Well, as I’m planning for our upcoming road trip to St. Louis, I’m wondering how I can fit everything into the car. I am glad that my child is older, because I don’t know how I would fit all of his gear and the Christmas gifts, dog kennel and our stuff all in the trunk. So I thought I would write a post on how to travel lighter this year.
1. Make your stuff do double duty: If you can get more than one use out of item, then bring it. If not, then really consider whether you need it or not. Pack ‘n plays or playyards are great travel gear because they can be used as a crib, toddler bed, contained play area, and if you have the ability to raise the floor, a changing table. For car rides, I bring my Taby Tray because it allows us to eat on the go, have a table for my child to draw on, and a flat place for him to play with his toys. When I was eating out, I would use the Crumb Chum as a bib and a mat for those quick changes because it was so long.
2. Can the item be compressed smaller? High chairs are not always available and the travel one maybe to bulky when traveling by air. I had found the Tie Chair as a great alternative because it can be folded to fit into my handbag. Look at your luggage. Soft-sided luggage will way less and give more for those instances where you need to stuff one more diaper in the bag. Also if traveling through airports or train stations, look for luggage that can attach to one another so you can have your hands free.
3. Consider shipping items ahead: There is a service that will ship your baby diapers, formula, wipes and more ahead to your destination called Babies Travel Light. This way you are guaranteed to have the items that you are familiar with at your disposal where ever you arrive.
4. You can always buy or rent when you are there: Now a days, unless you are doing survival adventure traveling, you can find most baby items at your destination or you can rent gear, like strollers, cribs, or carseats. The New Parents’ Guide has a state-by-state listing of where you can rent baby equipment in the United States. Search on ‘baby gear rental’ and you can find quite a few companies that perform this service.
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December 15th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I really like the taby tray’s. They been a big help keeping my kids entertained on the long trip to California.