Vacation with newborn?

Question

My whole family is going on a mini vacation in late July, potentially early August. Our baby will be anywhere from minimum 3 weeks to a month and a half old when we go(depending on when baby decided to make an entrance). The drive for hubby and I is only about 4 hours so it’s very doable for us to make stops when needed. As of right now the mini vacation will probably be 5 or so days long on the coast of South Carolina. Now I know how hot  and humid it gets down there during that time. My question is what should we bring? What should we leave? Have any of you done a mini vacation with a newborn? How would you handle a beach situation? Also we will be in a vacation house so we will be able to do laundry.

Answer

I’m horrible...but I would say stay home 😂. I could barely sit in a car for a trip to the gas station 3 weeks after I gave birth. It was an emergency c section which was text book perfect and still the recovery sucks.

Answer

We took my daughter to Myrtle Beach when she was just 2 weeks old, my parents have a place down there and really wanted us to come. I'll be honest...I was sooooo miserable. I was still bleeding, stitches still sore and not having all the baby stuff set up the way I did at home sucked 😥 and it's not like I could do anything like swimming or anything until 6 weeks postpartum, so I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea lol just some things to think about!

Answer

We travel A LOT. Babies that small don’t need much at all. The basics, somewhere to sleep, clothes, diapers, and wipes are about it.  Because it’s a new a place, the baby will probably be a little cranky and want to be held more. So you’ll really just be holding them most of the time anyway. 
The only thing I’d say is a must that you might now have is a baby carrier.

Answer

You’ll definitely need a tent or a sun shade so baby will be completely covered. His skin will be too delicate to be out in the sun at all.

Answer

When your baby is here you’ll know what you need. We went on a short trip (3days) when my son was about 3 weeks after my csection and it was pretty easy. I wasn’t able to breastfeed because of the medication I was on (still battling an infection 4 months later), so I had to bring 6 bottles with me, an electric tea kettle to boil water for formula, and a couple of extra boxes of powdered formula. I bought a travel Boon drying rack with bottle brushes and a collapsible 9x11” tub to wash everything for him in separately. 
Some vacation rentals provide cribs or a pack n play if you ask ahead of time, but if they don’t you’ll need to bring something for your baby to sleep in (a pack n play or travel bassinet). We brought our baby bath with us, but if you feel comfortable you can just shower with your baby, which is what we do now pretty much every night. You’ll still need baby shampoo, but you can use regular towels and washcloths. If your baby is over a month you might want to bring a playmat. We also loved our Boppy Lounger when my son was under 7 weeks, and brought it everywhere. If you plan on going on walks you’ll need to either bring your stroller or a baby carrier (I’d suggest a wrap for a baby that young). Your babe will be too young for sunscreen, so bring long sleeves and a wide brimmed hat for your little one. Amazon has lots of baby beach tents to shade your baby. 
Whenever we travel I bring several bags for different uses: Bath, Feeding, diaper changes, play/toys, and clothes

Answer

We went to the beach when my daughter was a month old and it was 5 hours away. We brought pack n play to sleep in/ and stroller. Clothes, diapers, wipes.. blankets.. she was breastfed so that was easy. She loved the beach (meaning she had “gassy smiles” while laying and enjoying the wind and ocean.

Answer

I think it's very doable IF your baby is okay with being in the carseat. I have 3 kids and 2 of them would just scream uncontrollably in the car no matter what we did. The 3rd would just sleep. So it really depends on how your baby is with driving, you won't know until the time comes. But otherwise yes it's doable.

Vacation with newborn?

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