No more diapers means more room for booze. And the kids sleep all night. Traveling really does get easier once the kids are older.
Parenting

Breast Milk, Baby Gear and Blowouts: 9 Things I Don’t Miss About Traveling with Babies

No more diapers means more room for booze. And the kids sleep all night. Traveling really does get easier once the kids are older.

By Katie Wadland of EatSleepMomRepeat

We went on our annual family trip to Maine this week, and it was the first trip we’ve taken that didn’t involve bringing a baby along. My girls are 5 and 2 ½ now, and there are some pretty awesome perks to traveling with big(ger) kids. Here are a couple of my favorites.

1) No more baby stuff: We didn’t have to wedge a Pack-n-Play, high chair or bag of obnoxious baby toys into our overstuffed Subaru. Which meant more room for booze.

2) No more diapers: Thanks to my toddler deciding she was done with diapers last week, I only had to pack a handful of overnights to get us through. Back when I was young, naive and overly ambitious, I actually brought a week’s worth of cloth diapers camping. Was out I out of my f-ing mind? Do you know what a week’s worth of dirty cloth diapers smells like? I hope you never have to find out.

3) No more nursing: That means I no longer have to pass on that second glass of wine at the campfire because bedtime is still looming or drag along twenty bags of frozen breast milk in case of an overnight wake-up. Never mind trying to  pump in a campsite without someone walking in on me.

4) No more car hysterics: No long car ride was complete before without at least one inconsolable crying jag. I mean, now I have to answer “Are we there yet?” eight gazillion times and keep the snacks coming, but the long car ride was way more tolerable.

5) No more sand eaters: This means I can actually relax and read a book at the beach for a minute or two now. The Children, by the way—highly recommended!

 6) No more wobbly toddler legs: Which means less chance of a kid taking a digger into the campfire at night or off a pile of rocks they are exploring. Fewer Band-Aids, fewer tears and more relaxation for Mom.

7) No more witching hour: My kids can actually stay up past their bedtime without turning into total maniacs now. And tired kids are waaaay easier to get to sleep in a bed they aren’t used to.

8) No more middle of the night wake-ups: Both my girls finally sleep through the night consistently, so I can relax and stay up at the campfire a little later without waiting on edge for the dreaded 3 am cry fest to wake me up after.

9) More fun! This stage is awesome for travel. The kids love the camping life, they can hang at the beach for hours and are happy as can be with all their friends and family around. Best trip ever!

This post was originally published on EatSleepMomRepeat

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About the Author

Katie Wadland is a Massachusetts-based mama raising her girls with her husband out in suburbia. She sometimes wakes up and wonders how the hell she got here. She’s a part-time Physical Therapist, part-time Blogger and full-time Beta Mom Extraordinaire. She has been published at Scary Mommy, Kveller, Mamapedia and BluntMoms. Her Beta Mom Guides and other ramblings can be found at EatSleepMomRepeat, and you can follow her on Facebook, Instagram or at Twitter.