Summer Travel Tips

This summer we’ll be homebound while awaiting Baby Elephant #3’s arrival, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream of a vacay. Maybe this year it’ll be a stay-cation with a long day at Breakers Waterpark with the fam. But whatever your plans are this summer, I thought I’d give a list of a few helpful items to pack along for your travels, whether you cloth diaper, do a hybrid option, or use sposies while away from home.

Access to a washer & dryer, but not a diaper sprayer? Pack GroVia BioLiners to help make cleaning up messy diapers that much easier. These are flushable, and at most a quick swish in the toilet will be all you’ll need to do to rinse away any excess poo.

Don’t want to mess with cloth while away from home? GroVia BioSoakers make for a nice hybrid option. Use their OS Shells and a disposable {compostable, if you’re into it} BioSoaker for a green diapering system. GroVia shells wash up nicely in bathroom sinks, and they dry quickly. I even learned a great drying tip from a grandma at a diaper party. To help speed up the drying process if you are in a rush or a humid climate, use a dry towel to squeeze out excess water from the shell by rolling shell up tightly in the towel. This will help wick away even more water after an initial hand wringing. Another perk of traveling with BioSoakers is their compact size. A pack of 20 is smaller than a pack of 20 disposable diapers. And I normally travel with 4 shells, whether we’re gone for a weekend or a couple of weeks. You can read more about BioSoakers, and even see detailed pics of them on an older blog post. Warning! It was about a major tummy bug that was going through BW's system at the time. But the detailed pics showing how easy they are to use are good for those of you on the fence about whether to use these or not.

Let’s talk dirty clothes & diapers. Wet bags & pail liners are for more than just storing dirty diapers while away from home. I’ve used pail liners for keeping dirty clothes separate from clean clothes in suitcases. It makes unpacking and packing while on vacation a little more organized. And Lord knows I need help with keeping things organized, especially on vacation. Leslie’s Boutique Wet/Dry bags are great for keeping clean & dirty diapers or clothes together yet separate at the same time. So use them for days at the beach or resort pools. Stash sunscreen & hotel keys in the dry section too! Pack a few bags to ensure that you’ll always have a clean one when you need it. These can also be hand washed and line dried while on vacation.

Swim party! Don’t bring along disposable swim diapers. Pack a reusable swim diaper or two for your water activities while on vacation. These will take up less room than a pack of diapers, and are super easy to wash in the sink. Why should you pack 2 reusable swim diapers? This way if one is becomes messy, the party doesn’t have to end. The second diaper can be waiting in the dry pouch of a wet/dry bag.

And don’t feel bad if you don’t think you can travel and use cloth at the same time. Do what if comfortable for you and your little one. But you may be pleasantly surprised by how easy it can be. Even on short weekend trips away from home I often alternate between using BioSoakers and taking cloth diapers with me. It all depends on my mood. So relax on your vacation, and wherever you go this summer, I wish you all safe travels and wonderful memories!

P.S. Since we don’t have travel plans, I’d love to hear where you’re planning on traveling. Visiting family? Theme parks? Camping? Maybe a weekend get away without the kiddos? {That sounds heavenly!}

Mr. GBE takes on Mr. Mom

Aloha! I’m packing my bags and heading out to visit my sister and her brood in Hawaii this week. The joke around here is that all I need in my bag is my kindle, mp3 player, & grass skirt & coconut bra. I can’t wait to fly off alone, {I know you’re jealous.} and spend a glorious week with my sis and her two boys. Adventures await!

On the home front, I’ve been preparing for Mr. GBE for his new role as Mr. Mom. And the highlight of his stay-cation, as I like to call it, is laundry. And to be even more specific, diaper laundry. As per our unspoken cloth diaper arrangement, Mr. GBE only changes diapers. And on a rare occasion snaps in a GroVia soaker onto a shell. That’s it. Now he’s going to have a week full of diaper laundry…washing, drying, and sorting. Ack! And like I’ve mentioned before, my stash is quite eclectic. Yesterday, we sat down and sorted the clean diapers together. He wasn’t thrilled with the variety, but he’s up for the task. There were also a few comments that he’s going to pick up a pack of Luvs. Ha ha *dry, sarcastic laugh* This just reemphasizes my belief that the more uncomplicated your stash is the better it is for when you leave your babe. Now that we sorted laundry, my next task is to show him the wash routine. And to keep phone calls to a minimum {a 3 hour time difference will not allow him early morning, laundry phone convos!}, I’ve made a list with laundry instructions. And to make everything even easier, I made a list with all laundry instructions, boys’ clothes, dog things {she’s had surgery recently, and needs fresh bedding daily}, sheets, and Mr.GBE’s clothes. My hope is to plow through a majority of laundry today, so dirty dipes will be his only laundry chore. I think I deserve a pat on the back, but since I’m going to Hawaii for a week, I won’t ask for one.

On another note, I’ve never left BW for longer than a day. He’s going to freak. I’m going to freak. But at least I’ll be freaking out in paradise. He’s such a mama’s boy, and I do relish his baby love. His open mouth, drool kisses are to die for. He’s going to have to call me every day and tell me how much he misses me.

CW, on the other hand, is going to survive without me. I’ve left him for a week when he was BW’s age. We both survived the time apart. And now that I leave him 3 days a week for a few hours at school, it’s like he’s turned into Mr. Independent. I am going to miss out on a whole week of chasing him around the house pinching his “biscuits”. It’s our fav thing to do! He’s going to have to call me every day and tell me how much he misses me.

Paradise calls…

{And by the way, Mr. GBE will be filling orders from the store. He thinks he deserves a raise!}