Road trip!

Here we are 2024! How did we spend the first day of 2024? Well, I was recovering from food poisoning which began around 11:30pm on December 30th and it lasted till 2am on January 1st. In return, my husband Cody was exhausted because he was taking care of all the kids plus me on December 31st. But hey, the kids were full of energy and ready to push us past our limits once again!

We ended 2023 by taking a 12-hour road trip from KS to KY for a family funeral. The journey began at 4:30pm on December 28th, after my husband and I got off work. We fed everyone prior to hitting the road and we packed a cooler filled with food for when we needed snacks. The kids all fell asleep by 6pm.

Honestly, the trip went as smoothly as it could have. The kids slept 80% of the time and if they were not sleeping, they were getting their diapers changed, drinking bottles, watching cartoons, or stretching legs.

We stopped at a gas station around 9pm because everyone was up and needed diaper changes. While my husband filled the truck up and stayed with two of the kids, I would take the other kid in with me to change. As I was walking out of the gas station the first time, the cashier lady goes “have a good night” to which I responded with “you as well”, not realizing what I said because obviously I would be right back within minutes.

I walked back into the gas station with another child and the lady again greeted me for a second time. As I’m leaving this go around, she again says “have a good night”. This time I chuckle and say, “I have one more, so Ill be back”. Once I bring the third child in, she goes “oh wow you really do have your hands full”. We began talking about the kids’ ages and all that fun stuff. I find we get into this type of conversation almost anywhere we go now. It was a nice break in the road trip!

From that point the kids slept till around 2am. Kaison woke up a couple of times because his neck would get sore, or his blankets would fall. When Kaison woke up at 2am he was hitting his knees which made me think his legs were sore. We needed to stop for gas anyways, so we pulled into a gas station. When Kaison got out of his car seat and started walking, he was waddling LOL. His legs were so stiff, it was like he didn’t know how to use them or maybe they were numb. That gave us a good laugh!

We FINALLY got to the Airbnb at 5:30am on December 29th. All the kids went back to bed peacefully once we moved them inside, thank goodness! Then we were up at 8am to get ready for the funeral at 9:30am. In case you are wondering, my husband and I are still recovering from the lack of sleep as I am writing this!

On the 30th we woke up, went out for breakfast with our relatives, and then started back on the road at 10:30am. We have friends that live a couple hours north of where the funeral was, so we decided to stop by and see them before making the long drive back to KS. It was a great visit! The kids were able to get out and play with their kids and we were able to catch up with each other.

Once we got on the road to head back to KS we decided to go through a drive-thru for a late lunch/dinner. I got a burger that tasted fine in the moment, and I didn’t see anything wrong with it. About three hours later I told my husband that I felt like I needed to throw up, but I just figured I was car sick. Since I thought I was just car sick, I fell asleep. That’s what I do whenever I start getting car sick, I just force myself to fall asleep, so I don’t have to think about being in the car.

That seemed to help till about 11:30pm. We were almost home! We were a little over an hour away from being home and my stomach was cramping bad and I felt sick. I never threw up till the following day but that’s when everything started.

We got home and put everyone to bed, again they all fell asleep with ease. After we brought everything from the truck inside, we also went to bed. Throughout the night I was waking up feeling dizzy, I was having stomach cramps, and my head just did not feel right.

I woke up around 7 that morning and threw up. Those same symptoms I was feeling that night continued the entire day. I was dry heaving as well. Keep in mind, I have never dealt with food poisoning in my life, so this is all new to me. It wasn’t till noon that I told my husband I thought I had food poisoning to which he agreed with because I never ran a fever.

Anyways! That was an awful experience and just how I wanted to spend December 31st!

Overall, our trip was great, and we are so blessed to have little road trip babies. We have been taking road trips since Kaison was a baby, so we have a couple tips that we want to share!

Road trip tips with babies!

1. Make sure to pack a bag specifically for the road trip. Include formula/baby food, bottles, bottled water, a change of clothes for baby, diapers, wipes, and a changing pad. Have this bag up front with you so it’s easily accessible during the road trip.

2. All Love’s Gas Stations have changing tables in both the men’s and women’s restrooms.

3. Love’s Gas Stations also let you have hot water from the coffee machines for free – Im sure other gas stations do as well but I don’t know. We have always stopped at Love’s because we have been impressed with the cleanliness of the restrooms.

4. If you stop at a Flying J Gas Station then you can ask to use one of their shower rooms, which are cleaned regularly, to change baby diapers in. This is just more comfortable for the child than having them be in a loud, cramped, restroom. Also, some changing tables are just not placed well so it’s nice not to be right next to a urinal when changing a diaper.

5. Bring hand sanitizer with you. Just do it.

6. Have a bag dedicated to toys that is accessible. Do not give your child every toy right off the bat. Give them one once they are fussy and it’s not a fuss because of hunger or a diaper change. They will get bored of toys fast on long road trips, so you must plan out when to give them toys.

7. I know not everyone likes this but screen time. We do not have movie screens in our vehicles, and we do not have iPad for our kids. We got cheap bag hooks that go on the headrest of the seat in front of the kid, and we have our phone play cartoons the kids enjoy off YouTube. Again, they will get bored of screentime, but it helps keep them entertained and still in the car.

8. Realize that it’s going to be slightly chaotic. Road trips never go as planned so just give yourself grace. There might be a decent amount of crying from all of you, not just babies! LOL

9. Remember your kids are kids. If you are going on a long road trip plan out the drive to where you can stop at a fun interactive children’s center, sightsee, or have a picnic at a children’s park. We have made a 28+ hour road trip out to CA to see family before and that trip is long for anyone. If you are tired and sore, more than likely your kid is feeling the same way.

10. Enjoy the moment. You won’t always have little kids to go on road trips with. The cries will fade and soon they will be on their phone the whole trip texting friends and listening to their own music.

Below are some of our road trip necessities! Click the photos to learn more!
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