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XP: roadtrip this wkend w/4m/o twins - WWYD: drive at night/during day? any tips?

GretchenlovesMichaelGretchenlovesMichael
in Attachment Parenting

hey ladies :)

we are taking M&D on their first big trip!! :)  to visit gma and gpa.  it's about a 3.5 hour drive when DH and i go on our own (so obv longer with stops for nursing, dipes, stretching out, etc.)

my big Q is - would you recommend driving after their "bedtime" (they go to bed around 7 usually, so i guess we would do bath, massage, put them in pjs, nurse to sleep, then transfer to their carseats...?  at which point they would prob wake up and be confused and agitated... but then i would sit in the back with them (will do this either way) and try to soothe them back to sleep, in the hopes that they would sleep the whole way... and then get there, take them out of carseats, nurse again, and put in bed/cosleeper at my parents' house.... (at which point they may or may not go back to sleep.)

other option is to go in the afternoon, get there around 5/5:30, adjust to the new setting, and do nighttime routine and bed there.

thoughts?  any other travel tips?  TIA!!

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Re: XP: roadtrip this wkend w/4m/o twins - WWYD: drive at night/during day? any tips?

  • goodheartedmommygoodheartedmommy member

    For a 3.5 hour trip, go during their longest nap. For a longer trip, I'd go at night, but in your shoes I'd definitely go during the day. I've done it many time, and going during nap (usually lasts 2 hours) only leaves about 1.5 hours to deal with otherwise. I'd actually leave about 30 minutes before their usual nap and let them fall asleep in the car.

    And I have found that sitting in the back can make them madder sometimes! 

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  • clynn58clynn58 member
    I would leave in the afternoon as well around their longest nap. That way when you do get there you have a little more time to get them adjusted to the new surroundings before bedtime.
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  • 14years14years

    We've tried both ways -- going at night and going during the day at the longest nap time. 

    When we go at night, we do the whole bed time thing (bath, pjs, nursing) and then put DS in the car.  He sleeps the *whole* way, and it doesn't take any longer than it would with just DH and me.  The trade-off is that when we get there, DS often needs about an hour to settle down again and then go to bed.  That's really no big deal, because we are also usually going to a granparent house, and we can just sit up and talk with our parents until DS is reaclimated and ready to go back to sleep.

    When we go during the day, we try to leave at the beginning of the longest nap.  I sit in the backseat with DS when he waked up and entertain him.  The downside is that we have to stop more frequently, and every once in a while, he has a major cow about being in his car seat, even with me sitting beside him.  The upside is we aren't trying to get him back to sleep very late at night once we get there.

    So, because both ways have pros and cons, now we just go with whichever it works for our schedule and when we want to get somewhere.  DS is fine, either way.

    Sorry for the novel.  Good luck!

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  • KittyCatBioKittyCatBio

    i'd only do at night for a longer trip. 

    and i agree with the prior poster, sitting in back with my kid has never worked, it just makes her more pissed off that you are there but not picking her up.  bring new toys, hope they will nap 2-3 hours of the trip, prepare to stop a bit (to nurse, whathaveyou)

    i have found that if you can keep driving, the nap will usually extend past the usual time.  kat always naps longer on car trips.

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  • mrsjbaker06mrsjbaker06
    I would do like the others said and leave right before their longest naps. That's what works best for DS. Also, if DS wakes up after he's gone to bed at night (other than to nurse), he thinks it is playtime and takes forever to go back to sleep.
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  • armandos_girlarmandos_girl member
    We're going on a 4.5 hour trip next weekend and we are going to wait and leave in the evening.  DS usually goes down around 7:30 or 8, so we'll do bath, nurse and then into the carseat.  He loves to sleep in the car, so even if he doesn't fall asleep nursing (which doesn't always happen), he'll be pretty content in the car.
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