What are YOUR Tips for Traveling with Tots?

Dave and I are packing, cleaning, doing laundry, and finishing up some kitchen projects — all in preparation to be out of town for his brother’s wedding later this week. It’s about a 10-hour drive (Minneapolis, Minnesota)… not factoring in construction, traffic jams, or the fact that we’re traveling with a fussy 7 month-old baby who doesn’t exactly love her carseat or naps!

Yeah, I’m a little anxious to say the least.

I love weddings, and I’ve been excited for this wedding since they got engaged well over a year ago. However, I also figured that since Nora would be 7 months old by the time of the wedding, she would be eating almost all baby food and be on a pretty regular sleep schedule.

We were planning to leave her behind with my parents and have a fun long weekend away (it’s our anniversary too) but as many of you know, our babe has absolutely NO schedule, she rarely ever naps, she cries constantly when I’m not around, and she refuses to eat anything but milk. My Milk.

So she’s coming with us!

That means the stroller, carseat, pack n’ play, diaper bag, diapers, wipes, toys, and vast array of other baby items are also coming along with us.

Good thing we have our new-to-us vehicle with so much extra storage (and a DVD player) 🙂

We almost decided Dave should go by himself (after all, he IS the best man). It would be so much easier if I just stayed home with Nora.

But… I really wanted to go.

Plus, I found a fabulous dress for the occasion… and I can’t wait to share pictures!  It was only $28.72 on the clearance rack at Macy’s PLUS I had a $25 gift card — which meant the dress was less than $4.00 out of pocket!

So we’re all going… and all our stuff is coming along too.

I decided that Nora will be fussy whether we’re at home or in a hotel in Minnesota — and at least we have a pool, delicious meals, and a few extra hands to occupy her in Minnesota. Plus, her lack of schedule might actually work in our favor — after all, we won’t have to work around her feeding or napping schedules since she doesn’t have any 🙂

However I’m still a bit anxious.

I think mostly, I just don’t want to be “that mom” who has to walk out of the wedding ceremony because she can’t get her baby to stop being fussy.

No, I haven’t been able to implement my “go-with-the-flow attitude” for this trip yet!

Insert deep breath.

So since I know many of you have lots and lots of experience traveling with babies and young children, I’d LOVE for you to leave a few words of wisdom or your best traveling tips in the comment section 🙂

Of course, I know every family, child, and situation is different — but I’ve already gleaned so much helpful information from comments left on my blog that I figured it can’t hurt to request your help once again.

What are your best tips for traveling with tots?

Thanks in advance!