Baby Bunching Away from Home

Taking the bunch on vacation is a whole different sort of challenge.

At home, our lives are simplified by schedules and routines. It's what keeps my bunch happy. It's what keeps me sane and allows me to sleep at night. I am, after all, a schedule person. And my babies are schedule people too. Otherwise they wouldn't be so happy on a schedule and so miserable when they get off it.

Elly isn't quite the schedule-holic that Evie is. But let me tell you, Evie is a total terror when her schedule gets disrupted. And disrupting schedules is what vacationing is all about!

Another challenge when vacationing is gear. All the gear that it takes to keep my two happy is absolutely impractical to pack up and tote around with you. The toys, the jumperoo, the high chairs, the pillows and blankies and DVR'd television. Things that can stop a tantrum, keep babies happy, burn energy, or put babies to sleep. My life pretty much revolves around these things. Not literally of course. But really, this gear is the oil that keeps things running smoothly in my baby bunched world.

I think all in all things went well on our week away from home. We certainly took a car load of things with us, including a space saving high chair that my husband thought would not fit. But I don't feel like we took an overwhelming amount of things. Even after the serious eye-brow lifting that our car load got as we were loading and unloading. I can't think of a single thing that went with us that wasn't utilized. Though it turns out I needed to pack a few more pull-ups and I completely forgot razors (guess I was just going with furry legs at the beach? lol.) But razors were pretty easy to acquire and Evie kinda got a kick out of napping in diapers a couple of days while we were there.

Even five plus hours of riding in the car went fairly smoothly. There were no fits of screaming or crying. No unplanned stops or frantic fumbling to find a toy or snack to calm a tantrum. My meticulous planning (even if it was last minute!) really paid off. Evie watched movies and chatted pretty much the whole ride down while Sissy slept. And they both slept the majority of the drive back. We stopped for lunch on the ride down where the only problem was that Elly didn't want to eat because she was too busy looking around and Evie didn't want to eat because she was too hyped up from sitting down for so long. Supper on the way back went really well though. Both girls ate a pretty average amount and then happily returned to the car.

My biggest tip to anyone preparing to travel with their bunch? Hmm...prioritize. Obviously you can't take everything. Take the most important stuff. But don't be afraid to take things that your mom-sense says you'll need. Pay attention the few days BEFORE you leave to the things you turn to when baby is melting down, or it's naptime for the toddler. Those are the things that you cannot live without.

And if you are early in the baby bunching and haven't invested in a lot yet but are planning on traveling with your bunch ANY in the next few years...buy a pack and play or two. Definitely. Also, a space saving high chair for big baby at home and both while away is fabulous. Evie uses hers as a booster seat at home and it worked great for them at the beach. Also, white noise machines are life savers for baby bunchers. Especially if you intend to ever let your bunch share a room. Having them accustomed to sleeping with white noise worked out really well at the beach. That way I didn't have to worry about them waking at night due to unaccustomed house noises or neighborhood noises or anything.

Another nice investment? A van! Boy, one of those would be pretty nice about now. I am totally eating my words for all the times I swore I would never, ever drive a minivan in a million years. Two car seats can change your perspective.