Two weeks ago (yes, time has gotten away me from lately!) McKenna and I had our first full weekend away from home and with Mike. Mike’s best friend had offered him a ticket to the Michigan State vs. Michigan game in East Lansing that weekend and, having not been to a game at his alma mater (MSU) in 5 years, he went. I had a few vacation days saved, so I took that Friday off and McKenna and I headed down to Fort Myers, FL – where I did most of my growing up – to stay with my best friend and her family. With Mike being a firefighter, he works 24 hours on and has 48 hours off, so we’re used to spending a night or so without him. We sure did miss him that weekend, but he had lots of “guy time” fun, and we had plenty of fun ourselves! (Although I do think loading/unloading the car would have been much easier if he was there!)
It was quite the weekend! Kim, Kirby & Lexi played amazing hosts (though I wouldn’t expect any less) and spoiled us with food, fun and a trip to the zoo! McKenna wasn’t as interested in the monkeys or giraffes as she was of the trees and bushes (Nature lover this one, I’m tellin’ ya!), but it was a beautiful day outside regardless, spent doing one of her favorite things (walking around).
Below is my recommended packing list for a short road trip out of town. With road trips (and larger cars) you have the liberty of taking a little more with you and not having to worry about improvises once you get there.
- 2 outfits per day: You never know what the weather will be like or whether or not baby will ruin their outfit! (This includes socks.)
- Pak-n-Play: I set this up in my room and McKenna slept in it at night. Of course we had
- Fitted Sheet: for the Pak-n-Play and a
- Long-sleeved, footie pajamas: My obsession. I packed 1 pair per night just in case there was a diaper leak in the middle of the night.
- Play mat: Okay, so in hindsight I probably didn’t need to bring this. We were so busy all weekend McKenna maybe spent 2 hours on it tops over 3 days. It was nice in the morning when we were all getting ready though.
- Fisher Price Space Saver Seat: This thing makes me top must-haves list for the first 6-months (and beyond! But that post will be next week). With McKenna on solids twice a day, I really didn’t want to get her out of her routine for 3 days. So I packed this seat to feed her in along with…
- Bibs (1 per meal)
- Baby cereal: I packed the entire container, but in hindsight I should have measured it out beforehand in Tupperware to save room.
- Pureed fruits/veggies (1 per day)
- Stroller
- Baby carrier (optional)
Of course we had the diaper bag which contained other essentials like diaper cream, burp rags, bottles, etc. I always have one bottle in her diaper bag, but I packed an extra so that I wasn’t constantly washing the same one. I also picked up a new container of wipes and a new package of diapers for the road so that I didn’t have to worry about whether or not her diaper bag was well stocked. I knew we’d use the extras!
Our Little "Whoops!" 