Pcsing... major anxiety please help!

bnzwiebel · May 2012

My dd is almost 18 months old. We are pcsing from NC to NV in august. Trying to figure out the best way to get us all from point a to point b with the least stress. Right now are options are to bring her on the 4 day drive with us or send her to my parents for a week and have my mom fly her out to Nevada. Right now I am not leaning one way or the other. I have mixed feelings about being away from her for a week, never been apart for more then 12 hours, or braving a 4 day cross country drive with a very active dd. Any suggestions regarding any part of pcsing are greatly appreciated! TIA

boymomstrong · May 2012

I think you get more than 4 days to make the drive, I would take her, and just try to go slower. Only drive 8 hours a day, and then stay somewhere she can run around, and have fun. Stay an extra day somewhere is you need to, but i would take her with you. Especially if your having anxeity over leaving her there.

Good Luck with the move! Its a long one! We just did VA to CA last year, and we spent 12 days driving and resting. We have dogs, so they needed time to run as well. Not as hard as kids, but we could tell when they were done with driving for the day! lol

ahalfaworldaway · May 2012

We PCSed from VA to WA last summer. Though we didn't have any children, we did have a cat along for the ride, which presented it's own challenges. Definitely don't rush your trip - no one is happy being trapped in the car all day, every day for a week. We took 9 days (including an extra day to attend a wedding a few days into the journey) and drove 8 hours a day max. We also tried to plan our stops in places that had sights to see or touristy things or restaurants featured on Man vs. Food, so that each stop was it's own mini-destination. We took a few detours to see some cool things, and, though it meant we were in the car longer, it was worth it to get out and have something to do along the way.

Scope out where you are planning to stop ahead of time and try to find something that your daughter will enjoy so that the days aren't just endless car rides. In car entertainment is super important - by the time the husband and I hit Montana, we probably would have gone crazy without our audiobooks and ridiculous mad libs. Maybe a portable dvd player to keep her occupied in the back seat? Being apart/having to pay for airline tickets may be more stressful than dealing with a little bit of daily fussiness.

Emilia0101 · May 2012

We did a 25 hour PCS last month. It was just me and my DD who was 2.5. I bought a portable DVD player that was my life saver, we stopped every 2-3 hours at a Mcdonald's to play, and I would take about an hour lunch to regroup from the car. It wasn't horrible, but it was far from ideal. She didn't sleep well in the hotels so it was hard having her up late then early the next morning. If she is comfortable going to grandma's for a week I would do that route so maybe for 10-12 days so you could have time to drive and house hunt before she arrives.

catdwg83 · May 2012

I would definitely bring her & take it slower, or try to drive more when she's asleep. We went from coast to coast (Jacksonville to San Diego) & I think we were allowed 10 days to do it.

bazeyjane · May 2012

who better to take care of your little one, than the woman who took care of you! The drive might be okay for her, but when you get there and all the boxes and furniture are being moved it might be easier to not have to worry where she is running around. And maybe if everything gets done fast enough, she can fly out sooner than a week!

bnzwiebel · May 2012

Thanks ladies, after talking to dh about your suggestions we have decided to take her with us and make it a mini vaca. So we will drive 5.5 days which ends up being about 6.5 to 7 hours each day. I was able to find hotels on the way that have pools and allow pets. I think breaking up the trip more and not being in a rush will be really helpful. We have a dvd player and are going to keep our eyes out for some new movies to put away just for the trip. I was also looking at the tag jr and those markers that only color on the special paper. Anything to keep her interested and occupied lol. Also planning on flying my mom out to NV a day or so after we get there so she can help watch dd while we house hunt and get moved in.

mrsbhk22 · May 2012

We are civilian, but we worked for the military and have PCS'd. I would highly recommend you buying a plane ticket and flying to NC with your daughter and paying for your 2nd car to be shipped (if that is the reason you and your spouse both need to drive). I moved 1500 miles with a 2 year old and can't imagine a 3 day drive, much less 4!

Good luck!

bnzwiebel · May 2012

So I told my mom the new plan and I think she started crying

I thought it would be a lot to put on her and dad but I guess they had plans already. So I guess we are back to the hubby and I driving and them taking dd lol She said they can fly out the day after we get there so it will only be 4 days seperation

JMU_Bride09 · June 2012

We did a nine day cross-country trip when we PCSed whiled my son was 8 months old...it's totally do-able! Make sure to bring lots of toys and plan to make lots of stops. Let your LO get out to play at each stop and consider sitting in the backseat with her. That really helped my son.

Pcsing... major anxiety please help!

Re: Pcsing... major anxiety please help!

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