Need a Xanax!

I need some drugs, seriously. I'm taking the girls to Jersey this weekend to visit DH's parents and I can't believe I'm so nervous. I just keep thinking about my girls going stir crazy in the car for 5 hours, or waking up and not wanting to go back to sleep if we go by night and they're woken when we get there. Not to mention them having to try to sleep in a strange place (my kids are so spoiled with blackout curtains and a noisemaker at home). Then there the anxiety about trying to remember all their gear, the passys, the loveys, the toys, etc. EEK! Just venting, thank goodness we're driving my mom's car with the DVD built in!

 

We traveled from Michigan to Los Angeles driving 8-10 hours a day with both girls. We would stop every night in a hotel, and stayed at my brother's house in Denver halfway for 2 nights. Then once we got to LA, we had to take a 12+ hour flight to Guam. (took us four days to get to LA, then we stayed in LA for 2 days before flying to Guam, we were in a hotel once on Guam for 3 days and then moved into our house)
It was a pain packing all their stuff and ours, but I took their PNP, they have noisemakers also, and I think that saved our bacon. The noisemakers. Their blankets and when we got to the hotel we would set their stuff up and we all would go to bed. They were a little freaked out at first, but they got somewhat adjusted. They did better in the car than they did in the hotel rooms at night.
It's doable, you'll be suprised. I took bananas and puff, cheerios and cereal bars to give as snacks while actually driving. A little dangerous cause I was out of my seatbelt and turned around, but only briefly. It kept them happy. When we'd stop to eat, we would feed the girls first and then ourselves. I would suggest vinyl bibs with a big pocket and lots of wet wipes. We also hung toys from the handles in the roof over their carseat that they played with alot. My two don't really watch videos yet, so that wasn't a help for us.
I hate flying and actually got a prescription for Xanax because I get so nervous. But when I took one I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open to help take care of them, so I guess I just got over my anxiety.
I wish you luck, hopefully your kids will suprise you too.

 

I was always really nervous about travelling with my boys at that age, and it was never as bad as I'd feared. We had some bad experiences, but it was always worth it. And the best thing about it is that now my boys are champion travellers! The more you do it, the easier it gets for everyone -- especially you!

I hope you have fun -- I bet your girls will surprise you

 

Hi! I am new here. I have twin boys that will be 2 on August 15th, and a 6 year old boy as well. We will also be taking a 4 hour trip next week that I am very nervous about! We bought DVD players for the suburban. Hopefully that helps! What DVD's do your kids like? We have a lot of baby Einstein, but I want something new for the trip.

 

I am sure they will do just fine. We have taken many 5 hour plus car rides with the kids and have never had any major issue. In fact mine tend to sleep a lot of the time anyway. Bring a DVD player and some new toys to give them in case they are awake and try to relax!

Have a fun trip!

 

One more piece of advice -- something that worked really well for us when my boys were that age: leave REALLY early in the morning. We'd get up and start driving at like 4am. The roads were empty, the kids asleep, and we'd get in a good 3-4 hours of driving before they even woke up. When they did, we'd stop for breakfast someplace and let them run around a bit before getting back in to drive the rest of the way.