December 2012 Moms

6 hr drive

I know some people had some long car rides with their little ones.  We are  heading to the UP this weekend and don;t know what to expect.  She doesnt sleep a lot in the car anymore (Not that I expect her to sleep the whole 6 hr drive)  But, im lucky if on a 1hr trip she sleeps 30 minutes..  Did you or SO sit in back to entertain your LO? 

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Re: 6 hr drive

  • SingleMom31SingleMom31 member
    edited August 2013

    We took Isabella to the UP over July 4th.  It was pretty decent.  We broke up the trip into 3rds, since that corresponded the best with her feeding schedule.  Our house to Mt Pleasant, Mt Pleasant to just past St. Ignace, St. Ignace to Iron Mountain.  For the first third, she slept/entertained herself really well.  After she was fed again and happy, the second third went well too.  Once we stopped the third time though, she had a blow out and we had to redress her (not her favorite activity), and when she had to get into the carseat for the third time, she lost it.  So, the last third, SO sat in the back and I drove (I get really carsick, esp in the back).  She still was upset and crying some, but I think that it helped.  On the way back, she got fussy more quickly, so we stopped three times instead of four, and someone was back there 1/2 the trip. 

    Edit: In hindsight, I think she'd have liked someone back there the whole time.  But SO is 6'2 (so not super comfortable in back) and I'm 5'10 & get very carsick.  We were willing to push the fussiness to avoid having one of us back there.

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  • We had her in the car for about 2 hrs in one stretch (probably about 5 hrs total) over the weekend. MIL and I sat the in the back and entertained her when she was awake and she did well. Maybe you could plan a long break (stop for lunch for something) in the middle of your trip so LO can get out of the car seat for a bit.


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    BFP #1 12/02/11, M/C 12/08/11
    BFP #2 04/06/12, DD born 12/20/12
    BFP #3 06/09/14, M/C 06/15/14

  • We took a 4 hour trip to MD a couple of weeks ago and let DD sleep in the back by herself and when she was awake and started to fuss, I would sit back there with her. She actually handled it really well. Lots of new music and soft toys helped. 

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  • We recently did a long drive with DD2 and she did not do well at all. But she hates the car seat in general. 

    I would break up your drive and do some longer stops. Consider stopping for lunch and sitting down to eat, rather than drive thru. If the weather is nice, you could pick up food and then head to a nearby park. Let LO sit and play on blanket for awhile. Anything that would allow time out of the car seat.
    Ivy: July 2010  |  Stella: Dec 2012  |  BFP#3: MMC at 11Wk's, July 2017 | Wyatt: April 2019 | BFP#5: Twin Girls due Sept 2020

  • Having just completed 1200 miles in the car with LO... sometimes he would sleep, sometimes he would play with his toes, and there were times when he was just unhappy. I'd sit in the backseat with him for a little bit & to feed him but we never really stopped moving. Did diaper changes on the move (joys a big truck with plenty of room!) and I will admit, I let him play for a minute or two before putting him back in his seat. We survived although I wouldn't say it was the fun part of the trip.
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  • When DH and I did a 5 hr drive with LO, we left close to his bedtime. He slept the whole way, and we just drove virtually without stopping. If your travel plans are flexible, you may want to consider something similar.
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