Five Weeks On the Road with a Six-month Old: Everything and the Kitchen Sink

Step two: packing for a six month old baby for an uncertain amount of weeks, in variable climates, sleeping in a van at night with no running water. This was the biggest challenge of all and I won’t say I was completely successful at it either. I packed a lot she didn’t need and forgot a few things too. Sun screen and sun hats, pajamas and onesies, long pants to keep the sun off those little white sausage legs, sweatshirts to keep her warm on chilly nights, wash cloths for sink baths and burp cloths for everything else, and that’s just what was in her suitcase. We had a diaper changing station set up for quick changes anywhere anytime. No cloth diapers on this trip; all paper, all the way.

I brought a box of toys and books with a playmat and her Boppy pillow which served invaluable when we pulled over to make lunch or dinner. On a nice day, I sat her outside the van on the grass to play on her own, the dog keeping guard. Mosquitoes biting or a chance of rain, I planted her at the end of the van on the floor and out of the way. I must mention here that she was the perfect age; able to sit up and play independently but not quite mobile enough to get too far.

Where she would sleep was also an initial obstacle. Fortunately, the mini co-sleeper that we use at home was the perfect size to fit in the rear of the van when the “adult” bed was pulled out. Yes, it was more difficult to pick her up and nurse her at night, but she got her usual sleeping quarters and we got our space.