We decided that it was time for a little family getaway, since it had been 6 months since we had any sort of time off...and that was Christmas. The first challenge was in deciding where to go with a 9 month old baby. I thought flying somewhere tropical would be nice, but my husband vetoed that because he didn't want to deal with the airport lines, security, the plane ride, then taxis, etc. Understood... but a little disappointed L
My task was to find a place that was within driving distance and family/baby friendly. The winner? A little beachside town in Alabama. It would be a 12 or 13 hour drive, and we would have a small 2 bedroom condo that could be our little home for a week. It sounded like a plan, but we were a little apprehensive about the trip.
How do you pack for a baby for a week-long vacation? Because I knew the 10 day weather forecast, it was easy to pack clothes. Swimsuits, onesies, and a pair of shorts. (Okay and of course a couple adorable beach dresses for the sunset photog session.)
Baby essentials were the next thing to tackle....diapers (regular and swim), wipes, food, formula, snacks, SPF lotion, and a few others. I tried to determine how many diapers would be used in a day, but after a few minutes I decided to just throw in an entire package of 40 and hope that would be enough...it was!
I packed more baby food than I knew what to do with, because it was around this time that our little one started eating table food as well. I decided that I did not want to run out of anything for the baby, so in this case, it would be okay to over-pack.
The last thing you want is to be stranded in a small town and not know where to go to buy something that the baby needs this very minute. So, we packed it all...and we wouldn't have done it any differently looking back.
We had 2 pack-n-plays (one for playing, one for sleeping), all necessary beach gear (sand tarp, 2 umbrellas, insulated bag for drinks), pool floaties and toys, indoor toys, a stroller, and everything from the crib that could make baby feel like she was in her own bed at night.
It did take us 13 hours to get to our destination, and luckily, THANKFULLY, she slept most of the way since we left home at 10 pm...just in time for bed J. Although night driving is hard on the driver, it is peacefully quiet as baby snoozes away.
In the end, we found this vacation to be the most relaxing, memorable time spent with our little girl. It was great to have the condo and plenty of space for us and ALL of our STUFF! Time on the beach, playing in the pool, and snuggling together in the evenings were all great ways to spend our vacation!
