first car trip coming up - any tips?
SanHawaii08
member
we're headed to portland in a few weeks, and i'm starting to get nervous b/c this will be our first car trip with
E and also the first time we're staying in a hotel room with him! we're not leaving until after work friday, so i'm hoping he'll just
sleep the entire way down (it's 3 hours), and continue sleeping once we
check into the hotel. we'll probably time the drive back to be right before his afternoon nap, and get home before bedtime.
he goes to sleep super early, and i didn't splurge for a suite, so we're just going to have to be really, really quiet and sit in the dark all evening 
or maybe we'll bring the baby monitor and leave him in the room by himself and...hang out in the hallway until we want to go to bed?! 
and how am i supposed to nurse him in the car, at a rest stop? mcd's parking lot? i guess we could bring a bottle, and i'll pump while MH drives? thankfully, it's a (relatively) short drive. but ack. i'm getting more stressed now that i think about it.
any tips for long car rides, or staying in a hotel with a baby?
Re: first car trip coming up - any tips?
I was really nervous about traveling with a baby, but once we got started, everything was fine. A does pretty well in the car, so it probably depends on how E feels about that... and being strapped in. We were lucky. He did amazingly well on 5 hour trans-Pacific flights four out of four times. I think the LOs can sometimes surprise you. Especially if you come prepared with lots of new and fun snacks and toys!
As for nursing, you could do it in the car or just find a cafe or casual restaurant to have a snack in while you feed. Depends on your personal comfort level, I guess.
When we've stayed in local hotels, we've taken our PnP and just tried to minimize the lights and noise. (Through a light blanket over the top or something) We definitely still watched TV and hung out though! When we've traveled far away, we just bedshared. But that's probably because A always ended up in our bed at home anyway! And in hotels, it was most convenient when they had decently sized fridges and microwaves. I did worry a bit about cleanliness, especially since he was into everything, but at E's age, maybe just bring a bunch of clean blankets for spreading out so he has space to play. And antibacterial wipes for wiping anything down that ends up needing it! Have fun!
We did our first car trip with LO when she was 3 mo old. We went to NYC and it was ~5 hr drive. It was kinda stressful then since it was out first trip with her so we didn't know what to do/pack. We pretty much brought everything and our car was PACKED. We stopped at the rest stop once to feed/change her. I also pumped while DH was driving. I was still pumping then so I requested to have a fridge in the room. We also brought a make shift bath tub for her. She was still so litte then so we brought our moses basket and had her sleep there. She slept surprisingly well. We turned off the lights while she was sleeping but since she sleeps through the noise, we were still able to watch tv.
For our 2nd trip, the drive was shorter. However, I have stopped pumping then so I didn't have to bring my pump set. It was a pain bringing all the bottles though. Since we use formula now, I filled them all with water before we left the house so we just have to add the formula. I also brought a small bottle of diswashing liquid and brush in case we need to wash any of the bottles/paci, etc. I requested a crib/PnP in the room and just brought our own sheets. I also bring a padded blanket and put it on the crib for added padding. Some PnPs have very little padding so I can imagine it being uncomfortable. You can also bring your own PnP. We just didn't bother bringing ours so it was one less thing for us to pack. We also had her sleep sheep (we turn it on during bed time, just like during her bedtime at home) and few of her toys. Since we were only there for a couple of nights. We didn't give her a full bath. I'd just wash her on the sink. She also slept good and stayed on the same sleep schedule. We just watched tv while she was sleeping. We put a blanket over the side of the crib close to the tv so she won't see the glare. We may have kept her up for an extra 30min - 1hr. Whenever we are out, she does not want to nap/sleep as if she's scared to miss something.
For our 3rd car trip, we've gotten way better and our car was not as packed :-). It was just a 2 hr trip to the beach. We left the house around her bedtime so she just slept in the car and we didn't have to stop. I put her in her pajamas already so I didn't have to change her clothes when we arrive at our destination. It was perfect. We arrived at our destination in no time. She woke up as soon as we arrive din the condo but she was still groggy so after we set up everything, we just put her right back to bed. We stayed in a condo (SIL's beach rental condo) so we didn't have to bring a lot of stuff. She slept in a PnP during the 1st night however, she seemed very uncomfortable in it so we ended up laying down a blanket on the carpeted floor inside the closet (with doors open, of course) put pillows all around so she doesn't bump her head and she slept better. Since it's a condo, we just kept her in the bedroom while she's sleeping while we hung out in the living room. We make our own food so we brought them from home in a cooler and transferred to the condo's fridge. The condo has a dishwasher so we just washed everything there. One night we were out past her bedtime and she just slept in the stroller/car seat. I have gotten good in transferring her from stroller to carseat to bed without really waking her up. I just do it really slow. My friend told me the trick is so keep them as close to your body as possible. On the drive home, we also timed it during her afternoon nap time. I sat in the back seat to keep her entertained if in case she wakes up. True enough, she woke up when we were close to home and started to get restless. She was hungry then and we were very close to home so it didn't make sense to stop. I may get flamed for this but I had fed her milk in the bottle while in the carseat :-/.
Yep, bring extra blanket so you can lay him down or have him play on the floor if need be. Bring his fave toys too.
I recommend a new toy for each big ride. Something small is fine, as long as it's new or he hasn't seen it in awhile.
Bring a flashlight to the hotel so that you can read and/or get around in the hotel while LO is asleep. Does he usually sleep in silence? Our LO, once asleep, can zonk out through a tv show. Or you can go to sleep when he does and catch up on some rest!!
He uses the Sleep Sheep at home, so we always bring that with us (it's the travel size one).
We also bring night lights, outlet covers, and blankets for when he was crawling on the floor. Now that he's walking, it's not as big a deal (but the blankets can hide some things from view!). We also bring some of his usual bath toys, and his soap, but we use the towels in the hotel.
We also bring his high chair thing so he sits there in the morning and has his milk and breakfast and I can get things done without him being under foot. If your LO is used to a high chair to eat in, I recommend this or something like this.
DItto pp on bringing familiar toys and the hotel cleanliness - he will find ANYTHING on the floor - so make sure you get down on his level and see what's there that the vacuum missed! Definitely request a fridge for the room.
We've only done one car trip and Kaya did well because she doesn't mind car rides in general. She usually falls asleep so for our road trip she slept at least half way both ways. (It was about 3-4 hours each way, I can't remember.) The one thing I gave her to play with on the way there that really kept her occupied was one of her spoons. I don't know why but she was fascinated by it. But, yes, a new toy would be a good thing to bring.
We also bring a PnP for her to sleep in. No advice about what you guys can do when he goes to bed since we haven't really stayed in a hotel with her. On the cruise she was able to sleep with some lights on and the tv so we just watched tv. But we pretty much go to bed shortly after she does.
wow, lots of helpful tips, thanks!! i'll see about getting him a new toy...any suggestions? I feel like i don't have a good idea about what small toys he'd like these days. he's kind of past the chewing on toys stage, and is more engaged when you can "do" something with it - bang things together, close/open things, etc. so not sure what would be good for the car
E usually sleeps in complete darkness and silence. the last several times i've needed to go into his room to get something, he's always woken up! even when i didn't turn on any lights, and was as quiet as possible, and tried to time it during one of his deep sleep cycles. if he falls asleep in the car, he'll wake up shortly after the car stops. we've *never* been able to transfer him from car to bed (or vice versa) without waking him. maybe he's just a light sleeper? i think we'll probably just plan on going to bed super early - i know i could use the sleep! it's just hard to go to bed at like, 6 or 7pm
i will bring the sleep sheep though, and hopefully that will help!
all the other times we've traveled with him were by plane, and we've stayed in houses where he could sleep in a separate room. so many new things to think about this time!
Is this bad? A drinks his bottle in the car seat ALL the time!
I meant while in the car seat, with the car moving? Actually, I don't know. I haven't heard people do it so I didn't think it was the norm?!
I think that's OK.... or at least it's been fine for us all along. I just keep a close eye on him in the mirror since he's feeding himself the milk at this stage.
I've given her a bottle in the car, too. I didn't think it was bad, either. Now I always give her a straw cup with water to keep her occupied. I might need to stop though because she likes to spill it/pour it all over herself!
Do you have an iPad or iPhone? If so and you don't mind sitting with him in the back you can get the Baby Piano app. Lisa & Nicole posted about it on FB so I checked it out and it's awesome! And Kaya loves it. There's also some apps where they can use their fingers to draw.
Does he have any lift the flap type books, or a play cell phone that lights up?
maybe something like this or this or this?
It looks like you already got some great ideas already! I also feed B (both milk/water and solids) on the car. Staying in the back seat with him or playing music also helps if he's fussy.
When B was 6 weeks old, he got fussy on our 15hr car trip and if all else fails, pulling over and nursing always did the trick for us, even if he just ate 1.5 hours ago. I brought a bottle, but when it came down to it, it was just easier to stop and nurse since we had to get gas or food sometimes anyway, so I never ended using the bottle or my pump. We'd nurse anywhere (w/nursing cover if too many ppl were nearby)--parking lots, rest stops, once even on the side of a small road to some random farm.
For sleeping, we brought the PNP for the first few trips but we started flying more, so we'd just coslept. I would sleep w/him early (or use my phone in bed if I can't fall asleep yet) while MH is on his laptop in the dark and he'd go to bed soon after. We'd bring the inflatable tub and some bath toys and books, so the bedtime routine stayed the same. It didn't seem to disrupt his sleeping schedule at all when we got back home, as long as we didn't travel in the middle of the night b/c once we woke him up at 3am, he would have a hard time getting back to sleep and he'd keep on waking up at the same time for weeks after. That was when he was ~8wks old so it's probably different now but we've been to scared to try it again since then =P
Do you guys have the Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes? We bought it after myday's rec in an old post about toys and it's (still) B's favorite toy to play with on the car since he was ~3mos old, and it's small so it's easy to travel with. (ETA: Hmm, the Amazon one looks different now...it looks like a "new" version...mine looks like this. The only thing about the old one is that the center button has a sticker so B started to eat it off, but I caught it and peeled it off, so it's safe now =P)
GL! and have fun!
you could stop and say hi to me if you need a break
already got tons of great ideas. only other tips - figure out a way to attach the toys to the seat or something so he can't fling them across the backseat.
Luckily J is a great car sleeper. He is generally out by the time we hit the highway. Back when he was nursing regularly I would just stop and nurse. Except the one time DH came along on a business trip. I liked nursing better. More often than not I would just nurse in the car.
When traveling I don't sit in the back with him. He settles down to sleep more quickly that way. But that depends on the child...
As for the hotel. Hmmm. Again J is OUT when he goes out for the night but when if the room is big enough I generally push the pack n play or crib (always just use what they have at the hotel, we stay in nice places so they have always been nice, but if they were not we would just co sleep) close to the bathroom/door whatever and then just watch TV or play on my laptop. Depending on where we are we will sometimes drink wine or get room service (DH sat outside so they wouldn't knock!!). Then we move the crib closer to our bed.
I think you already got most of the tips I would have brought up already
just wanted to say that sometimes the level of cushioning on a PnP or travel crib depends on baby's preference. my mom thought the PnP mattress was so slim w/little cushioning that she put a foam cushion under it and Miss A was waking up all the time at night! as soon as i removed it, she slept well again
I think her crib mattress is super firm, though, so that is what she's used to
we've done all sorts of things for sleeping arrangements...she has slept on the floor on blankets with pillows around her (before she was crawling) and then once she was crawling we blocked her off with boxes/suitcases and then when she really mobile then we got the PnP
for bathing, the last time i went to my parents we bathed her in a plastic bin...kind of like the "under the bed" storage containers you get at the containe store
yeah she can bathe in the tub right now but I like that it saves water (plus at a hotel you worry about cleanliness). you could easily pack stuff in it so it'd be handy for traveling too 
for nursing we've always just stopped and nursed in the car. we just find a parking spot out of the way from a lot of people and i'd nurse (still using a nursing cover). i hated pumping so that was always preferable for me.
luckily miss A is good about sleeping in the car and usually doesn't mind her car seat if she is awake. I think most babies are.... she doesn't even need toys but I agree that a toy might be a good idea to keep him occupied. maybe a touch/feel book too?
we've always traveled to places and stayed w/family but last Feb when we traveled i ended up just getting a rental condo - it was even a little cheaper than a hotel and afforded us a separate room for her. before we decided on the condo i was going to just set her crib/PnP over to the side out of the way...usually hotel rooms have a small "hall" when you walk in and then you enter into the sleeping area. that's where I had planned on putting her. only problem w/that is you can't get up and use the bathroom w/o waking them....speaking of, that was another option we thought about...if the bathroom was big enough we were going to put her in there and then if we needed to use the bathroom we were just going to leave the room and go use the lobby bathroom!
definitely bring a night light - I got that tip from this board and found it really useful
good luck, I'm sure he'll do great!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
great suggestions! i wouldn't have thought to bring a nightlight (we need to get one!). will also get one or two lift the flap books. the touch and feel ones don't seem to interest him much right now, but i'll bring the one we have - he hasn't looked at it in a while. will also bring the baby einstein take along tunes - we do have it already, and he likes it a lot - I'll put it away for a week beforehand, so maybe it'll be new and exciting again, hah. and sadly, no iphone or ipad, though i've read about that piano app! will also be sure to request a fridge for our room and bring some blankets - i'm usually a super light packer, but since we're going by car, i think we'll do what eacerna did and overpack, hah, and see what we end up using! i'm really hoping he'll sleep the entire way down, so we'll only need to worry about entertaining him, feeding, changing diapers, etc on the way back
so many things I wouldn't have thought of - thank you so much!