15 hour road trip with 6 month old

trishee13

We are going on vacation April 1-16 and driving 15 hours away. LO will be 6 months. I am semi freaking out about this. Long drive and a long time to be away from home. Is this doable? Are we all going to make it out alive? Any suggestions on making this as painless as possible? Things to make sure I bring? Just looking for any advice really. Thanks in advance.. 

NurseRieger

Let me know how it goes. I'm considering driving from so FL to CT to visit family. I'm lucky to still have all 4 grandparents but they're all old and unable to fly and in and out of hospitals. I feel like I need to make a trip up there but would need to pack so much for the Lil guy it would be easier to drive. IDK it seems like such a hassle but I feel so bad he hasn't met them yet.

doodleoodle

I haven't actually attempted this yet, but if LO was a good sleeper then I would leave around bedtime so he would sleep most of the way. My sister did this with her son when he was 8 months old and it worked really well for them.

taysun

We plan on a similar trip, albeit slightly shorter, in July- DD will be 7 months old. We are planning on leaving around her bedtime after her routine and hoping she sleeps through most of the drive. 
Its so far out for us that it's hard for me to know what we'll need yet but I would think about bringing anything that will make it easier for you and LO to adjust. Special toys, whatever helps sleep and is part of your routine. 
Example: right now DD is 14.5 weeks old and if we went ANYWHERE for more than one night I'd bring the swing and a playmat. If it was a couple of days and we were driving I'd probably bring her bath tub. 
Will you be doing solids during that time? Would a high chair be necessary? Do you make your own baby food? Bottles and accessories/cleaning supplies? Will you have access to a washer/dryer?

I think the best way to figure all that out is to track everything you do/use all day for a week if possible and then decide what's necessary and what you can do without for a few weeks. 

trishee13

Oh man. Just reading that is stressing me out @taysun hahah but that is a really good idea. I'll try that the next few days.

Luckily the second week were at my parents time share so well have a kitchen and everything, but the week before what am I supposed to do, clean her bottles in the bathroom? I'm just stressing about little things. Like what if she has a blowout?! Then what? I just shouldn't leave my house..

trishee13

@NurseRieger that's pretty much what we're doing, just opposite, mass to South Carolina.. I'll def let you know how it goes!.. I agree, I think driving is going to be semi easier than flying bc I can throw any and everything into the car & not limited like a plane. I would def try to make that trip if I were you! None of my grandparents are around to meet my LO, I wish they were! 

NurseRieger

I didn't think of leaving at bedtime. If I did that I'd probably get a hotel in the Carolinas hang out during the day and drive through the next night. I can't make it straight through with the baby.

taysun

trishee13 said:

Oh man. Just reading that is stressing me out @taysun hahah but that is a really good idea. I'll try that the next few days.

Luckily the second week were at my parents time share so well have a kitchen and everything, but the week before what am I supposed to do, clean her bottles in the bathroom? I'm just stressing about little things. Like what if she has a blowout?! Then what? I just shouldn't leave my house..

I don't think cleaning them in the bathroom would be a problem. I would plan on bring some kind of stain remover spray and a scrub brush. You can hand wash clothes in the sink if need be. 

ETA our trip is MA to VA

trishee13

@taysun our trip was originally supposed to be MA to VA then my husband found out he had a work trip to SC the week before so we added that on. I don't know if it was a good idea or not hahah, what part of MA are you in?

taysun

trishee13 said:

@taysun our trip was originally supposed to be MA to VA then my husband found out he had a work trip to SC the week before so we added that on. I don't know if it was a good idea or not hahah, what part of MA are you in?

We're in central/western MA. Currently in Worcester with my mother but moving back to our house next month on the east side of Greenfield. 

Sarcasm101

I would consider renting as much baby gear as possible at your destination. Then you don't have to drag it across the country.

And for what its worth, flying with a 6 month old is pretty painless. If you are considering it