Parenthood is hard! No matter how much advice, there are things we had to figure out on our own along the way. One of those things we learned the hard way is that every child is so different. Kai has always been a terrible traveler by car. She fights me kicking an screaming every minute of the way. We recently went on our first longer (3-4 hour) road trip and here are a few things I stuffed into my Lily Jade Diaper Bag that made the trip easier!

By the way, not only is the Lily Jade my every day diaper bag, I also find that packing an "activity bag" to use inside the car was extremely handy! I love the rich leathers and durable materials used to construct the Lily Jade diaper bag. No mater how full I stuff it, I never worry about it's quality or durability. The outside and interior compartments have plenty of closed and open compartments so I can organize all our essentials in a thoughtful way. I love the many classic yet stylish colors and designs they come in to fit my every outfit. Right now, I am using the Madeline in Grey & Gold. Every bag comes with a removable and washable 12 Pocket Organizer. There is also a handy changing pad inside! I love using the adjustable, detachable straps to make my Lily Jade a backpack. It's super comfortable and leaves me handsfree for my extra clingy baby. PlusLily Jade is based out of our home state in San Antonio Texas. I love supporting local women owned businesses!

Okay, now to the gritty! Here is what I packed for our in-car activity time! 

Stickers Galore! 

• I packed 3 - 4 different sets and we practiced her fine motor skills and peeled each off and stuck them on her hands, my hands, paper, snack boxes, every surface that kept her entertained.

Nail Polish

• At first I didn't know how she would react but she loved play "spa" with Piggy Paint (a company that makes non-toxic nail polishes for kids). She held still the whole time and we did all her fingers and toes all in the carseat!

Play-Doh

• We had some of the tiny cans of Play-Doh on hand and packed 4-5 colors. I would take requests of things she wanted me to make. We mostly made small balls and squished them but she seemed to enjoy the texture and it kept her busy.

Coloring Book

• We picked up a princess coloring book at the grocery store last minute. It was one of those with a magic marker that only worked on certain surfaces. This kept the mess to a minimum and I didn't risk the chance of our car seat being colored. 

Book with Activity

• Board books are heavy and usually didn't keep her attention for more than 5 minutes so I tried to minimize this load. I only bought 2 books but made sure each had many internal flaps to open and hidden pictures. Those tend to do better at keeping her focus. Our favorite is this Barn Flip book.

On top of it all, snacks that take her whole hand to eat took her attention away from the length of the drive too. I prepared whole apples, pears and cucumbers ahead of time to keep her hands and mouth busy! I loved being able to fit all we needed to keep Kai entertained in my Lily Jade Madeline. Everything was so organized and effortless, it was truly one less thing to worry about. I think it's worth every penny and will last us for so many trips to come! 

Want one for yourself? Enter my Lily Jade Giveaway Below!

Safe travels!

xo

Joy