Traveling with your baby.
Traveling with Baby
When you’re traveling with your little one there is no such thing as “too prepared” for that long car ride, or trip to the airport. Even if your baby typically sleeps in the car, that one time you are not prepared is very stressful. Here are a few lessons I have learned and wish I knew earlier:
Water - Bring at least 2 water bottles (not baby bottles) for your baby. This is the water you will use to mix the formula should you need to make a bottle. Believe me, you want this … because you don’t want to have your baby screaming while you “try” to find a gas station rest room to fill that bottle.
Wife – Bring at least 1. This is because you will be putting you and your child in danger if you try to make a bottle and feed the child while driving. Having your wife in the car will prevent you from having to make stops and hopefully keep a few more hairs in your head.
Everything Else – Bring the whole can of formula, 2 extra days of diapers, wipes, etc… You never know if you’re going to get stuck in traffic, or stuck at the in-laws – at least you’ll be prepared.
So remember you should pack (or supervise) WWE, because if you don’t, you’ll have the sudden urge to elbow drop someone off of the top ropes in a steel cage match. 
Nipples!!
Bad baby bottle nipple
Good baby bottle nipple
Selecting the correct baby bottle nipple is important. A slow flow nipple provides the baby feeding similar to how they would be for breast feeding which is important if “Mom” is still nursing your child. The problem is that not all baby bottle nipples called “slow flow” are created equal.
My nipple choice should be apparent above. I really like this nipple because it doesn’t leak! I find this important because my son (6 months old) is now learning to hold the bottle on his own. He doesn’t have perfect aim every time, and I’m sure most babies fall into this category.
Hence, no leak = no mess.
Heating A Bottle
Heating a Refrigerated Bottle
There are plenty of times where time is critical and saving time reduces your stress as your baby cries for food. Depending if your feeding your baby formula, breast milk, or a combination of both …I’m listing the methods I’ve tried and the time comparison between them.
Refrigerated Bottles
Unless you’re feeding your child breast milk only, I would recommend staying away from pre-made bottles that you keep in the refrigerator. I know it sounds a little counter productive, but there is a lot of time wasted heating these bottles.
Boiling water on the stove takes a few minutes. I recommend using a small amount of water in a plastic container and heating only the water in the microwave (on high for about 1 min 20 seconds). The bottle doesn’t need to be submerged in the hot water (see above), and you’ll find that the bottle will be warm enough in about a minute or so. When compared with traditional methods this saves you about 1-2 minutes.
Formula Bottles
If you’re using formula or a combination of breast milk and formula you don’t need to waste time boiling water. What i find most effective is using the hot tap water coming out of the faucet in the following order:
- Turn on the faucet to hot water and fully on.
- Insert the milk / powdered formula mixture to the bottle (as specified on your package).
- Turn the faucet to partially on (slow the flow of water down).
- Add the water to the bottle mixture.
What you should get hot + cold = warm. It takes me about 45 seconds to prepare bottles this way.
