Well we aren’t going to lie, it can be a challenge! But what’s life with kids without a challenge or two.
That’s just the joys of parenting.
Khloe is now eleven months old, and was only six months old when we moved in to our new home on wheels.
She is cutting teeth and doing all the fun growing things they do, so we still have the sleepless night or two.
She is crawling everywhere and getting in to everything in sight, and we have had her digest a bug or two but there are worse things right!?
BUT despite every challenge we are extremely lucky that Khloe is a pretty laid-back baby. She has an easy-going nature, and very little bothers her, except her big bro!
When we decided to do our Lap of Australia, Elise was pregnant, and we knew Khloe was going to be very young when we travelled. We had a lot of people say “Your crazy to be travelling with a baby and a toddler!”
But we never once let the opinions of others dictate what we decided to do. After all, it is our life and our love of travel was too strong.
Regardless of whether we lived in a house or a caravan, Khloe will continue to grow and learn new things.
The sleepless nights, the grabbing everything in sight… They don’t stop! They happen anyway!
So why not DO IT anyway??
Besides, we think it is a blessing having a small confined space for her to explore in! Saves us trying to run around the house after her, or having to try to restrict her to one room.
Below we have listed some things that have helped us so far with travelling with a baby, and hopefully help you too.
PREPARE MEALS
This goes for you and the baby! When Khloe was still on pureed food, we would cook up a big pot of veggies etc and freeze about one weeks worth of food for her. Saves a lot of time and stress after a busy day sightseeing!
HIGH-CHAIR
We have a plastic one from Ikea, the legs come off and it easily fits in the tunnel boot of the van, and we also use a baby bath seat which we pop up on the couch when it is too cold to feed her outside.
BATH SEAT
This is handy for shower and meal times! We also brought a fold down bath, but don’t use this very often.
BUNK BED SAFETY NET
We got this made by Qual-Trim in Ballarat, it fits the full size of the bunk so she can’t escape and keeps her completely safe! It has a zip in the middle for easy access, and attaches to the top bunk with heavy duty press studs and screws. We originally tried a bed rail but as soon as she could sit up, she was attempting to jump out.
NAPPY CHANGE TIME
We use our bed to change her on and pop a towel underneath her to save the sheets. We use her nappy bag to store everything in, and keep it beside our bed when we aren’t out and about, and we also store extra wipes and nappies under our bed. We did have a change caddy from Kmart but found it to be in the way and something else for her to grab.
TOYS
We only brought a limited amount away with us, just enough to entertain her when we are laying low. We got a small plastic tub with a lid to store, and leave this at the top of her bed. As she grows, we find her using whatever she can find to play with, and we would rather let her imagination run wild.
BOTTLES
Khloe is at the age now where we do not need to sterilise her bottles anymore, so this is easy for us, no different to being at home, we keep these on the bench and formula in the pantry. We have an amazing water machine that filters all our water, so no need for us to boil water either! Another amazing time saver!
PLAYPEN
We got a pet playpen from Kmart and it easily pops up and down, folds down flat so is perfect for travelling!
We got the size XL. Sometimes we use a picnic rug when not using the playpen, or down at the beach.
NAP-TIME
Khloe does not have strict nap times. She sleeps most nights through the night, so we are very lucky! Her usual wake time is around 6- 6:30am, and she is asleep for the night at around 5:30- 6pm. Her day time naps are usually in the morning, and after lunch either in the van, or whilst we are out sight-seeing. If we are going to head out for the day we try to work out when we go around Khloe’s sleeping times. That way she is not grumpy when we are out and gets the sleep she needs.
SAFETY
So, this is not much different to being at home. She still tries to open every cupboard and loves trying to grab the fire extinguisher, but as long as you have all eyes on her, and she’s preoccupied she is safe. We have put all chemicals and medicines etc in the top overhead cupboards, completely out of reach. We also have a fill in plastic step that goes in the hole of where the caravan step is, so we can’t lose her down the hole!
FOOD & NAPPY SUPPLIES
Make sure you stock up on these when you’re in towns that have Coles or Woolies! Some of the smaller towns do not stock certain brands of formula and nappies, or certain baby foods.
BABY CARRIER
A definite must have! We use this a lot when heading to the beach for a walk, or seeing things we need to walk to and can’t take the pram. We leave this in the car so we always have it on hand if needed!
BABY MONITOR
We have one, but haven’t used it much as we are all sleeping close. Only gets used if we are sitting outside and all windows are shut.
STROLLER
We downsized from our large baby pram to a Redsbaby Skip Stroller. Highly recommend these if travelling.
They are around 6kgs, very lightweight and can easily be held in one hand. They also have enough storage room under the seat for a small backpack. The best thing is that they take about 5 seconds to get up and fold down. We also brought the insect/UV ray protector that attaches to sunshade.
BABY INSECT REPELLANT
Make sure when buying sprays for bugs that they are baby safe, also good to check sunscreens as well. We find the natural insect repellents the best, and even use them on us.
HEALTH NURSE BOOKS
This is an easy one to forget, but a must to take! Every health nurse check-up she is due for, we call the local GP at the town we are at and get everything she needs through them. We can also call our Ballarat home town health nurses at any time we like.
We hope the above tips help you plan your trip with a baby. Please do not ever hold yourself back on travelling because you believe life on the road with kids will be difficult. It really isn’t much different to being at home. If you plan and prepare well, you’ll be fine.
There really is no better feeling knowing the amount of life skills our kids will learn, and the bond we are creating as a family.
If you ever have any questions on how we are surviving travelling Aus in a caravan full time, with two kids please reach out! We would love to help.
Elise and Josh