusable shopping bag of toys and rotated what was in the diaper bag each day to keep Jack amused.
We didn’t make a schedule other than where we had to be to check in and check out. Jack’s schedule was SO off his norm that not having a schedule worked out for us, because we could just do what we wanted to do whenever and we didn’t have to worry about missing things we’ve paid for or having a cranky toddler to deal with while trying to do an activity.
We scheduled our travel around Jack’s usual nap schedule, which actually worked perfectly with checkout times. Jack usually goes down for his nap between 11am-12pm, so with checkout being at 11, we could hop in the car and he would inevitably fall asleep on the ride.
THE BAD:
This AirBnB was SO cute, but having no door between the living room and bedroom was definitely not toddler-friendly. I’d high recommend this place if you’re traveling without kids, though!!
Jack puked all over himself twice. We’re not sure if it was motion sickness, the eggs benedict he stole from me from my mother’s day breakfast, or a possibly expired pouch, but at one point we pulled into a parking lot to run into a store and we both said it was weird that it smelled like cheese…. And then when we opened the door to look at Jack, he was covered in puke. We had to completely change him, and then he was again covered in puke when we got to our reservation in Providence, and we had to completely change him again (though we did have washers in some of our AirBnB’s, which is another good bullet point!). The puke-clothes stunk, though, and lead to some editing of Wiggles songs from Big Red Car to Hot Cheese Car.
As I mentioned above, we did not have a door between the living room and bedroom in our first place. While I was snuggling with Jack and still trying to attempt to get him to fall asleep by himself, he ran from the bedroom into the living room and pulled a glass off the table, shattering it on his foot. HE IS OK! But, going forward we will definitely be packing a first aid kit…. He was bleeding ALL. OVER. and surprisingly (to us) there really weren’t any places open, not even a Walmart or Target close by! It definitely caused a bit of tension on our first night away, which definitely was not how we wanted to start the trip. But thankfully, we managed to figure it all out and Jack is ok!
The air conditioning in our place in Boston wasn’t working properly, to the point where it was a bit uncomfortable. I’m not mad at the host - we stayed in an apartment and there was a letter stuck in the door at one point saying the building management had someone coming out to work on the HVAC, so I know it wasn’t something that could have been controlled. It just stunk a bit, haha.
THINGS I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY:
Salem was an unexpected stop on our trip, but it was cool seeing the cemetery where the victims of the Salem Witch Trials were laid to rest, and it was just interesting to think about the whole event and seeing it in person!
I would leave earlier. My husband plays hockey on Sunday mornings, but I think if we’re doing a family trip, especially if it’s a road trip, we need to discuss him missing that week, unfortunately. We got to Providence around dinner time, and then didn’t really have a chance to explore because it was so late. We only spent one night in Providence, so we walked around their downtown a little bit and then were on our way.
I need to get a bigger suitcase! I was able to stuff all of my clothes and Jack’s clothes in one suitcase, but then needed a second one for toiletries, books, and some games I brought for Adam and I to play after Jack went to bed. It was annoying to lug all the bags in and out (or so I assume since Adam did most of it). I think having a large suitcase instead of two carry on sizes would make life easier.
I always used to say I’d never be the mom plopping an iPad in front of her kid when we’re out at a restaurant but this trip has taught me that sometimes you just need to if you want to enjoy a meal with a toddler! I hate to admit it, but Jack watched more of my phone during this trip than he ever has. I tried to keep him entertained with the few toys we kept in his bag, but he would get bored. Putting on Cocomelon or Sesame Street on my phone calmed him down instantly. It was hard to see sometimes, though, so I think getting a sturdy case for our old ipad and bringing that long would be a sanity-saver.
I would definitely double-check our itinerary a week in advance – we realized a day or two before we were leaving that we checked out of Portland on the 13th, but didn’t check into Boston until the 14th, meaning we had a night without lodging! Luckily we were able to get an AirBnB in Salem which was nice because we got to see somewhere else new, but it was a little nerve-wracking in the moment!
I would definitely make more frequent stops while Jack is awake. I know it was rough on him while we were driving, he’s not used to be sitting still for so long! Overall, he was a total trooper and I am so proud of how well he did! But, in fairness to him, I think more frequent stops would make it more enjoyable for Jack next time.
Overall, I would say our first family road trip was a success! There were obviously plenty of learning moments, but we had a great time getting away, and we’ll have a better idea of what to expect next time we want to get away as a family!
What are your tips and tricks for traveling with a toddler?! Any horror stories to share? Great things to share?? Post them in the comments below!
