Our Experiences Traveling with a baby 3 months and younger

So, the little monkey is 3 months, 2 weeks now and we've gone on 4 trips in the past 2 months!

Some things we've discovered:

• On car trips it is absolutely imperative that one of us sits in the back.- and I should NOT drive.  We hit bad traffic and the baby was crying and BOOM!  this never-before-outwardly-emotional woman was in tears behind the wheel. Bawling.  My poor hubby was sitting there with a crying baby behind him and a crying baby wife to his left...
• if you're an overproducer like me, suck it up and pack the pump anyway.  I haven't on several of the trips and just end up uncomfortable ALL DAY LONG.
• as a mom you will ALWAYS overpack!  those 20 outfits you think you need for a weekend?  you can probably get away with 3-5.  and the baby only really needs 5-8 outfits!  
• I cloth diaper, but on the go we decided to go with disposables when we travel - Cloth Diapering mamas, be prepared for more blowouts than usual!
• If you are driving, plan on several stops.  If you're on a plane, be prepared to nurse/bottle feed/shove a pacifier in the mouth at the first fuss.  
• Don't go into the trip thinking you can do everything you want to do.  No matter what happens, you'll need to try and maintain baby's schedule or you will have the grumpiest baby when you get home!

Our trips in order:

1. Asilomar - Family trip with my fam.  Definite reminder that baby needs need to come first.  Couldn't go with the family's schedule 100% because the baby wanted to eat or sleep.  The drive was stressful and felt really long, especially on the way back when we kept hitting traffic jams.  
2. Hawaii - Just the three of us.  I was the most nervous about this trip, but it ended up being the easiest. Because it was just the 3 of us, it was MUCH easier to go with the baby's flow and because we were able to get up and walk around on the plane, the baby didn't feel as stuck in his seat.  I think he's developing a real hatred of carseats and strollers!
3. South Lake Tahoe - Not a long drive, so nice for that.  We went with friends and the plus here was that we were more easily able to pass the baby around so I could try Stand Up Paddle Boarding - SO FUN!
4. Santa Barbara - Had such an awesome time hanging out with my aunt and uncle.  Loved seeing D interacting with my aunt, he had so much fun (and I think she did too)!  The only downside was that it was a LONG drive for a weekend trip.  Hopefully we can make it for a longer weekend next time.
5. North Lake Tahoe - we went for the Tough Mudder event that my husband was doing.  D was great at first and actually did a really good job napping both days.  D and I drove down with my parents and the Hubs joined us at the cabin after he got off work.  D was great most of the day, but was obviously getting tired of carseats and strollers by the end of the day and that made for a fussy baby. At the even itself, he did great napping and was mostly a happy baby, but between being stuck in a stroller, carseat, or carrier all day and the HUGE number of people, he started getting unhappy by the end of the day.  The crowds, overwhelming for even me, seemed to be the scary factor for him.  Early in the day he was enjoying watching them, but later... not a fan!

Overall we had fun on all our trips;  I'm becoming a pretty accomplished packer and D is getting used to being on the go in his life, which will hopefully help him as he gets older.  

Enough for now - gotta go get my wake-y baby!  

~Errant Soprano