Every year, the week after Christmas, we take a week or two and go on an epic trip with friends, usually from our American Adventurist family. This year, we decided to make a go of it with BW. She’s been out with us several times, so we decided why not try a longer trip?
As is becoming the norm, for the time being, BW and I shared the trailer and Daddy slept in the Outback Swag, and we changed locations on a daily basis. Keep an eye out for our awesome experience here soon. She did phenomenally, and I think I have finally decided what to take and what to leave behind on a longer trip. After diapers, wipes and extra warm clothes and the like, we have managed to pair down our baggage from an excessive amount to merely a lot. The following list are things that we have found very useful in a multi day, constant travel trip. Sadly, my SD card was corrupted the whole time I was taking pictures and we didn’t find out until later, so I am relying on Cris and other members of the trip for this post.
A baby carrier. This is an absolute must for us, we use our Ergo Bundle Of Joy On these trips, because we will end up hiking or exploring and need to be able to carry her for long periods of time, and a ring sling just doesn’t cut it for both of us carrying her for hours at a time. A stroller is handy, but for now, the carrier suits our needs just fine. I even found my self-carrying her around the campsite and sitting around the fire with her. A fleece blanket worked well for us for extra warmth in the cold evening and early morning hours.
A hat with ear flaps. Sounds silly looking right? Well, it is, but on your kid, it will not only be incredibly cute, but warm, and you won’t have to worry about choosing between cold ears and being able to see. By this I mean, on BW, at least, beanies only work for an hour or so, if that. It seems that within minutes, the hat has slipped down over the eyes, and she gets fussy because she can’t see. I picked this ADORKABLE fox hat up in San Fransisco, but we have a plain one from Old Navy as well.
A safe play area. We use a second-hand Summer Infant Pop n Play, given to us by some friends, and a fleece blanket on the bottom for warmth and protection from rocky ground. Its plenty big enough for BW to grow into, but folds up like a camp chair and takes up about the same amount of space!
Rtic Stainless Steel 18 oz Double Vacuum Insulated Water Bottle. This was a Christmas gift from Cris to BW this year, and it is so useful! (Think a much more cost effective version of the Yeti.) It keeps water hot, warm or cold for AT LEAST 8 hours. In very cold temperatures, it was so helpful to be able to have hot water for a bottle on demand. We filled this up before we left for the day, and before we went to sleep at night for early morning bottles. I am currently pumping and breastfeeding, as well as doing some formula, so this size is perfect for the day and convenient for throwing in a diaper bag.
*Here’s a great tip though, if all you have is a Nalgene or thick plastic water bottle, you can put hot water in it, as long as its the kind that wont melt, and place the bottle in a warm wool sock (or two). Place it in the bottom of your sleeping bag to help keep you warm and keep the water warm all night.
These are by no means the only things you need and are just our opinions, but for us, they were necessities that I am so glad made their way into the truck!
*This post contains affiliate links, but the opinions are all ours