18+ hours in a car with 7 month old twins

My dad is sick and he hasn't seen the girls yet (the reasons are for another post ). He's been diagnosed with cancer and the doctors are speculating that it is spreading rapidly. So now it's up to us to make the 1000 mile trip with the twins before he gets any worse.

I know it sounds crazy but I've gone over the pros and cons of driving vs. flying, and it's going to have to be driving. Does anyone have any tips on how we can survive this? We've got a big vehicle, we are going to take our time, and we're going to drive thru the night in the hopes that they will sleep their usual 11 hours.

Tell me if you've done anything like this - help!

 

sorry about your dad... I am happy that he is going to get to see them. My dad came over Christmas and it was the first time since they were 2 weeks but that is an entire other post/vent.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad. I think you are making the right decision in going to visit in if driving is what works for you then so be it. I took K&K 30 hours each way to Florida to meet my Grandmother before she passed, the trip had its stress but it was soo worth it. My Gram passed away 6 days after we returned from the trip.

I would suggest keeping everything as normal in their routine as possible. We left right after breakfast in the morning because we wanted to be there by the next afternoon and they were good nappers so I could count on them taking a morning nap. They were awake the first hour or so then took a nap then when they woke we stopped for lunch. They were awake a bit then took their afternoon nap and then we stopped for dinner. We drove for a few hours then stopped to get them into pj's. I kept everything soo the same that I am sure people would laugh at me, I am talking pillows, blankets, jammies............only change was the environment. We had rented a camper so we had to stop fairly frequently for gas, they would wake at each gas stop but would go right back to sleep once we were on the road again.

Not sure what else to say except bring every ounce of patience you can muster. The adults on my trip were more challenging than the children honestly. If you can maintain your cool with almost anything then they will too!!

Have a safe trip! Take lots of pics (I know you may not want to remember your Dad the way he might be now but if things do progress and this is the only time he can see the children then every photo will be a treasure. K&K will talk about going to visit great grammy (they were 2) and I am not sure if they really remember anything or just because they see the pics constantly on the computer screensaver, no matter what the reason it makes me feel great to see the pics and here the K team talk about her!!!!!)

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. i don't really have any tips, since we've never been more than an hour away from home, but i wanted to wish you luck with the trip.

 

We made a 800 mile drive when the boys were around 6.5 months. We left late afternoon and headed out. We stopped to feed and change when we ordinarily do it, and the boys slept in the car as they would at night. They woke for their feeding in the middle of the night and we stopped for it. They mostly slept the rest of the way.

The trick was the trip home because that was during the day. We left after their breakfast, and let them sleep as they would normally nap. When it was bottle and wake up time, I sat in the back with them and played with them. We also had some toys and a couple of those car toys that attach to the back of the seat so they could kick it and activate it. When they started to get sleepy, I would let them sleep if it was close to their ordinary nap time. We stopped to feed them and change them as we would do ordinarily. Basically we tried to stick the wake, feed, play, sleep schedule they were used to. It worked for the most part.

I'm sorry to hear about the reason for your trip but I hope all goes well.

 

I am sorry to hear about your dad! We travel at night with our kids to my parents and they do really well (it is only a 6 hour drive though). They sleep the entire trip. Whatever you decide, drive safely.

 

We recently completed a 12 hour (each way) trip to PA from SC for a Christmas visit with our 8 month olds. We planned to drive all night and let the boys sleep. Apparently, my sons do not like to sleep in the carseats, because we didn't get 2 hours down the road before they woke up, freaked completely out and we had to stop at a fleabag motel (only one available) for the night. I would really make sure that your babies can handle sleeping for extended periods in a carseat. If they are used to sleeping flat in a crib then it may be difficult for them to handle the carseats. Mine did the best during the day, when I could sit in the back with them. The only other advice I have is to keep the pack n plays readily available, food where you can get it, get a jug of water if you have to mix bottles on the road and try not to yell at your husband.

Also, most motels will let you get a room for an hour for about 25.00 if you need to get them out of the car and let them roll around or feed them. That's what we did and it really helped all of us.

Good luck and I am sorry about your father. It's so great that you are making the trip!!

 

I am so sorry to hear about your dad.

We are leaving Thursday for an 11-hour road trip, with babies about the same age as yours, plus my almost-4-year-old DD. I asked for tips over on the parents board a few days ago, and there were some helpful replies -- here is the post.

Most people didn't recommend driving through the night -- we originally considered it, and decided against it. So, we're leaving Thursday afternoon after DD gets home from school, and we're going to stop for the night. I've already scoped out a Holiday Inn about halfway through our trip, so we don't have to stay at a really gross roadside motel.

What kind of car do you have? We have a Honda Odyssey, and I've spent some time figuring out how to configure the carseats -- I'll be happy to compare notes if you've also got a minivan.

I hope you have a safe and uneventful trip. I'm so sorry that it's not under happier circumstances...

 

So sorry about your dad... We just got back from a LOT of driving w/ our boys at 8.5 mo. Drove 12 hrs to my folks, then 4.5 hrs to DH's grandparents, then 4.5 hrs to DH's folks, then 10.5 back. So not nearly as long as your trip, but I learned that the more you can drive while they typically sleep at night the better. They were perfect angels on the first leg- barely noticed a difference. We got out of the car right around their normal waking time (7am) to get breakfast, then they slept in the car for their normal nap time, and only had maybe a couple hours in their seats that they'd typically be awake. When we did the shorter trip to DH's grandparents and then to DH's parents- we drove in the morning- and the rest of the day was downhill. They were the biggest cranks ever. And then once again, we drove at night to come home- they did pretty well.

Good luck- Traveling w/ babies is such a tiring thing- we're all exhausted. Be safe and I hope all goes well!

 

I've never done a trip that long but I think you are VERY smart to leave at bedtime if you have babies who generally sleep okay in their car seats (do your usual bedtime routine and then instead of putting the babies in their cribs, pop them into their car seats, make sure they're cozy and away you go). You may have to take quite a few breaks during the day, but hopefully the night will go smoothly. Good luck!

 

We went at that age. Our drive would be 13 hours pre-kids. It took MUCH longer with all of the extra stops. We left after breakfast and drove through the day. I couldn't believe how well they did! They slept much more than they normally would, chatted with each other, and played with the soft toys we brought along for them. I thought we'd have a rough night because they'd slept so much during the day but I followed their normal bedtime routine at the normal time and they went to sleep without a problem. The only issue we had was on the way home and they went on an 8-hour nursing strike and screamed the last half-hour non-stop. I was never so glad to be home.