RV Trip with a Breastfed Newborn: 2400+ Miles, 6 Days, No Fridge, No Stress

Every parent eventually considers: when is the right moment to take that first trip with your little one? For some families, travel may begin right away. For others, it may take months or even years before the timing feels right. But whenever that moment arrives for you, we want you to know that you can do hard things, and in the midst of the chaos and the learning curve, you’ll make beautiful memories along the way.

This post comes from a mom who found a way to make a cross-country roundtrip with an 8 week old baby feel manageable. Written by Laura Teichen, children’s author and illustrator, in loving memory of Marvin Silverman.

Making the Decision to Travel with an 8 Week Old Baby

My grandfather and I had always been extremely close. We spent every Sunday together. He drove me to all of my extracurricular activities and cheered me on and was there for all the big moments in my life (Bat Mitzvah, Graduations, Wedding, etc.). After college, I moved from Florida to Texas and we still kept in touch multiple times a week. 

A few weeks before I got pregnant (April 2023), he was scheduled to have surgery for a carotid artery and I decided to fly down to care for him through his recovery. When we said our goodbyes, I tearfully left his home not knowing if there would be a next time we’d see each other again. 

Soon after (May 2023), I found out I was pregnant with a high risk pregnancy and my beloved 90‑year‑old grandfather had just been diagnosed with stomach cancer and began home hospice with an estimated three months to live. When we told him that I was expecting, he said he was going to try to hold on long enough to meet his only great grandchild.

He would have been happy with a FaceTime call but my husband and I were determined to make his dying wish a reality. Even if he somehow made it through the nine months of pregnancy, he couldn’t travel to us so we would have to find a way to travel to him. 

Finding Our Comfort Zone: Choosing How to Travel

What We Needed in a Travel Setup

Any nursing mom knows how overwhelming breastfeeding every one to two hours can feel. Frequent feedings, the need for a stash, the fear of losing even a single drop. That would be enough to make someone say the trip was impossible and not worth the stress, but I had a grandpa to hug one last time so we had to figure out what we were and were not comfortable with in terms of travel and find a solution that worked for our flow. 

We needed an option that: 

1. Had a comfortable and private space for nursing/pumping

2. Gave flexibility to go at our own pace without a rigid schedule

3. Allowed for breaks from the car seat

4. Had a safe sleeping space for the baby

5. Limited our exposure to germs and crowds of people or unsanitary conditions

6. Comfort and safety with postpartum recovery

Why We Chose an RV Camper Van: Pros and Cons

We ultimately landed on a cross-country road trip via a 2023 Winnebago Solis 59P Class B Camper Van that we rented from Rvezy. Here’s why:

 

Since I knew I was having a caesarean section, I spoke to my doctor to figure out the timing of when realistically I would be able to make that trip without being in significant pain (assuming no medical complications). I spoke to my son’s pediatrician to understand the vaccination schedule and when it might be safe to expose him to an elderly person in hospice care while balancing the fact that time was not on our side. Ultimately, we landed on booking the trip for eight weeks postpartum (March 2024) and checked with doctors multiple times during the postpartum period leading up to the trip to understand the risks. 

It took us three days and two nights each way, but we made it in good spirits and had an amazing time. By some miracle, my grandpa was still holding on. He met my son and beamed with happiness. I will cherish those moments for the rest of my life and am forever grateful to the family members who helped make the trip possible.

The Main Challenge: Breastmilk Storage Without a Fridge

Because we decided to sleep at truck stops to save money, and the van only had enough electricity to power the refrigerator when the engine was running, that meant we would not have a reliable way to store my breastmilk at a safe temperature, unless we got creative…

Enter Ceres Chill. The miracle bottle. That bad boy kept my milk perfect for my baby until we could turn the vehicle on again and keep driving. Not only did it keep everything at a safe temperature but not having to pour milk between bags and bottles in a moving vehicle meant fewer spills of the liquid gold. 

Q&A: Breastfeeding and Pumping on a Roadtrip

How often did you stop to nurse or pump while on the road? 

Prior to going on the trip, I wrote down the names of all major cities we would be passing through and the distance / estimated duration between each so we would have a general plan. 

Our goal was to stop every one and a half hours (~90-120 miles) and break for anywhere from thirty minutes to one hour each time. Our actual route would take an estimated 17 hours and 35 minutes to drive the 1206 miles each way. 

In reality, sometimes we stopped after only an hour of driving because he was crying and other times we were able to push through to ~175 miles in one stretch before stopping because he was sound asleep. We never drove longer than two hours at a time as we wanted to make sure we could give our son a break from the car seat (considering pediatricians do not recommend extended periods of sitting in a car seat for young babies). 

If my breasts felt full of milk, I would pump from the passenger seat while we kept on driving and then give my son the bottle once he woke up and we stopped at a rest stop. The RV was equipped with outlets that worked whether or not the van was running but I also had a pump that was rechargeable and could be used without being continuously plugged in. 

We used the Loves Travel Stops mobile application for help knowing where we could camp overnight for free and have easy access to gas, food, and a full bathroom. Below is a map of the actual cities we stopped in on the way to Florida which we were able to tackle in three days and two nights. 

How did you keep your breastmilk cool in the RV camper van without a refrigerator? 

Our system involved filling the outer chamber of the Ceres Chill with ice, pumping directly into the inner chamber, and then placing the entire chiller in a cooler filled with ice. I am sure that was overkill as the Ceres Chill is meant for extended storage (up to 24 hours), but we wanted to be sure it stayed safe since the temperature of the van varied depending on if the van was on or off. Once a day at the truck stops, we would just change out the ice. 

We brought along with us a stash of breastmilk that would help with three feedings in the event I was not able to fully produce, or was tired, or in pain. We stored those in spare chillers the same way. 

Check out the visual below from the OG+ User Guide for how the inner and outer chambers work. 

How did you warm the bottle for your baby on the go? 

Since the RV camper van was equipped with outlets, we were able to bring a baby bottle warmer along with us. But in the event we were unable to use the bottle warmer, we knew we were covered with the Ceres Chill as we could just fill the outer chamber with hot water and place the baby bottle with milk in it to warm it to the desired temperature. 

Check out the Ceres Chill Bottle Warming How-to Video

Was the RV camper van private enough to nurse or pump in? 

Oh definitely. I nursed in the Murphy bed at the back of the RV camper van. I pumped from both the passenger seat next to my son while he was in his car seat and from the front passenger seat. The van had zip‑up window shades that kept the back completely private. While I was in the front, a nursing wrap was all I needed for coverage. The rear windows could stay zipped while driving since the driver relied on electronic rear‑view mirrors with cameras which was perfect for maintaining privacy without causing blind spots.

How did you keep the pump parts and bottles clean while at truck stops?

The RV camper van was equipped with a sink. It had a water reserve that we could refill with a garden hose in the event it ran out. The only issue is the water was cold since we did not use a campsite hookup (meaning there was no gas to warm the water). When needed, we were able to bring a collapsible wash basin with us and fill it up with hot water from the truck stop and bring it back to the RV camper van to wash our supplies. 

I also used a staging mat so that I had a sterile place to put my pump parts in between uses. 

We brought along special hand soap that had moisturizer in it to prevent our hands from drying out from the frequent handwashing. 

Can you move around the van while driving?

Each state has different laws on this so make sure you check locally with each jurisdiction you drive through and realize that it can vary by the age of the passenger. My general understanding is that in some states, adults can temporarily move about the van but it is not recommended (as the safest place is in a seat with a seatbelt on). Additionally, the van shakes from side to side and it can be very bumpy, especially in the back on the Murphy bed. We never took our son out of his car seat while the van was moving. 

Could you feed your baby a bottle while he was in the car seat?

No, we were afraid of the choking risk so we only fed him bottles when the van was parked and we could hold him. We also wanted to make sure that he had a proper rest and digest period after each session so we waited at least 15 minutes after each feed before hitting the road again. 

Did you feel 8 weeks old was the right age for traveling? 

This was the first of many trips for us. And while I didn’t envision traveling with a newborn and would not have if the situation wasn’t what it was, I do feel it was the perfect age for that particular trip. At two months old, our son mostly slept the whole way so an extended road trip was easy at that stage. The RV camper van was perfect because a trip that long would feel very crammed in a car.

Was it really worth the stress traveling with a newborn?

My husband and I still talk about that trip years later with fondness and 10/10 would take the trip again. So if you are a new mom and have a trip you really want to do but feel overwhelmed by the logistics, trust your ability to overcome and find solutions, and of course...don't forget your Ceres Chill! You can do hard things, and you can still make beautiful memories along the way.

Traveling With a Breastfed Baby at Every Age: Every Trip Since

Each age brings its own routines and factors to consider but what I can say is we have never regretted taking a trip. It helps to go into it with a positive attitude and recognize that you cannot control how your little one will be feeling nor can you control how other people act or how schedules get thrown off but you can control how you respond. Little ones feed off of your energy and if you are anxiously anticipating a meltdown, it will definitely happen. If you are calm like it is any other day, it will feel like any other day. 

Traveling with a Breastfed Infant

At six months old, we did a six hour car road trip to San Antonio, Texas for our anniversary and then flew with him as a lap child from there to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a funeral. He wasn’t hungry for nursing at takeoff so we had a bottle with some sugar water to give him so he would have something to suck on. He slept the whole way after that. Our Ceres Chill (filled with breastmilk but no ice) made it through TSA without issue. They tested the bottle, then handed it back. We went to Starbucks and asked for a cup of ice and then activated our Chiller and we were good to go. Actually, our diaper cream gave us the most trouble because I brought along a giant tub in our carryon and that caused a red flag but once they tested it, we were cleared to go and on future trips, I just disclosed I had a tub of diaper cream and had no issues. 

Check out the Ceres Chill TSA How-to Video

At nine months old, we flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for my grandfather’s funeral. Our son was much more active at this point so we chose to book him his own seat. We still treated him like a lap child and held him in my arms the whole time but having the extra space next to us for nursing without his long legs kicking others was super helpful. He slept for half of the flight. Suction cup spinners on the windows were enough to keep him entertained. 

Traveling with a Young Toddler (1 to 2.5 Years Old)

At one year old, we flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin again for another funeral. Once again, we paid for an extra seat to give us more space but we still treated him like a lap child. I discovered I was most comfortable in the window seat as it gave me something to lean on while nursing. He slept for half of the flight. We brought a snackle box and filled it with snacks and had painters tape, popsicle sticks, and tissue paper to keep him entertained.

At seventeen months old, we went on a three-and-a-half hour road trip to Broken Bow, Oklahoma for our anniversary. He slept for most of the ride.

At nineteen months old, we went on a seven hour road trip to Great Bend, Kansas to visit family. Once again, he slept for most of the ride. We timed it to make sure we were driving during the period when he was least active.

At twenty-two months old, we went on a two hour road trip to Mineral Wells, Texas. He slept the whole way there and was awake the whole way back. I just sang and read to him.

At twenty-four months old, we went on a six hour road trip to Galveston, Texas and then on a one week cruise to Mexico and Honduras. He slept on most of the car ride but we did plan stops with activities along the way to wear him out (petting zoo, parks, museums, etc.). The cruise was an amazing experience and we didn’t want it to end. I do recommend that you make sure you research if the cruise line you choose allows babies/toddlers in the pools and what their diaper restrictions are. Also make sure to pack enough diapers because you won’t be able to buy any on board. 

At twenty-six months old, we flew to Reno, Nevada for a week to celebrate our 15 year anniversary early so we could experience Lake Tahoe during the winter season. We brought a Cares Harness on the plane so our son could be strapped into his own seat safely. We used a plane hammock under him to keep his toys from falling on the ground. He loved the Water Wow coloring books. I was still nursing at that point and he slept for half the flight in my arms.

At two-and-a-half years old, we went on a seven hour road trip to Great Bend, Kansas and we treated it the same as the Galveston trip, we found things to do along the way to tire him out. We left early in the morning to take advantage of his wake windows at strategic points. 

Our travel doesn’t stop from there, we are already planning on going to Boston, Massachusetts and a Caribbean Cruise from Florida later this year as well as Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver next year. We will likely still be nursing through all of those trips and our Ceres Chill will be along for the ride each time. It truly has given us the freedom to go anywhere. 

What to Pack on an RV Trip With a Newborn

Even though the RV camper van had ample space, we still needed to be strategic about what we brought. Ultimately, my husband’s and my stuff was all crammed into one large suitcase and everything else was for my son. We decided to pack in small duffles so we could compartmentalize by category for easier access on the go. Check out my must-have items below!

For Breastfeeding and Pumping

1. Ceres Chill OG+ Chiller/Warmer - highly recommend bringing along 3+ of these so you have one for pumping directly into, one for warming, and one for stashing excess milk you need to keep chilled

2. Pump Converters - so I could pump directly into the chiller

3. Lanshinoh 3.0 Smartpump Rechargeable Breastpump - has a battery powered option so you don’t need working outlets all the time to pump (+ extra flanges, tubing, pump parts, etc.)

4. Lanshinoh Anti-Colic Baby Bottles

5. Sarah Wells Pumparoo Wet/Dry Bag with Staging Mat - essential for keeping pump parts sterile

6. We Are AMMA Natural Cocoon Nursing Wrap - this is my favorite wrap because it is so breathable and in Texas/Florida heat that is a must

7. Dapple Bottle & Dish Soap

8. Munchkin Sponge Bottle Brush

9. Boppy Complete Nursing Pillow - this was a MUST in the RV since the murphy bed is minimalist and flat

10. Yoosfoss Muslin Burp Cloths

11. Igloo Trailmate 30 Can Cooler Bag

12. Wash Basin

13. Teethers 

14. Nursing Pads

15. Nipple Butter

16. Hot Compress

For Travel:

1. Britax Willow Brook S+ Travel System

2. Boba Baby Wrap - for newborn and infant

3. Lillebaby All Seasons Carrier - for older infant and young toddler

4. Magnetic hooks - for hanging things along the magnetic walls for easy access

For Sleep:

17. BassiNest Swivel Sleeper 3.0 - for sleeping in the van

18. Guava Family Lotus Baby Travel Crib - we didn’t use it on this particular trip but it came in handy on every other trip we have been on

19. Halo Baby Sleep Swaddle - my son loved this one until he was three months old

20. Dream Weighted Sleep Swaddle - this was our go to from three to twelve months old

21. Hatch Go Portable Sound Machine - we were able to hang it from the ceiling of the van 

22. Battery Powered Camping Lantern - my husband put his shirt over it to dim the light

23. Ryobi Clamp Fan - since nights can get warm in the van with the engine off

24. Foldable Step Stool - to help climb onto the bed without pulling a stitch

For Diapering:

25. Huggies Skin Essentials Diapers - we packed twelve diapers per day

26. Water Wipes Sensitive+ - we packed one pack per two days

27. Bordreaux’s Butt Paste mixed half and half with Aquaphor for diaper rash

28. Diaper Liners - we would put this over my son’s private parts while we changed him to prevent getting peed on while we reached for wipes and butt paste

29. SkipHop Pronto Changing Mat - helped keep any blowouts from making contact with our bed

30. Brightroom Pop Up Laundry Hamper - for the dirty baby clothes we needed to keep separate from our clothes

31. Scrubba Wash Bag and a hanging clothes line - in the event handwashing was necessary

For Health and Hygiene: 

32. Frida Baby 4-in-1 Grow With Me Bathtub - on this trip, we used the 4Moms Clearwater Baby Bath but it has since been discontinued. We also had the FridaBaby bath at home and loved it and it would have made a great alternative.

33. Frida Baby Electric Nail Buffer

34. Dove Care and Protect Antibacterial Hand Soap - this is the only hand soap that we can use daily without drying out our hands

35. Babyganics Alcohol Free Foaming Hand Sanitizer

36. Dr. Nose Best NoseBot - this is the most effective nasal aspirator we’ve used. It gets all of the sticky boogies out and I don’t go on a trip without it

37. Little Remedies Sterile Saline Spray 

38. Boogie Micro Mister Saline Inhaler

39. Boogie Moisturizing Saline Nose Gel

40. Other Baby First Aid Supplies - thermometer, baby tylenol, gas drops, vitamin d drops, probiotic drops, syringes, etc. 

For Entertainment:

41. Infantino Go Gaga Musical Pull Down Monkey

42. Teytoy Tummy Time Mirror

43. Highlights Hello Baby Magazines - super thin and easy to pack multiple for travel

From the Author

I didn’t become a published children’s book author until a few years after this trip, but motherhood changed the way I saw the world. Trips like this one (messy, meaningful, full of love and logistics) are the kinds of moments that inspire me to write stories for kids. My grandpa has always held a special place in my heart, so much so that I made him a character in my debut book, When I Grow Up, What Will I Be?. His spirit is woven into the moral of the story. If this story resonated with you, and you enjoy children’s books that empower, encourage, and celebrate being yourself, your support would truly mean the world to me!

Photo credit: Rita Stabile. © 2026 Loomis Lane Photography. Used with permission.