When Ryan came up with a plan to drive to Nashville, Tennessee to visit his grandmother, I thought he was nuts. Fern was 2 and a half-months-old and we live 14 hours from Nashville. I’m always up for a road trip, but going on a long trip with an infant was brand new territory for both of us and seemed so scary. In the end, we really wanted her to get used to traveling and wanted Fern to meet her great grandmother. So we decided to go for it.  

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Here’s what happened on our road trip with baby Fern and what we learned. 

Tip #1 - Pack the Night Before Your Road Trip

Life with a baby is busy enough so do yourself a favor and pack the night before. Doing that made it a lot easier to get on the road as soon as Fern was fed and changed. I think we’re pretty minimalist in terms of baby gear but even so, our 4Runner was very full. Aside from feeding equipment, here’s everything we packed specifically for Fern. 

• Pack n Play to sleep in

• Baby gym for playing (we didn’t unpack this until Nashville)

• Sound machine from home

• Travel sound machine - We have a car adapter and were able to use the wall machine in the car but if you want a travel sound machine this is really similar to the white noise machine.

• Travel bottle warmer - Handy, but only if you time it right. It takes about 30 minutes to warm a bottle.

• Diapers

• Wipes

• Changing pad

• Diaper cream

• Swaddle - This is the easiest swaddle in existence and basically escape-proof.

• Pacifiers

• Extra clothes in the diaper bag

• Bandana bibs - Some friends got us the cutest bibs and onesie from Milkbarn and the prints are adorable. They’re also organic cotton and bamboo so they’re super soft.

• Burp cloths - We didn’t want to buy any and use some giant flour sack napkins that we already had.

Fern was so young we didn’t pack any toys. She pretty much falls asleep as soon as she goes back into her car seat. If your baby is older a soft book or a few teething toys might be helpful. The same goes for a car seat activity toy like this one.

Tip #2 - Plan Your Stops Ahead of Time

Day 1

The overall drive from Marquette to Nashville is just over 13 hours so we knew we’d need to make a couple of overnight stops on the way. Our first planned stop was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s about 4 hours from Marquette and we thought it’d be a good test run for the rest of the trip. Our second overnight stop was Bloomington, Indiana to see some old friends and check out the new Graduate Hotel. I researched way too much about when to leave and what do with a baby on a road trip. And basically, every baby is different so no set of tips is going to work perfectly. If you have a good sleeper, leave just before they’re going to take a nap or if you don’t mind driving at night, then start your drive when the babe is heading to bed. Fern’s a pretty good sleeper in the car so we decided to take a chance on leaving midday when Ryan finished class.

En route to Milwaukee, we stopped at Seguin’s House of Cheese in Marinette to feed and change Fern and do some shopping. No, it’s not an overnight stop but it’s a store dedicated to cheese; it deserves a mention. My sister drives from Chicago to visit us often and always makes a stop here. And after visiting I totally see why! It has been a family-run enterprise since the 70s and they have just about every cheese you can imagine. Not to mention all kinds of other snacks like local jams, sausage, beer, and an impressive array of Minnetonka shoes. If you’re ever in this part of Wisconsin, you should absolutely stop here.

Planning these stops ahead of time put my mind at ease, knowing we had somewhere to land. And I used the app HotelTonight to get really good deals on both of the hotels.

Tip #3 - Relax and Try and Have Fun

It may seem silly to say but try and have fun with the trip. It won’t be smooth the whole way so you might as well try and enjoy the ride. Think about places you’d want to visit on your route. For us, that was Milwaukee and Bloomington, Indiana. You may not be able to stay a long time, but for me, I’d rather stay somewhere unique and have a good meal vs a motel on the side of the highway and fast food. To each his own. What works for us might not be for everyone. And babies pick up on your vibe. If you’re road raging, they’ll know something is not right.

Why Milwaukee? It’s a really fun city with unique brewing history. Since Ryan and I are both history and beer nerds and a pit stop at Brewhouse Inn and Suites was fun for us. The hotel is located inside the old brewhouse of original Pabst Brewery so it felt like being in a museum.

Related content: 6 Must-Do Activities in Milwaukee

The Brewhouse Hotel is located on the edge of downtown and right off the interstate, making it really easy to get to. The parking deck is a block away and with so much stuff we decided to pay $10 extra for Valet. It was a fun place to regroup and explore. The front desk staff saw us struggling with a full luggage cart and Fern they quickly upgraded us to a suite. We thanked them profusely and were thrilled to have plenty of room for everything.

Traveling with an adorable baby does have its perks.

We arrived later than expected so after we got Fern settled, we decided to do dinner in the hotel pub Jackson’s. I was a little bummed we weren’t feeling up to exploring but this spot came highly recommended by Milwaukee Instagram friends. They had delicious burgers and giant goblets of beer and we stuffed ourselves silly. Fern slept through the whole thing, including a very loud Trivia game.

Day 2

We got rolling the next morning and made our way south to Bloomington. If you’ve been a reader for a while, you may remember Ryan did his Ph.D. at Indiana University so we lived it up in Btown for five years. College towns are so much fun and Btown is no exception.

Related content: Bloomington, Indiana Summer Itinerary

After some typical standstill traffic in Chicago, an emergency bathroom break and feeding at a Starbucks in Bucktown, we finally made it to Bloomington and snagged a room at the new Graduate Hotel downtown. It was beautiful and located right on Kirkwood Avenue downtown. If you’re not familiar with Graduate Hotels, they’re a collegiate themed chain with hotels in university towns and the decor mirrors the spirit of the town and school. In Bloomington, the entryway chandelier is a collage of basketball hoops and the lobby has a massive wall of old school bleachers paying homage to their basketball heritage.

Fern worked her magic again and we were upgraded to a corner suite. The living/dining room had a very mid-mod vibe overlooking the famous Kirkwood Ave that connects the campus to the courthouse square. The bedroom was really cozy with a big king bed and just enough room for the pack n play. The room was decked in Bloomington nostalgia like Cutters jerseys from the famous movie Breaking Away set in Bloomington and a drawing of the Dali Llama visiting the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center on the southside of town. 

Tip #4 - Know your baby’s limitations

We organized a small meet up at Bear’s Place, one of our old hangouts. So many people came out to see us and meet Fern. We had so much fun but it proved to be overwhelming for Fern. I ended up wearing her for most of the night to keep her calm. I’d highly recommend keeping a carrier in your car in case you need one. We use this one the most.

She was in and out of sleep so we thought she was fine. After a few hours, we got back to our hotel around 8 pm. This is about an hour after we typically start her nighttime routine. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but after we fed her and started to get her ready for bed she had a total meltdown. We’d never seen anything like it and immediately panicked. I thought she’d gotten sick, Ryan was convinced she was constipated, the scene was utterly ridiculous. I was a wreck and ran across the street to a pharmacy (for what I’m not sure), and Ryan did skin to skin with her on his chest. By the time I got back, he’d gotten her to calm down. She slept, we slept, and we woke up ready to tackle the last leg. Looking back on it, I’m sure we just stayed out too long and Fern was just over it.

For the most part, stick to your schedule/routine to avoid a freakout.

Tip #5 Don’t Rush Pit Stops

Day 3

Our goal was simple. Make it to Clarksville, Tennessee for one of our favorite Southern road trip staples, a Bojangles cajun filet biscuit. Thankfully Fern obliged and slept until we arrived at the buttery promised land. If you have no idea what Bojangles is, do yourself a favor and try it next time you’re down south. They’re known for Cajun fried chicken and the best biscuits you can buy from a fast food place. You can even use this helpful Bojangles finder on their website when you’re on the road. 

When you do stop, make it count. Give your baby plenty of time to stretch and eat. If you rush them you’ll pay for it. Think screaming nonstop as soon as you merge back onto the highway because she realizes she’s restrained again for the long haul. I can’t recommend this newborn sleep class enough because it taught us so much about sleep cues and some excellent calming strategies that are designed to help them sleep at night but the tips helped us a lot on the road trip too. 

We arrived in Nashville later that day feeling thankful to be spending a few days in the same place and spend time with family. 

Tip #6 Give Yourself Several Days in Your Destination

Day 4, 5, 6

I’m so thankful we had four days in Nashville to relax and visit with family. We needed to sleep in the same place for a few days and it was nice to keep Fern close to her routine. My baby bible, Mom’s on Call, is so helpful with schedules to follow and really basic care (symptoms for common illnesses, feeding tips, sleep tips) from newborn - 6 month age. I can’t recommend it enough and everything we’ve learned translated to traveling. Having several days in one place helped us keep a similar schedule which seemed to help Fern stay calm and sleep well. 

I snuck out one morning to have breakfast with my college roommate and we managed to get a night off Fern duty and met some friends in Nashville for real BBQ. I’ve yet to have really good bbq in the Midwest so whenever we’re in the South we make a point to get some. We love Martin’s for their huge sampler platters; they pick the meat and you choose the sides. It is the best thing to get if you’re indecisive like me. I never remember to take photos there so you’ll have to take my word for it. They also have plenty of local beer on tap.

Related content: How to Plan a Nashville Beercation

Day 7, 8

We left Nashville feeling rested and thankful the remainder of the drive south went smoothly. On the way home, we went through Columbus, Ohio to see some more family and then straight back to Marquette to beat a snowstorm. Aside from another fantastic Bojangles pit stop in Kentucky, the last few days were thankfully uneventful. As we pulled into our driveway the snow started to fall. We couldn’t have timed it any better!

So all in all, the trip went really well. All three of us survived and had a good time. I worked myself up into a ball of nerves beforehand for no reason. I blame Google and my thirst for knowledge. I didn’t know this until recently, but I’m kind of a control freak, but what I’ve learned about babies is you can only control and plan so much. Shit will (literally and figuratively) happen and there is nothing you can do but accept it and move on. If you want to travel with your little one, just do it! Hopefully, our story helps ease your fears about taking a road trip with a baby.

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