DISCLAIMER: The following post mentions the writer’s personal journey with OCD. It is not intended to act as medical advice. As always, please consult your doctor with any questions about your mental health.
When my child was younger, leaving the house was always a chore. Packing up baby and all her things for just a few hours was laborious and I was already sleep-deprived! It was just easier to stay home. But all the mommy blogs I read at the time recommended–even encouraged–moms with babies to leave the house once a day, because it was so good for both mommy and baby. And I’m not denying that. While it was hard, it was desired and yes, good.
What was even harder, though, was packing for vacation with baby.
OCD and Me
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD, is something I have been living with (in tandem with anxiety) since my first year in college. I’ve been to therapy and learned strategies to deal with it, but still, life with OCD can be a nightmare at times. Then when you pick apart those fragments of life like packing, forget it. This is why I start packing weeks in advance before any trip. For those that know, you know.
But now you throw in baby’s things on top of everything and yeah, I was a little freaked out. I’ve since thought back on my first trip with my child all those years ago and how I dealt with it, and thought I would share a tongue-in-cheek version of packing for vacation with baby!
Although OCD is a serious condition, sometimes you have to poke fun at yourself because, what else can you do? So I encourage you to come on this journey with me and feel free to laugh because OCD or not, we’ve all been there!
The “To-Do” List
The first time packing for vacation with baby brings up so many questions, like: where does one even start? How should I pack so it all stays in place and in order? What exactly should I bring? Car seat? Formula? Medicine? Cups/lids? Spoons? Bowls? Cereal? Fruits/veggies? Clothes? Winter clothes? Summer clothes? All season clothes? Shoes? Diapers/wipes?
As my mind was about to explode from all the stuff she needs and in what way to pack, I thought, let’s make a “to-do” list. Ahhh yes, my safe haven: the “to-do” list. The list that ends up having a cool 352 things on it will get me through. Okay, let’s start ticking away, shall we? I mean, I only have 14 whole days to get everything done.
And so it begins: The Pre-Packing.
1. Make a food “to-do” list.
Yes, the first thing on my to-do list is to make a food to-do list. (If you are already laughing, you are in good company.) With a baby and very few teeth at the time, I wanted to ensure she had a fruit, veggie, and smoothie every day no matter where we dined.
2. Do the laundry.
Oh the laundry. The never-ending laundry situation. I’m reminded that one day there won’t be a “laundry situation” so I really do try to embrace it, but some days it’s just really hard to love every flip, every fold, every put away. Nonetheless it’s a great way to start the packing for vacation with baby process. I do all the laundry then start putting aside outfits I would like my daughter (and myself) to wear while we’ll be away.
3. Take baby to doctor to head off a potential ear infection.
I swear I’ve taken my child to the doctor more times than I can count because I thought she had an ear infection. Nope, she’s healthy! She just likes pulling on her ear and driving mommy crazy by always asking myself, “But what if this time it’s an actual ear infection?!”
4. Finish laundry.
Thank God.
5. Lay everything out.
Build outfits, fold up neatly, and set aside to pack away at a later date.
Don’t forget the food “to-do” list.
6. A couple days before the trip, grocery shop for food.
The real question is: when should we go grocery shopping? Should we go right after breakfast and risk missing her first nap, or should we go after her first nap and risk missing her second nap? The choices are so enticing.
I choose after her first nap so that she is refreshed and less likely to have a meltdown at the store. Rookie mom move: I try a new grocery store. Not only do I not know where anything is, it is under construction. I got this though; my daughter is cool, calm, and collected while she eats her snack and looks around in awe. Until she’s not.
About 45 minutes into our trip, she loses it. I head straight for the cashier in an all-out meltdown mode (both her and I). I think about abandoning ship, taking my daughter, and running, but then I mom up and power through. Sorry other people. This was the very reason I was so patient when I was child-less because I knew one day I would be “that mom.”
7. Prepare the food.
I made all her meals during her first year of life, so before our trip I doubled up on food for the days leading up to and during the trip. (Side note: for those like me with older children, remember the food ice trays? They were a lifesaver!)
8. Pack the cooler.
9. And then put car keys in fridge on top of cooler so that I won’t forget precious cooler.
Things are about to get real . . .
10. Pack the suitcase.
My stomach is nauseous. No seriously, I feel sick. OCD sick. There is no way around this packing for vacation with baby thing, so away we go. Baby and I are sharing my large suitcase (seems legit for a four-day trip). I begin by putting my shoes and baby’s shoes at the bottom of the suitcase. My shoes need to be wrapped in plastic bags so as to not get the bottoms of my shoes on our clothes. Get plastic grocery bags and wrap shoes.
11. Then place complete outfits evenly over the shoes.
12. Then, pajamas on top of clothes.
Because, we need those first when we arrive. Intimates go in the netted zipper pocket that lines the suitcase. Okay, we are getting somewhere! Having a thought though . . . what about bumming around clothes?
13. UGH. Grab some yoga pants, t-shirts, and tennis shoes.
14. Take everything out of the suitcase because I HAVE to put the wrapped tennis shoes on the bottom with the other shoes.
I mean you can’t have shoes haphazardly thrown on top of clothes. They NEED to be with the other shoes. Okay, now we are getting somewhere! Oh wait, what about jewelry and purses? Forget it, I’m using one purse the whole time and only going to bring my “every day jewelry” so I can wear it on the plane. But, what if . . . ?
15. Go and grab one extra purse and a couple other pieces of jewelry.
Just in case.
16. Lay out plane clothes.
I do this solely because it makes me feel more prepared for the day we leave.
Time to mentally prepare.
17. Consult list to ensure I’ve accounted for anything and everything.
But also to reassure myself that IF I forget anything, they do have stores in other states.
18. Go through my daily routine in my head.
Because consulting the list with 352 items isn’t enough, I have to mentally prepare for our trip. From the moment I wake up, to the moment I lay my child down to sleep. No . . . to the moment I close my eyes for the night I will think about every step of the day to ensure I didn’t forget anything. IF I do though, there are stores in other states (I quickly remind myself).
19. Shower the night before.
20. Enjoy the 15 minutes of hot water and silence.
21. Get a good night’s rest.
Yeah, okay. Instead I set about 25 alarms on my phone and still wake up every hour for fear that we will miss our flight.
We are not done yet: Post-Packing(ish)
22. Wake up and quickly get myself ready for the day.
We all know how this goes. Creep by my child’s room and into the bathroom without her waking up (yay!). Wash my face, brush my teeth, put on makeup, and throw my hair up. I would love to actually do my hair, but can’t wake up a sleeping child with a pesky blow dryer, so up in a top knot it goes. As I walk past baby’s room again to go get dressed, I hear her let out a soft mumble and I ignore it as I continue with my lightning fast routine. I pack all my toiletries away in the space I carved out in the suitcase the night before.
23. Wake up baby . . . WITH A COLD. Seriously?!?
The child who never has a cold (well, so far in her short life) gets a cold the DAY we leave for our trip? She’s smiling, laughing, and there’s no fever, so no problem! Okay, let’s make sure I’ve packed the boogie wipes. I find out that we are fresh out of them so I make sure we have Kleenex for the plane ride and make a note to stop at a store when we arrive (stores in other states have already saved us and we haven’t even left our house yet.)
24. Clean baby up and get her ready for the day.
25. Feed baby breakfast.
Today’s the day she decides to take the oatmeal and put it in her hair. “Okay, let’s not do that . . . ” I gently tell her through seething, clenched teeth.
26. Throw a granola bar down my throat.
(Cue quiet elevator music here as husband eats his bowl of cereal in peace.)
The home stretch: Post-Packing
27. Notice it’s raining outside . . . Cool!
Well, since it hasn’t rained in months, it seems par for the course that it would be down pouring as we try to get out the door and to the airport in time. Where are all the umbrellas? Grab a couple and off we go.
28. Anxiety disorder enters the chat with the feeling of a panic attack rising.
For many reasons at this point–but specifically because I can’t find my car keys. As I ransack every place it could possibly be (which is really only one place: the key hanger by the mudroom door) it dawns on me that they are sitting on top of baby’s cooler in the fridge. I think to myself, “Next time I need to make a note by the key holder reminding myself where my keys are.” (Yes, this is my life.)
29. Finally, off we go!
30. Upon landing, have a cocktail.
Phew. We made it and all in one piece. Boy that was exhausting. So that leaves us with our last bonus item . . .
31. Enjoy the moment.
No really, enjoy the moment. Because you’re a mom and even if packing isn’t something that stresses you out–OCD or not–something else will soon!
Epilogue
Now that my daughter is eight, life is so much easier when we travel. She doesn’t need pre-packed food, bottles, smoothies, etc . . . and she now helps with laundry and packs her own suitcase. So if you are in this stage of life and feel like I did, just know that this too shall pass (and all too quickly!).
Author’s note: I do want to say that this post sounds like I did all the work without the help of my husband. Yes, he was there, yes he was helping, and yes he was (and always is) very present. We have a really nice balance of responsibilities helping each other where one may falter.
BUT even though I have a partner, this is still what our brains go through with this disorder. Does it break me down every day? No. But there are times it can very debilitating and I hope that if anything, I’ve brought awareness to it.
This is part of what makes you so authentically and wonderfully you! Laughing through the chaos of the “younger children” years is sometimes all you can do. But I will say, as someone who is on the other side of the packing spectrum, thank goodness for people like you who will always have whatever it is that I forgot to pack 🙂