After experiencing snow on Friday, Waverly’s series of firsts continued with her first road trip on Saturday morning. We packed the car to head to Harrisonburg, VA to surprise my sister at college. I must admit that the drive from our house to JMU isn’t a really long one (four hours total), yet I was totally hesitant & completely nervous. For the initial two months of her existence, Waverly Maye pretty much flipped out every time she was in her car seat. And although she has since certainly gotten more tolerant since, I had attempted to mentally prepare myself for four hours of constant crying.
Thankfully, I worried for no reason (my husband says that happens a lot … it must be a girl thing.) Our Waverly Maye was pretty much a rock star the entire car ride. She (mostly) slept, played, and smiled for the duration of the drive. And I, therefore, was a very happy mommy.
The drive was actually incredibly relaxing. I actually read an entire copy of US Weekly, and that hasn’t happened since before Waverly was born.
Here are some of the essentials I brought to help ease the pain of traveling with a 6-month old …
1 – Graco SnugRide Car Seat; We obviously use our car seat each & every day, so we have gotten to know it well. Long gone are the days (pre-birth) when I was practicing hooking together the straps, as now I could practically get Waverly tucked in with my eyes closed. For practical reasons, I have been nothing but happy with this car seat. It is easy to use, as lightweight as it can be, and most importantly, keeps her safe! And for a car seat, the colors & pattern are chic.
2 – Pacifier; YES, I admit it, we use a “paci.” It is incredibly effective at those times that our sweet baby bee is a tad fussy. She definitely isn’t one of those babies with it constantly in her mouth, but at times, it is a lifesaver.
3 – Ella’s Kitchen Organic Foods; This is a new favorite of ours. We make all of Waverly’s food with the Baby Bullet, but those foods are tough to pack & heat outside of our own kitchen. LOVE these … they are 100% organic, have a ton of flavors, and are so convenient.
4 – Fisher Price Love-U Zoo Mirror; We used to have the standard mirror in front of her car seat, but recently upgraded to this one because of the lights, music, and remote control it comes with. It is SO much better! Waverly really is entertained by it and the remote control is great for me to keep in the front seat so I can turn it on & off as need be.
5; Ziploc Slider Bags; I have always loved Ziploc bags, and used them long before I became a mom for a variety of reasons. But now, I use them more than ever. For the road trip, I packed each outift (with clothes, accesories & shoes) in a bag so I could keep track of everything. I also always keep a bag in the car with some go-to toys for when we are going into a restaurant, a store for a quick shopping trip, or for her to play with while driving.
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| My Tiny Traveler. 🙂 |