for 7 hr car trip...

mrskeller825 · May 2009

when would you leave? DD is a great night sleeper, waking usually at 6, maybe a little later. I kind of want to leave at 4ish so we can get a few hours in before she starts her day. Dh wants to leave after she gets up/eats etc so we don't have to get up so early. I'm a great morning person, so I'm happy to drive so he can sleep, but he's still not too keen on the idea. I'm guessing she'll sleep a lot of the drive (crossing fingers) since it's basically all freeway, but you never know.

Also, to make things just a little more complex, we just got her to put herself to sleep in her crib, not napping on us. I really hope napping for hours in the car doesn't mess us up too badly- but what can you do?! Dh is a groomsman in the wedding & he really really wants us there with him.

Any advice? Thanks mamas!

LuLu38 · May 2009

Either departure sounds good to me. I know it sounds weird, but just assume it will not go well. I find this makes me more mentally prepared and less anxious. I just got back from a 4 hour trip to and from Atlanta BY MYSELF. L was a total dream. GL.

LawLove08 · May 2009

Have you considered leaving around bedtime and driving through the night? ?Or leaving later at night (around 10 or 11), since it's only a 7 hour drive. ?We recently took a long drive, and at bedtime I put DS to sleep in his carseat in his nursery. ?Then when we left a couple hours later, I just moved the carseat to the car, and he slept right through it all, until his usual wake-up time. ?

mrskeller825 · May 2009

LuLu38:
Either departure sounds good to me. I know it sounds weird, but just assume it will not go well. I find this makes me more mentally prepared and less anxious. I just got back from a 4 hour trip to and from Atlanta BY MYSELF. L was a total dream. GL.

Thanks! I'm totally nervous & expecting the worst- getting in unpredictable LA traffic when she's totally NOT tired anymore. It can't be worse than I imagine it will be in my head.

EastCoastBride · May 2009

We recently took a 6 hour trip and we left super early in order to have DS sleep through part of it.

LuLu38 · May 2009

mrskeller825:

LuLu38:
Either departure sounds good to me. I know it sounds weird, but just assume it will not go well. I find this makes me more mentally prepared and less anxious. I just got back from a 4 hour trip to and from Atlanta BY MYSELF. L was a total dream. GL.

Thanks! I'm totally nervous & expecting the worst- getting in unpredictable LA traffic when she's totally NOT tired anymore. It can't be worse than I imagine it will be in my head.

Exactly. Prepare for the worst. It will be far better!!!

cubsfan1 · May 2009

We just did a 9 hour trip this past weekend. DD is a great sleeper and STTN with no problem, usually going down around 8:30 and waking around 6 or 6:30, eating and going back to sleep until 9ish.

On the way down we left at 2 am. I fed her before putting her in the carseat, she never even woke up, but ate some....Transition to the car seat was easy. She never woke up. We stopped for gas around 7:30 so I woke her up then and fed and changed her. She went back to sleep right away and slept until we got there at 11:30ish. Awesome! On the way back we left at 6. This was tougher because after I fed her at our first stop at 9:30ish she wanted to play and be awake for the day. She was fussy, but eventually fell back asleep. Then we stopped again to feed her around 1 and again fussy, but eventually fell back asleep...

Both work, but leaving in the middle of the night was definitely easier on her.

jll1881 · May 2009

LawLove08:
Have you considered leaving around bedtime and driving through the night? Or leaving later at night (around 10 or 11), since it's only a 7 hour drive. We recently took a long drive, and at bedtime I put DS to sleep in his carseat in his nursery. Then when we left a couple hours later, I just moved the carseat to the car, and he slept right through it all, until his usual wake-up time.

That sounds like a good idea.

And if you don't want to drive overnight, I would vote for leaving very early in the AM to get a few hours in before LO wakes up. I know my DD tends to be happiest in the AM, so if she woke up in the car and we still had a few hours to go, she'd probably be pretty content.

jamie.renee · May 2009

With my oldest we took a 7 hour trip for a wedding when she was 2 months old. She was a super laid back baby so she would have done good at any time. We left after breakfast and such. She did great. When we did the same road trip when she was just under a year, overnight was better. We left at I think 9 or 10 pm and she slept the whole time.

CA2006 · May 2009

We just made this exact same drive. We left at 2pm both ways. Going there, DS was a bit confused and napped a couple times and fell asleep around 8pm, only to wake 20 min. later and not go to bed until 12am or so. BUT, on the way back, he napped once then went to sleep at 6:45pm and didn't wake until we got home at 9:30pm! Then I did his bedtime routine and put him down. He stared at all of the stuff in his room and smiled for a few min. It was adorable. he slept straight through until 6am.

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