long car trips - leave around LO's bedtime or go in the morning?

coffeeandbooks

We are gearing up for a six hour road trip and we had planned on leaving Wednesday morning first thing but are now considering leaving Tuesday night because of the weather.  I have never done a road trip at night with LO.   I always dreaded the idea of stopping at the rest stops at night with the baby...all of us being tired..unpacking at night.   It always seemed to me that long car trips suck and nighttime would make it seem worse.   But, conceivably, he could sleep the whole time.(?)  Anyone take a so-so sleeper to a not so great sleeper on a night time road trip? 

What do you recommend?

CNJ4EVA

I'd probably travel overnight for two reasons. LO would be likely to sleep the whole trip and there will be less traffic.

Kashy

We did a long road trip in August. We left at night and DS slept pretty much the whole way. It was easier then on the way home when we left in the morning.

We only had to stop a few times at night for a change and a stretch and to feed DS. During the day when he was awake we stopped so many times.

Just make sure v you are well rested if you leave at night.

HZ2012

LO is a pretty good sleeper - but - we've done a 3-4 hour road trip many times. I like to leave right after a bottle (that hopefully results in a poop). He always falls asleep. I don't like to leave at night because if after the transfer to wherever he's sleeping, he wakes up, he has no idea where he is and then he really wakes up. We too are leaving tomorrow bc of the weather on Wed. I'll be leaving at about 10:15 am. This way he will have all day to get used to his room at my parents (for the 100th time!)
Safe travels, and happy thanksgiving!

Edit: we will take him on a road trip at night if it's on the way back to our home where he knows his crib and surroundings

emmy236

We are actually in the same situation for Christmas. DH's parents live 5 hours away, 4.5 if we don't stop. So far we've done both and it's easier when we drive straight through so we'll probably go at night. R sleeps, if he wakes up one of us not driving climbs back and feeds him and he goes back to sleep. He just gets to miserable being stuck in his seat and he's grumpy all day. His sleep schedule is completely thrown off that day too. His usual bed time is 7 so we'll leave at 6. If he falls asleep sooner it's ok because he's going to be woken up when we arrive. But at least he'll eventually sleep again and then the next day is fresh

Schell2013

I did a 9 hour drive and left at 3:30 in the morning. I was able to drive 6 hours before she woke up. It was awesome. Then she was very content the rest of the way cause there was only 3 hours which wasn't a big deal. The way home I left at 9am and it was a freakin nightmare she was pissed off the most of the way home. Given that I did both i would chose the first way even though I was more tired.

MrsM1111

We are doing a long turn around trip on Friday/Saturday and leaving super early around her last MOTN feed (4am) and she will wake again around 7 once we've gotten through the worst of our drive and will be near restaurants for a safer/cleaner stop.

TheFutureMrs.O

We just did 6 hours today and have another 6 to do tomorrow. We're in a hotel right now for the night. We left today at 2:30 in the afternoon. He did great. He did sleep a good bit but I also sat in the back and played with him til it got dark to keep him up. We only had to stop 2x for diaper changes. We are leaving tomorrow around 8am. The real test is the drive home next Monday where we are driving the 12 hrs straight through. Eeek.

KLJ3

We just did a round trip to NC over Veteran's Day weekend, which was 12 hours each way. Pre-baby, we were definitely the leave-at-3am type. This time, we decided to leave just before C's regular bedtime of 8:30pm.

It worked out great. C fell asleep pretty quickly in the carseat and slept for 10 hours. He woke up about the time we stopped for breakfast, so we fed and changed him at the restaurant, and he fell back asleep until we arrived. His schedule didn't get screwed up at all. If we'd left in the morning, he'd have slept most of the day and been all out of whack.

Leaving at night pros: low traffic, baby sleeps at the regular time, no frustrated/restless baby, no unnecessary stops to change diapers, etc.

Leaving at night cons: many fast food joints aren't open when you're hungry at 4am, and you're tired as hell when you get where you're going.

pnutg

We just flew in from CO and we have a 2.5 hour car ride. Awesome driving at night because he sleeps, sucks because he will wake up when we get there and I won't sleep.

Cgoode517

We did a 13 hour trip when C was 8 weeks and again at 14 weeks. We left at night and he did great. Traffic was minimal and my husband and I took turns driving about every 3 hours or so. We are doing this same trip again on Wednesday night. Just make sure you or your husband can get enough sleep the day you plan to leave. Hope you have a good trip!

flyliceandcoffee

We are doing a 12+ hour trip from CO to IA for thanksgiving, and we're planning on leaving in the late afternoon. S usually goes to bed around 6:30, so we'll be leaving around 4. We did the same trip when S was a little over a month old and we ended up having to stop every 3 hours to feed her. We're hoping that this till we can make it a little further each time since we'll be traveling mostly late at night. I'm not looking forward to the drive back though!

coffeeandbooks

thanks guys, we are going to leave tonight!   Hope it works out.   Wish us luck!