Seven hour car trip

Friday we are going on a seven hour car trip to meet DH's family. They live about 900 miles from us, so meeting halfway is a good compromise. Anyway we are trying to plan our drive so that it will be easiest on the babies. Here is what we are looking at doing. Tell me what you think, or if you have any suggestions that might work better.

1. Leave Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. right after we feed the babies their night bottle. This way, they can sleep the entire time in the car, and we will just get a hotel late Thursday night. I am not really too keen on this idea, as I think it is kind of dangerous driving at night (maybe I'm being overparanoid).

2. Get up at 4:00 a.m. Friday morning, put sleeping babies and drive until they wake up at 7:30 (their normal time) for thier morning bottle. Get them out of carseats, feed them, let them stretch and then finish the drive. (This is DH's plan of choice so far).

3. Get up at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning, feed them their bottles, and go. This would put us at our destination later in the afternoon and not give babies too much wind down time before they have to go to bed.

Any other suggestions. WWYD???

 

I guess the second option. I really think I like the first one but I wouldn't want to stop until I got to my destination though. Good luck and I hope you have a good trip.

 

I don't know. We did a 4 hour drive when the girls were 5 1/2 months old and I totally built it up more than I needed to. I was really worried, but in the end the timing worked out fine. We fed them bottled, changed them and put them in the car. They napped almost the entire way. We stopped about half way to change diapers and stretch. Plus when we got to our destination (DH's parents' lake place) there were about a million people who wanted to play with them so it was good they got the rest in the car.

Seven hours is a lot more complicated though. I know that I couldn't get up at 4am and drive, but if your DH wants to thats cool. However, I don't know that you can count of them falling right back to sleep after you put them in the car seats. I think option 1 is what I'd do if I were you, but I don't mind driving at night (that much). GL and have fun!!!

 

I know I will be in the minority here, but I just want to caution you on pinning your hopes on babies sleeping in their carseats. We did a 12 hour (turned in 24) drive, left at 7 PM after their bottles, made it 2 hours down the road and then THEY FLIPPED OUT!!! I had never seen or heard crying like that before in my life and they would not calm down! They were too used to sleeping flat and then waking up in the dark in the car pushed them over the edge. We had to stop and spend the night. They travelled much better during the day.

Having said that, yours are 5 months, so they will most likely do fine and I think you should drive straight through. I have lugged 2 pnp's up stairs at a hotel at 3 in the morning. It is not fun.

I am not trying to scare you, just giving you some BTDT stuff. FWIW, I think my babies are wierd...they won't sleep in their carseats.

 

QUOTE(benderboys @ Mar 19 2008, 11:42 PM) [snapback]677938[/snapback]
I know I will be in the minority here, but I just want to caution you on pinning your hopes on babies sleeping in their carseats. We did a 12 hour (turned in 24) drive, left at 7 PM after their bottles, made it 2 hours down the road and then THEY FLIPPED OUT!!! I had never seen or heard crying like that before in my life and they would not calm down!


This totally happened to us too. There was no sleeping going on at all and they were mad, mad, mad. I guess thats what you get when you live as a homebody and try and venture out once in awhile. Good luck.

 

I am not sure which way to suggest, but weare taking off in the AM to Michigan, 7 hr drive- if I can get on before you leave I will let you know how it went

 

QUOTE(camdensmommy @ Mar 19 2008, 09:12 PM) [snapback]678201[/snapback]
I am not sure which way to suggest, but weare taking off in the AM to Michigan, 7 hr drive- if I can get on before you leave I will let you know how it went


Thanks, I would really appreciate it. Good luck on your trip.

 

WE have done 6 hours adn 4 hours several times. All times we left at night and drove. My babies don't like their carseats and don't sleep in them very well. But they did great almost everytime(one time 1 hour from home we had problems). SO taht is my recommendation. We always left at midnight when my DH got off from work so it was morning when we got there. I went to bed early and drove. I was happier this way as the babies could sleep. Good luck

 

We live in Michigan and my parents live in Illinois and it is about a 6-7 hour drive depending on traffic. Since the kids have been born, we have made the trip 5 or 6 times and we always leave after their last bottle in the evening, so we are on the road by 7:30 or 8 p.m. I drive the 1st leg and then my DH drives the second leg. Less traffic (we have to drive through Chicago) and our kids sleep the entire way. We came home one time and we left in the afternoon and the trip didn't go well, so we have been sticking with the nightime drive. I am not a fan of driving late at night, which is why I take the 1st leg and DH sleeps so he is well rested for the 2nd part of the trip.

How do your kids do in their car seats on a normal trip around where you live? If they don't seem to mind them, they might sleep for you at night. If they don't like them too much during an every day trip, I am guessing they probably wouldn't like to sleep in them either, but that is just my thoughts.

Good luck with your trip and drive safely!

 

We made an 11 hour trip when the boys were 6 months old. We left around 4 p.m., and I rode in back with them to keep them entertained. Stopped around 6 to breastfeed, change, etc, and then they slept for "bedtime." Around 9:30, we stopped for another feed, change, etc, and kept on driving. Stopped around 2:00 for another quick dreamfeed and one we went. We drove straight through just switching off who drove and slept for bit when we got to our destination and had my SIL and BIL watch the boys which they were more than willing to do.