How to Survive Vacation with a Toddler: Packing

When we started planning our summer vacation at the beginning of the year, Wes and I decided we wanted to be intentional about making it successful trip and make the transition as easy as possible on Sarah Parker. Last year we went to the beach for a few days with my family when Spark was only two weeks old. We also vacationed with Wes' family for, again, only a few days when she was a month old. We had hardly any issues with her last year, but we knew this year would be different because 1) we were staying a whole week and 2) she had a whole year's more worth of personality this year. We began discussing every detail we could come up with at length and tried to tackle any potential issue before we left rather than at the seashore.

Naturally, I began to think about packing first. Again, I wanted to do all the leg work before our trip, so I began to research toddler packing methods. I found a few videos and articles about packing each individual outfit in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Out of every method, I liked this one best. I was able to intentionally plan out each outfit that Sarah Parker would wear (hair bow and all!) so that when we were at the beach, we could just grab one and go.

We stayed for 7 days, so I decided to pack 10 outfits, just in case there were any accidents. I packed 5 "comfy" outfits and intended to pack 5 "dressy" outfits, but I couldn't decide on just 5 so I ended up packing 6. 

Y'all. I loved this method, and I foresee using it until Spark's clothes don't fit in the bags anymore. It was so nice to just grab a bag and not have to think about matching or functionality. Most days I even gave Sarah Parker an option between two or three of the bags and let her pick her outfit. We ended up not needing two of the outfits, and they stayed unspoiled from sand or dirty clothes being nice and sealed up in their protective bags. Then, when we got home and were living in piles of laundry, it was so nice to have those two extra outfits ready to wear. Also, I saved the bags so I can reuse them next trip!

In the picture above you can see how nicely the bags fit in Spark's little suitcase. I will mention that under the bags I packed two towels and four sets of pajamas. In the top zip part I had her bathing suits and hats, along with a waterproof laundry bag to put the family's dirty clothes in.

I also went ahead and bought all of the supplies I could at home and toted them with us on our trek. I took a whole box of regular diapers, a bag of swimmy diapers, and a three pack of wipes. This proved to be much more than we actually needed, but that is what I intended to happen. If you were trying to pack the least amount of diaper supplies possible, you could definitely get away with one bag of regular diapers, one bag of swimmies, and one pack of wipes. I also went ahead and bought a box of Cheerios (Spark's favorite snack), packs of oatmeal and grits, and baby sunscreen. It was so nice only having to buy our fresh food supplies once we got to the beach!

In retrospect, I honestly would not change one thing regarding the packing aspect. It went so smoothly and ended up saving a lot of stress and time while we were vacationing!