Tips Requested: Driving 1200mi with 9mo

[rgors]

DH and I are moving next month, from Denver to Portland. (If you are a pdx mom and reading this, please PM me to introduce yourself -- I could use some help deciphering neighborhoods and schools!)

We will be driving, ~1200 miles or 20 hours, in our station wagon with us in front, baby in back seat, a dog in the cargo, and trailer to boot. (bulk of furniture will follow us later with movers.)

The longest I've ever driven with her is 1.5h. I have flown with her before, which does involve a lot of carseat time, but it also involves a lot of slinging through airports and such so she gets a break from her strapped in confinement, at least. DH and I could do the bulk of our driving during her nap times, but we have no idea where we'd hang out during her playtimes.

I'm freaking out a bit at the thought of keeping my baby in a carseat for three days straight. Any tips to make this easier?

[o_mom]

We drove that far with DS1 and DS2 at least twice (actually four times, there and back twice). The first time they were 2yo and 6 mo, the second time 3 yo and 18 mo. We did it in two days each way both times.

The basic routine for use was leave very early the first day. Usually we were out by 5:30 or 6am. We would have cereal snacktraps and milk cups in the car (I nursed DS2 before we left the first time - he was only 6 mos and EBF). Coffee and small snack for the adults. Drive for 2.5-3 hours and then stop for breakfast. We would eat a good breakfast at a sit down type place. Drive another 2-3 hours, stop for a rest break, usually at a rest stop, but sometimes a park or something if we could find one close to the freeway. Drive another 1-2 hours and then stop for a late lunch. This lets you miss the lunch crowds.

After lunch, 2-3 hours driving then stop for a break. Another 2-3 hours and then we would stop for the night. At that point, we would check into a hotel and one adult would go get take-out for dinner and bring it back to the room. We let the kids play in the room or took them to the pool, depending on the hotel. We could usally get about 600 miles in a day that way. Expect to stop more frequently the second day, but our trip was around 1000 mi and we would get in by 3-4 pm the second day, so we could have easily made another 200 mi.

Some tips for you:

Sit in the back with the baby. You can always pack stuff in the front seat, but it is pretty necessary to have someone back there. We always had two adults (my mom and I) and one was in the back.

Get a bunch of small toys together for her to play with. At that age, they don't have to be new, but anything she hasn't seen for a week or two. A package of post-it notes can be a great toy, as are empty or nearly empty water bottles.

Have snacks/drinks in the car for her. If she takes a bottle or cup this will be easier.

Nurse the baby every stop (if you are BF).

VERY IMPORTANT - NEVER, EVER (NO MATTER HOW BAD YOU HAVE TO PEE) STOP WHEN THE BABY IS SLEEPING :)

On this note, the drivers/adults must be responsible, good travellers - keep the gas tank filled and use the restroom at every stop. The trips I make with DH, inevitably, we will get on the freeway and 20 min later, just after the screaming baby falls asleep, he needs to stop for gas/coffee/bathroom. NOTHING makes me want to scream more than this.

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

wow. Thats an awful lot of driving. I'd say buy a portable dvd player. We have one in our minivan and it's well used. There's not much else for options as far as I can see. And you can most likely set it up for you dc rear facing. I know no parent wants their child to get so much tv in one sitting but unless you're going to stop every 300 miles there aren't many options.

When we drove to denver from st.louis dd was about 22 months and we had the portable for that. Just pace yourselves and don't expect too much.
Good luck.

[mom2binsd]

Can you try to do the bulk of the trip at night? We drove from Salt Lake to SanDiego with our 10 month old (about 10 hours) and she slept the whole time except for the first hour, we stopped and fed her and then she was ready for night night.

I also drove with my two kids about 900 miles by myself, DD was about 6 months, he mostly just looked around, we broke the trip up into two days but basically just plugged through. Both times my kids were content, comfy and seemed lulled by the trip.

If she likes things like Baby Einstein maybe that would be helpful to pass the time if you have a portable DVD (yes I know there is the risk that in a crash the DVD player becomes a projectile, but if your car is packed with stuff there are a possibility of lots of projectiles.)

Good luck, you may be surprised how well she does.

[KrisM]

wow. Thats an awful lot of driving. I'd say buy a portable dvd player. We have one in our minivan and it's well used. There's not much else for options as far as I can see. And you can most likely set it up for you dc rear facing. I know no parent wants their child to get so much tv in one sitting but unless you're going to stop every 300 miles there aren't many options.

When we drove to denver from st.louis dd was about 22 months and we had the portable for that. Just pace yourselves and don't expect too much.
Good luck.

Unless your DD is used to shows on DVD, I would skip the DVD player. We tried it with DS when he was about 18 months and watched very little TV at home. It was a huge disaster as he was just not used to watching things and it threw him off completely. It made most of the trip in the trunk :).

I agree with the PP about leaving early. We do a 750 mile drive a couple times a year and leave home about 3:30am. The kids go from bed to the car and they usually fall back asleep pretty easily. When DD was 4 months, she barely woke up for the transfer. DS was up for an hour or so. But, then we just go. We stop when DS has to pee - about 4 hours or so. We let the kids move around out of the car for a while and then just keep going. Having small toys and books are good. When I just had one, I would sit in the back for short stretches and that helped.

Good luck.

[rlu]

Some tips for you:

Sit in the back with the baby. You can always pack stuff in the front seat, but it is pretty necessary to have someone back there. We always had two adults (my mom and I) and one was in the back.

Nurse the baby every stop (if you are BF).

VERY IMPORTANT - NEVER, EVER (NO MATTER HOW BAD YOU HAVE TO PEE) STOP WHEN THE BABY IS SLEEPING :)


I second all of these especially!

We drove from TX to CA and back when DS was about 2 months, so we had it easier in that he slept more. However, it was crucial I sat in the back with him. It worked better for me since I was pumping to refill each bottle he drank (invest in a portable refrigerator that plugs into the lighter) plus we had the dogs in the covered truck bed (camper shell) so I was able to check on them often (always worry about gas fumes). Never never stop when the baby sleeps. don't ask how I know, but diapers hold a heck of a lot of pee when absolutely necessary!

Also, DS slept horribly in the motel so I was grateful we made the trip in two long days.

OT - we found giving the dogs ginger snaps each morning helped with their carsickness.

[hannah]

We drove 2000 miles (Boston to Denver) over 5 days when DD was 9.5 mo old. Luckily she wasn't really crawling yet so she was content in her car seat. We took turns riding in the back with her so that we could entertain her. We had our 2 cats with us and DD loved watching them in the car. We made sure we piled her up with toys each time we got in the car. We stopped in the morning for a break, for lunch, in the afternoon for another break, and each night around 4 or 5pm at a hotel. Good luck! Just be flexible with your schedule and I am sure your ride will go smoothly.

[tylersmama]

We did Denver to Ohio and back when DS was 2 months old and again when he was around 7 months old. We left at DS's bedtime so that we knew he would fall asleep and we could get through a major chunk of the trip before we had to stop for him. Each time, we got about 10 hours in before having to stop. Once he was up, we took our time a little more and stopped more often and for longer as necessary to get a break from the car. The first time we did the trip, we got a hotel room for the night, but decided that was more hassle than it was worth (unpacking the car, getting DS to sleep in the pack n play, finding a hotel where we wanted to stop that allowed dogs without a huge pet fee).

I agree with having the non-driver sit in the back, at least most of the time. I was EBFing both times we did the trip, so I took a couple of bottles of EBM to start with and then pumped after giving DS a bottle. I also tried to nurse whenever we stopped for a longer (longer than just gas/pee break) time. Take a few new toys to distract your DD with. Be prepared to be flexible. Sometimes the little ones just won't go for your strategy to stop in an hour! Good luck, it can be done without too much trauma, I promise!

[rgors]

Thanks to o_mom and everyone else for the great tips. I don't know why I never thought to have one person always in the back with DD. It makes sense when I think about it now, but for some reason that had not occurred to me!

I guess thinking about it, maybe we could even do the trip in two long days. I guess we'll see how Day 1 is going and then either call it earlier or push on another 200 miles. Sounds like a fun decision!

It helps to know so many mamas have done this kind of travel successfully with an infant!