Anyone done a long drive (5 hr) alone with infant?

[L'sMommy]

I'm looking for tips, I guess. DS (7 mo) and I are leaving Friday and getting back Sunday. I've done the drive by myself many times (pre-baby) and last time (with baby) DH was with me. This will be the first time I'll be alone with DS (and our lab, but she's easy...) Has anyone done a long drive like this? Any suggestions/tips? I'm a bit nervous about it because I will have to make 1 stop to feed/change him, get gas, and use the facilities myself.

[LarsMal]

I've done it (up to five hours) with one, two, and now three kids- all by myself, many times! You can do it!!! Try to time it so you do the feeding/restroom, etc. all in one stop. And, if the baby is sleeping- DON'T STOP! I've let feedings go longer than normal just so I can get as far as I can before having to stop. I'll only stop if the baby is actually crying to be fed.

GL!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I've done it (up to five hours) with one, two, and now three kids- all by myself, many times! You can do it!!! Try to time it so you do the feeding/restroom, etc. all in one stop. And, if the baby is sleeping- DON'T STOP! I've let feedings go longer than normal just so I can get as far as I can before having to stop. I'll only stop if the baby is actually crying to be fed.

GL!

:yeahthat: Yep, baby sleeping- keep driving. It'll be a pretty easy drive because you can just go at your own pace and follow your needs.

BEth

[L'sMommy]

That's a good idea not to wake him for a feeding. He still naps twice a day so I'm planning to leave around 9am when he typically goes down for a morning nap. He does well in the car so I should be fine. I'm just not looking forward to taking him into the bathrooms - they are gross at the rest stops! I usually change him in the car.

[Edensmum]

I'm looking for tips, I guess. DS (7 mo) and I are leaving Friday and getting back Sunday. I've done the drive by myself many times (pre-baby) and last time (with baby) DH was with me. This will be the first time I'll be alone with DS (and our lab, but she's easy...) Has anyone done a long drive like this? Any suggestions/tips? I'm a bit nervous about it because I will have to make 1 stop to feed/change him, get gas, and use the facilities myself.

I just plan to stop when needed, travel at nap times and go with the flow, it may take longer but you just stop when the baby needs you and leave yourself flexible.

[mom2binsd]

I guess it depends on the rest stops, the one's we stopped at in IL and MI were spotless....lots of room and very clean.

I drove from San Diego to Utah with my 4 month old. It was one of the easiest drives. She loved to listen to music and my lousy singing (wheels on the bus!) when she wasn't sleeping.

Put baby in something very comfy with no buttons or anything digging into them. Bring along a few snacks for yourself if you want to avoid having to stop for food while the baby is sleeping.

[Octobermommy]

If yucky bathrooms are a concern you can put ds in a stroller so you can use the restroom
handsfree and change the baby in the car.

[rgors]

I'm just not looking forward to taking him into the bathrooms - they are gross at the rest stops! I usually change him in the car.

I usually try to stop at a McDonald's or something similar as their bathrooms are reliably clean.

Use the wheelchair stall for the extra space, and don't feel guilty about it. :)

If there is a home depot along the way (it happens more often than you'd think), they have the CLEANEST bathrooms by far!

Your main problem (or at least it was for me) is where to put the baby while you are using the facilities -- can't just leave them on a changing table, can't put them on the floor, etc. I usually bring a stroller and wheel baby around in that, just so she can be restrained and on a clean surface while I take care of myself.

[TwinFoxes]

iPhone glitch...posted in wrong thread. Sorry!!!

[mecawa]

I've done a 4.5 hour drive alone with an infant, I use to have to do it every Sunday night, and Friday afternoons for almost 3 years (DD1 is very use to the car,lol). My best advice would be to go wihen the baby is sleeping, if you can. For instance on Sunday nights I use to leave after her last feeding (7pm), so she would sleep the whole way down, on Fridays I would leave after lunch when she would normally be napping. So, we didn't have to stop to much. Sunday nights I didn't stop at all, Friday afternoons, I would drive for about 2 hours-2.5 hours, until she woke up, then stop for a diaper change and at that point she wasn't due to eat again for another hour or two (she was about 8 months old when we started this). At that age too, it is proably good to make sure you have a stroller with you (umbrella stroller the easiest) that way if you need to use the bathroom there is somewhere to put the baby. Using a rest stop that is a restaurant is another plus, because there is more people around (if it at night) and they usually have a baby changing station, where some of the other one's (welcoming centers, surprisingly) don't have them.

[egoldber]

If there is a home depot along the way (it happens more often than you'd think), they have the CLEANEST bathrooms by far!

I don't know where you are but the HDs here are NOT what I would call clean or child friendly LOL!!

I love the big rest areas that are off the big interstates with Starbucks, restaurants and large bathrooms with handicap stalls. Definitely take the stroller so that you can wheel you kid into the restroom with you and not have to find a place to put them down.

The dog actually makes it tought, especially if it will be hot. I always hated traveling with the dog in summer because I couldn't sit down in a restaurant to eat because the dog couldn't sit in the car that long. Or even taking a long time in the bathroom would worry me if it was an especially hot day.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I know I can go 5 hours without using the bathroom so I wouldn't be stopping for that. Same thing with a diaper change. Unless it's poop I wouldn't change it. They go that long in the middle of the night without a fresh diaper, right?

Beth

[L'sMommy]

The dog isn't that bad because I don't stop at a restaurant to have a full meal. If i get food, it's usually fast food (gross, i know). we have an SUV so I just flip the back window up for her when we are stopped. I also let her out to do her business. I do plan to take a stroller so I can wheel him around in that when using the bathroom, etc. I could probably go 5 hrs without using the bathroom but i find that i need to stretch out after a couple of hours, even though we have a comfortable vehicle. Thanks for all the tips! I feel a little better abuot being able to handle the long drive by myself.

[mom2binsd]

[QUOTE=rgors;2459276]I usually try to stop at a McDonald's or something similar as their bathrooms are reliably clean.

Use the wheelchair stall for the extra space, and don't feel guilty about it. :)


Never feel guilty, those stalls are for everyone's use, the handicapped sign is just to signal that it is equipped for handicapped use....I was once in a football stadium with a huge line and nobody was using the handicapped accessible stall... when my turn came someone said I couldn't use it...um yes I can, either that or pee on the floor!

I explained that the stall is there for all to use. A friend who is in a wheelchair (has been for 10 years since an accident) also told me that she expects to wait in line just like others, just because she's in a wheelchair she does not feel she has the right to jump the line, in fact she says she always waits her turn.

Sorry to hijack but I just wanted to remind everyone not to feel bad about using the large stall (or dressing room in the stores).

[MamaKath]

I've done it (up to five hours) with one, two, and now three kids- all by myself, many times! You can do it!!! Try to time it so you do the feeding/restroom, etc. all in one stop. And, if the baby is sleeping- DON'T STOP! I've let feedings go longer than normal just so I can get as far as I can before having to stop. I'll only stop if the baby is actually crying to be fed.

GL!
:yeahthat:
I have done tons of solo with kid/kids trips. Lately I have found the 24 hour pharmacies have the cleanest bathrooms, so I look for a CVS/Walgreens/RiteAid. Classical music works wonders for the baby (not always for the adult though if they are tired). I would stop if the baby is crying to be fed or has a diaper change need (blowouts always seemed to happen on the long trips, lol). If I couldn't find a clean changing station, I would change the baby in the car (or in nice weather use the top of the trunk of the sedan) rather than deal with the grime inside the bathroom.

GL, I am sure your trip will go great!

[brittone2]

No, but I've been 2 for 2 with car haters. My DD in particular would scream so hard she'd have sweat rolling down her neck and back in the middle of winter (and I don't keep the car that hot and she wasn't overheated) on a 10-15 minute drive. It was awful. Thankfully both were better travelers by 18 months and much better by 2+. But in infancy, I actually hated even driving 20-30 mins into neighboring towns because it was so stressful.

BUt many parents have great luck traveling w/ infants. I just wasn't one of them.