Top 5 Travel Essentials for Moms

If you are a mom and you are traveling with your kids, you know how hard it cane be sometimes. Either they don’t like their car seat, they fall asleep and get a kink in their neck or they get bored and fussy. We know how it is, moms!!! So we put together a list of OUR top 5 travel essential that we won’t leave home without.

Essential #1 – Britax Car Seat

Sure, you can buy a car seat at Walmart or maybe even get one on Criaglist and save a ton of money. But if you take 5 minutes and watch a couple youtube videos of what happens to a a car seat during a head on collision, you might think again about what you are strapping your precious cargo into.

I don’t take the safety of my children lightly, so when it came time to picking out a car seat, I put in a good amount of time into researching the best, most reliable, most highly rated car seats. One of the brands I trust the most is Britax.

My three year old son is rear facing in a Britax Boulevard 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat (Zebra print!) and he loves it. We’ve been through a few car seats with our two children in the past 6 years and this one is by far my favorite for a plethora of reasons.

A few key features about this particular car seat…

True Side Impact Protection diverts crash forces and keeps spine aligned
Base with SafeCell Technology compresses to counteract forward momentum
Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether anchors seat and slows forward movement
Integrated steel bars reinforce seat stability
HUGS with SafeCells minimize forward movement to protect child’s head

Visit BritaxUSA.com to learn more.

Price: $228 on Amazon (Retails for $319)

Get It: Amazon.com

Essential #2 – Bubble Bum

The BubbleBum Inflatable, Portable Car Booster Seat is pretty much the most exciting baby product I have discovered this year! I was lucky enough to receive one to review and I loved it so much, I got another. We are always traveling in a different car and it’s too expensive to equip my car, my husband’s car, our family suv, my mother’s car and my grandmother’s car with 2 car seats, EACH! When I discovered the Bubble Bum, it literally made my life so much easier. Now I can just grab the booster and quickly move it from one car to another. It’s also good for plane rides, car rentals and anytime you quickly need a child to travel in a different car. I don’t think it’s recommended for daily use, but it’s certainly a wonderful convenience to have when you’re in a pinch like we so many times find ourselves in.

Price: $29.99

Get It: Amazon.com, Target.com

Essential #3 – Neck Rest

The Skip Hop Zoo Neck Rest is a car ride essential that you really shouldn’t leave home without if you have kids under 5. I’ve found putting it on “backwards” so that the space is in the back of the neck, rather than at the chin. This is especially helpful if you have a car seat that doesn’t recline. When kids fall asleep, their head always ends up hanging forward and then they get a kink in their neck. With a neck rest, like the Skip Hop, they can fall asleep easily and their heads won’t bop around or hang uncomfortably. A lifesaver for any child that might fall asleep in the car.

Price: $13

Get It: Amazon.com

Essential #4 – SEA-BAND for Motion Sickness

While the iPad and Nintendo DS might keep them busy during your trip, staring at a screen for too many hours can cause motion sickness! We avoid that by having 2 pairs of Sea Bands in my purse at all times so I can whip them out as soon as the electronic devices get turned on! They work amazingly well. Before Sea Bands, we had to stop several times during a two hour car trip so that my oldest daughter could get out and walk around to ease her motion sickness. Now that we have the Sea Bands, everyone travels happy!

They also came in very handy during my first trimester when I had morning sickness. I put them on first thing in the morning and it really helped ease the morning sickness/nausea. The child size fit my skinny wrists perfectly!

Price: $6 on Amazon (Retail for $9.99)

Get It: Amazon.com

Essential #5 – Backseat Organizer

Few things compare to the horror you will experience if you put a couple children in a car, strapped into car seats, with nothing to do. God help you if you even try it… Do yourself a huge favor and get a couple Munchkin Backseat Organizers and pack it with all kinds of books, activities, car games, toys and healthy snacks like Macy’s CheeseSticks. It will even make short rides to the grocery store easier, believe me!

Price: $9.99

Get It: Amazon.com

* Some products in this post were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of product testing. This does not affect our opinion of the products in any way. We only write about products we personally like and use, regardless of how they were acquired.

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