How to travel with a 9 month old

Wow. When I knew that I was driving 5+ hours all by myself with an infant, I was not terribly happy about it. I was worries that he would cry the whole way, I would stope every hour, everything would go wrong. And I am not going to lie, it was not the easies trip that I have taken, but I have learned some lessons that will make it  go easier in the future.

1. Plan the start of your trip around baby's nap, and be flexible. 
2. Make sure that all of your "to dos" are done the day before you leave, so you can leave around baby's first nap
3. Fill bottles with water and pack formula for bottles, so it's easy to grab, shake and feed. {I have a munchkin brand formula holder. It holds 8 oz each in 3 sections. Perfect for traveling}
4. Do not stop at the store and buy things you need for the trip while actually on the trip. Remember step #2? You have already bought everything you need the day before {or earlier}. 
5. Attach paci to the car seat straps. So when you are stuck in Seattle and there is no where safe to stop you can reach back and pop that sucker back in so you are not listening to a screaming child.
6. Also attach one toy if possible to the car seat straps. One of H's favorite toys is a teething style ring. I kept it attached to him so he could easily grab it when he got bored. 
7. Only place one toy in the car seat. Place all other toys within reach so you can pass them back one at a time until you can get some where safe to stop.
8. Map out locations within a half hour of each other to stop. You will not hit most of them, but you don't want to A)stop in the ghetto or B) be feeding your baby in the parking lot of a gas station. It will be creepy and you will be wishing that you stopped in either A) a Starbucks or B) a McDonalds or Target.
9. Stopping at a big name company is best. They will most likely have a changing table in the bathroom so you are not stuck in the gas station parking lot changing your baby in the car.
10. Buy a mirror so you can see your baby BEFORE you go on your trip. I had never used one before because the angle wasn't right. My best friend's roommate taped a large binder clip to the back and the angle was PERFECT. I could see him in my rear view mirror and could tell if he was just back there talking to himself or back there freaking out. Made it easier to determine what was a "we need to stop NOW" and "we still have a little bit keep driving." Also, when he was really quite, I could see that he was sleeping and not back there not breathing =)

Unfortunately I did not do all of these things on the drive there. It was not peaceful, it was not fun, and I was calling my husband telling him that never again will he get out of a road trip. However, the drive back was so much better. And no joke, it snowed the whole way home. And that drive was much more peaceful.