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June 2011 Moms
Long road trip advice needed
The 3 of us will be traveling from Chicago to Atalnta in a couple weeks to visit my mom. It's a 12 hour drive and I have a few questions.
1. Would it be better to drive during the night so that our lo can sleep the entire trip? But then we would be exhausted when we arrive to Atlanta. Or drive during the day and make stops?
2. Any idea how many stops we will need to make if we drive during the day?
3. Do you think a portable DVD player would help if he could watch a little (30 mins maybe) Baby Genius?
Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. TIA
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Re: Long road trip advice needed
We drove 12 hours with DD once, but she was only about 3 months old. I would advise leaving really early in the morning, like 3 or 4 am. That way, LO will sleep a lot during the beginning of the trip (hopefully!), and it will still be dark for awhile. That's what we did, anyway.
We only stopped when absolutely necessary - gas, to use the restroom, to nurse DD, or when she was having a meltdown. I packed a cooler with sandwiches, water and a bag full of snacks so we wouldn't have to make extra stops for food.
I rode in the back with her the entire trip. I would probably bring a DVD player if we were driving with DD at this age. Yeah, watching TV may not be "recommended," but I would try anything to make the drive a little more bearable.
Bring lots of toys and distractions. Gas up the car the night before, get cash out for tolls if necessary. Strategically pack the car ahead of time. For instance, I put the cooler and food in the front passenger seat so I could easily reach in front of me while DH was driving and access the food etc. The diaper bag was in the rear driver's seat for easy access. GPS was ready and directions printed out for back-up. Trash bag easily accessible, sunglasses available, car cleaned out and ready to go etc.
Best of luck, 12 hours is a LONG drive!
ETA: We have even dressed DD the night before... let her sleep in her clothes until the last possible minute... get her up, change diaper, feed and go... as to not disturb her too much and hope that she'll fall back to sleep quickly in the car!
Thank you!! That is great advice.This trip would be sooo much easier if he was 3 months...oh well
We travel from TN to Wisconsin quite often. We always leave at 8:00 p.m. She sleeps pretty much the whole way. We haven't been brave enough to travel during the day as I would imagine it would be a total nightmare.
Only thing that sucks about driving through the night is that you feel like a zombie the next day
Lost Lilah (Audra's twin) at 26 weeks. Cause unknown. Forever in our hearts
Amanda.. I didn't even really think of pre-packing. I feel like we are always forgetting something. I need to remember that!
**takes deep breath**
We can do this. We can do this. We can do this.
I really think we should leave the night before. I just need to convince DH. Although I will kick myself if it backfires!
Just like the previous poster, we leave at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning for long trips. We wake up our son, change his diaper, and put him in the car. He usually stays awake for a little while but will go back to sleep for a large majority of the drive. We formula feed so he eats bottles in his car seat. I will sit in the back with him some of the trip, and we always stop for at least one meal so that we can all get out of the car and stretch our legs.
Good luck!