{"id":697,"date":"2024-04-10T15:49:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T15:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loose-productions.com\/?p=697"},"modified":"2024-12-11T19:10:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T19:10:56","slug":"van-life-with-a-baby-tips-for-taking-your-infant-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loose-productions.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/10\/van-life-with-a-baby-tips-for-taking-your-infant-on-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Van Life with a Baby: Tips for Taking your Infant on the Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I got pregnant in May 2022, I had been doing van life on and off for 6 years. I loved the lifestyle and was determined to continue doing van life with our baby after he was born. I even declared in this Instagram post<\/a> that \u201cKids are adaptable, and I have the philosophy that our baby will adapt to our unconventional lifestyle. We certainly don\u2019t have to give up everything we love just because we have a kid in tow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our little guy was born in February 2023 and the day he turned 4 months old in June, we hit the road in our 170\u2033 Sprinter Van that I had designed to accommodate our growing family. Instead of packing our mountain bikes, we packed bins of diapers, baby clothes, and other baby gear that I had read or thought would be useful for doing van life with a newborn.<\/p>\n

Our plan was to go all the way up to Tofino, a beach town on the northwestern edge of Vancouver Island. Maybe it was a little ambitious going so far, but the beach (with a mild climate) sounded like the perfect adventure for having a little one in tow.<\/p>\n

Things started fairly smoothly, just as they had been at home. In the beginning, our baby was sleeping and traveling ok. But then as soon as we got up to Tofino (over 1,100 miles from home), just like a light switch, things started to change. Constant night wakings, difficulty with naps, hysteria anytime we were driving anywhere.<\/p>\n

But I thought babies were adaptable, right? All of the blog posts I read about doing van life with a baby made it seem easy and fun. Was our baby just more difficult than these other van life babies? Were Ryan and I doing it wrong?<\/p>\n

After two months on the road with our baby, it started to become clear that we needed a break from the van. Not only was the baby relatively unhappy compared to what he had been prior at home, but I was delirious and nearly sick from lack of sleep. Of course, there were some good times, and we made memories that I\u2019ll cherish forever, but the ever-changing environment and close quarters were not working for any of us.<\/p>\n

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We spent a lot of time hanging out at our campsites to make life easier on us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that I\u2019ve had some time to reflect on the experience, I\u2019m realizing that most of what I observed online about van life with a baby was very one-sided. The few blogs and social media posts I read about doing van life with a baby<\/strong> only talked about the good parts and led me to have an unrealistic, incomplete picture of what doing van life with an infant is really like.<\/strong> Also, every baby is different and they are constantly changing so what works one week may not work the next.<\/p>\n

The good news is this: because babies are ever-evolving, our experience when he was an infant doesn\u2019t mean that van life won\u2019t be a good fit for us as a family once he\u2019s a bit older. In fact, we\u2019re planning to take everything we learned and try again when he\u2019s in the toddler stage.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a van lifer (or aspiring van lifer) hoping to introduce your little one to the wonders of van life, this blog post is for you. I share my story not to discourage you, but instead to make sure you have realistic expectations and to share the things I would have done differently if I could do it all over again.<\/p>\n

In this comprehensive guide, I\u2019ll explore the essential aspects of van life with a baby younger than 1 year old. <\/strong>I cover tips for your van\u2019s layout and sleeping arrangements, the gear you need, feeding, safety considerations, ways to keep your little one entertained, and other things to expect. By following these tips and advice, you\u2019ll be giving yourself the best chance of having it be an enjoyable experience for your family.<\/p>\n

Van Conversion Tips for Traveling with a Baby<\/h2>\n

One of the first considerations when embarking on van life with a baby is choosing the right van and layout for your family\u2019s needs. Safety, space, and are crucial factors to consider<\/strong> when selecting a van that can accommodate your growing family.<\/p>\n

Safe seating for your baby<\/h3>\n

Forward-facing seats<\/h4>\n

As your family expands, you\u2019ll need to ensure that your van provides enough space to comfortably and safely seat everyone. The primary consideration is you need a seat installed in your van that can accommodate a rear-facing infant car seat. In most cases, this is going to be a forward-facing captain\u2019s chair or bench seat directly behind the driver and\/or passenger.<\/p>\n

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\"Car
The chair you install your carseat on will need to be forward facing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Because of the rear-facing requirement for your car seat, infant car seats cannot be safely installed on a chair that is facing sideways.<\/strong> For example, if you have a bench seat that faces out towards the van\u2019s slider door, this is not a safe place for a car seat. Unfortunately, I\u2019ve seen a lot of DIY vans with car seats facing sideways, and this is not safe!<\/p>\n

Additionally, the seat itself that the infant car seat is placed on must be properly installed in the van, meeting National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requirements. <\/p>\n

If you are retrofitting your van to add additional seating for your baby, you can\u2019t just slap a seat in the van with some bolts and call it good. To truly be a safe place for the baby, the seat must be affixed to the van\u2019s frame in a way that meets NHTSA regulations. <\/strong>This ensures that if you get in an accident, the chair where your infant car seat is installed can withstand the minimum forces and torques that might be expected in a crash.<\/p>\n

Safe seat installation<\/h4>\n

Once you\u2019re sure that the seat itself is safe for a car seat, you need to make sure your car seat is properly installed. If you\u2019re unsure, you can go to a car seat inspection station (just google one near you), and they can help you make sure your car seat is securely installed.<\/p>\n

While there are many different types of car seats, I highly recommend an infant car seat with a handle that can easily be removed from its base<\/strong>. That way you can take the baby in the car seat into a restaurant or snap it into your stroller if it\u2019s compatible with your car seat. I personally chose a carseat made by Clek<\/a>, as they perform crash testing beyond the normal requirements, and since we planned to spend so much time in the van, I wanted the carseat with the highest safety ratings.<\/p>\n

Number of seats<\/h4>\n

One other thing to keep in mind is whether you want to be able to sit in the back of the van with your baby. Our baby had gotten very used to me riding next to him in the backseat of our 4Runner. So once we got in the van and he was in the backseat alone, he didn\u2019t like that very much. A van is also much noisier and bumpier than a car, which I think contributed to his unhappiness.<\/p>\n

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\"Inhabit
We only have one captain\u2019s chair so the baby has to ride by himself<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

We set up a car seat mirror<\/a> so he could see us. We also taped photographs of Ryan and I to the back of the headrest. Neither of those worked to keep him content. As a result, I ended up spending a lot of time standing up next to him in the aisle while the van was in motion, which is obviously not a safe way for me to ride in a van.<\/p>\n

Of course, this phase will pass and eventually he\u2019ll be comfortable riding back there by himself, but for the infant phase, this posed a serious challenge.<\/p>\n

Adding another chair back there for me to ride in is impossible now. If I could start all over with my van conversion, I would at least consider putting two seatbelts in the back, although that further limits your layout options. <\/p>\n

Storage for baby items<\/h3>\n

With a baby on board, you\u2019re going to need storage for all of the small things you need \u2013 diapers, wipes, burp cloths<\/a>, clothes, toys, bottles, pump parts, etc. I designed my van with this in mind, and we have lots of convenient cubbies and cabinets to put all of this baby stuff in. However, the more cabinets you have, the less room you have to move around in your van. And with two dogs, two adults, and a baby, there is a lot of shuffling around.<\/p>\n

As you plan your layout, you\u2019ll need to carefully balance your need for storage with having enough space to move comfortably throughout the van.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Read next:<\/strong> See more helpful van life storage tips<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Baby proofing your van<\/h3>\n

We got off the road before we needed to consider any serious babyproofing, but babyproofing in a van is going to look different than in a house. You likely already have cabinet locks on all of your drawers and cabinets, so you probably won\u2019t need to worry about that too much.<\/p>\n

The biggest things to be concerned about once your baby is crawling is the baby falling off a tall platform bed or crawling right out the slider door when it\u2019s open.<\/strong> If your van isn\u2019t built yet, you can consider ways to address these issues.<\/p>\n

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\"Man
If you have a platform bed and your baby is starting to crawl, you need to be very careful that they aren\u2019t unattended on your bed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Some people opt for a platform bed that is lower to the ground or a dinette that converts to a bed. In these cases, you\u2019ll lose storage space underneath your bed. You can also put some sort of gate in the doorway to prevent the baby from falling out the door. Either way, doing van life with a baby means you have to keep an eye on them at all times.<\/p>\n

Sleeping Arrangements<\/h2>\n

There are a number of van layouts that work for families with multiple kids, but the need for additional seatbelts will limit your layout options. There\u2019s no way around it.<\/p>\n

When I was designing my third Sprinter Van<\/a>, I wasn\u2019t yet pregnant and wasn\u2019t sure if I was going to be successful. So I added a third seat and planned to figure out a sleeping solution later if a baby did come along. That means we don\u2019t have a permanent bed set-up for the baby. Instead, he sleeps in a travel crib that fits between the driver\u2019s seat and the second-row passenger chair where the car seat goes.<\/p>\n

\"Bugaboo
This is where our baby sleeps in our Sprinter van<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At night, we first have to remove the car seat and stash that up front, and then we set up our Bugaboo Stardust travel crib<\/a>. I chose this specific crib because it\u2019s one of the more compact travel cribs and also is very slim when packed away. It also has a bassinet conversion so the baby can be higher up in the crib when they are little.<\/p>\n

While I like how compact it is and how well it fits in our space, the downside is at one year old, it\u2019s already pretty small for him. He doesn\u2019t have a lot of room to roll over or move around. Once he turns 2, we plan to try the Cabbunk<\/a>, which is a hammock system that goes across the two front seats.<\/p>\n

In hindsight, I might have considered a seat that folds down into a bed, like those found in the Storyteller Vans<\/a> or the Scopema RIB Bench Seat<\/a>. This way we could have set our travel crib on top while he was still an infant. Then eventually once he\u2019s transitioned out of a crib, he could sleep directly on that bed.<\/p>\n

Either way, our sleeping arrangement worked ok and no matter what you choose for your baby\u2019s sleep, it\u2019s something that is going to consume space in your van that you will have to work around.<\/p>\n

Here are some additional things to consider when it comes to your baby\u2019s sleep in your camper van:<\/p>\n

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