How to travel for 5 hours in a car with a 5 month old????

[nenee]

Hi ya

We are thinking of going to Devon in the summer and my lo will be 5 months old.  The only thing is  Hes not keen in sitting in his car seat for long.  We were thinking of going when its night time so he will sleep all the way has anyone tried this and do they sleep all the time we are driving as their bedtime or will they be worse as not in their cot at that time.  I wish there was a travel cot of some sort that can be fixed with a seat belt so he can lie flat and sleep whilst travelling.  Any ideas???  Other wise it means travelling somewhere near and wont feel like a break.  Maybe we are expecting too much from a 5 mth old?? or is it feesable?

nenee

[nona]

we've taken our LO on several 4 hr car trips. i try to time it so we leave about 30-45 min before naptime. this gives him time to play at little and then hopefully fall asleep around his usual naptime. usually, he does not take a full nap though. he usually wakes if we're in stop and go traffic. if traffic is flowing, we do great.  we've also timed it to leave around bedtime and then did work pretty well but it kinda screwed up "bedtime" when we finally reached our destination. getting out of the car, etc got him a little wired but it was OK. when we left at bedtime, i nursed him before, put him in a sleeper and an overnight diaper.

i BF but i've also given him a bottle in the car so to save time not stopping. i also ride in the back some of the way to help entertain! otherwise, we stop and eat somewhere so i can nurse him but that just prolongs the car seat. once my LO gets out, he doesn't want to go back in anytime soon!!!DS is also not keen on his carseat!


HTH!

[nenee]

Hi there

First Id like to say what a gorgeous little boy u have bless him! I think thats what we will do,also what does he sleep in when u stay elsewhere? do u put him in a cot supplied in the accomodation and does he settle? or do u take one of those travel cots? and if so does he sleep in it ok?
nenee

[nona]

thank you!!!!

we use a co-sleeper which is very similar to a pak 'n play. http://armsreach.com/shop/Original-Co-Sleeper-c-1.html   (we now use the play yard version since our LO can sit up now). we take it with us and we have checked it for flights. he usually settles in the co-sleeper ok. we have never stayed in a hotel w/ him (yet!) but i'd consider using a crib supplied by the hotel if they have one (if it looks stable and clean anyway).  our LO prefers to sleep in his crib in general!  our most recent trip back home didn't work out so well w/ cade but i think it was just a fluke. IMO, your first night away isn't going to go so well, but if you can maintain your LOs routine for the next day the rest of the week goes better. i find being away longer is easier b/c your LO can adjust. if it just for a weekend, then you have less time b/c you have to drive back home in a day. KWIM?

[Erin M]

We've taken a whole bunch of lengthy car trips with dd1.  Like Heather, we would leave about a half hour or so after she ate, so she could have some exercise.  She's then hang out for a bit and then sleep.  Depending on when she woke up and how happy she was when she woke, we'd either drive for a bit more or stop and get out for a bit, we'd have a meal of some sort and then I'd feed her.  Sometimes either dh or I would ride in the back with her after we stopped if she was upset.  We had very little crying in all our trips, worst was being stuck in an ice storm on the way back from the ILs one Thanksgiving when she had two ear infections   We almost never left in the late evening, the one time we did and she got a good nap in she was awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night when we got there.

When we stayed with friends/relatives, I would bring her pack and play.  If we were going somewhere where it wouldn't fit and we were at a hotel, I'd just use whatever they had, most hotels here will supply a pack and play, I would just bring a sheet from home so it had the same smell that she was used to.  Also, I'd always bring the white noise machine that she slept with at home.  dd1 almost always slept fine when we were away, dd2 slept miserably the one time we were away from home.  I think that had more to do with the fact that she had just gotten her 4 month shots though (at least I hope as we're going to try to go away again sometime soon).

[wfabby]

Hello-

We took our lo on two trips at age 4 mo and 6 mo, each a 6.5 hour drive.  He did great.  We bought a portable DVD player that mounted for his rear facing seat and lots of Baby Einstein movies.  I also sat in the back and brought loads of toys and books, etc.  We never had any real sleep issues, and used cribs the two resorts had supplied for us, but I agree with pp, bring a sheet, blanket and any other significant crib toy you have so it feels more like home.  I didn't do this, but wish I did, if you can bring the bumpers from his crib, even better!

I realized he didn't care where he was as long as he had his mom and dad! 

Oh, we also brought his exersaucer which helped a bunch!  It collapsed to fit in the car, and was wonderful in the hotel room.  I didn't have to leave him on the ground.  We even brought it to the pool and he played for hours in it. 

Call ahead to where you are staying, you may be surprised how much they have available for you,

[nona]

nenee - so glad you asked this question b/c i'm getting loads of great tips! the exersaucer is a great idea - wish i could bring it on the plane and the portable DVD is GENIUS for the plane or the car. i didn't even think to use one for baby einstein. we have quite a few trips planned for this summer...

[nenee]

Thanks guys

loads of brill ideas, we have a portable dvd player so will look out for the baby einsten dvd(iv got the exerciser and play mat to)  Il also take his bumper from his cot and his blanket etc, think we wil travel in the day after hes had his first nap so hes well rested.

nenee

[lisi's mum]

a quick tip that has saved our lives - dd couldn't switch off to sleep in the car when she was younger - day time was too light, night time the car headlamps bothered her. We took a big piece of dark material and made a tent for her over the headrests of the drivers seat and back seat, anchored any how it goes and blocking out the window. Made things dark, snuggly and hey presto sleep!

Be prepared to spend lots of time in the back seat! And be glad there'll be 2 adults - I've done a couple 6 hr trips on my own with dd. Not fun, but astonishingly it is possible!

[nenee]

thanks that sounds like a great idea will defo have a go at that.  also do u think if we baught another car seat which was bigger than the first one he has may help him be more comfy any ideas on which one to buy and do they have to face the seat until a certain age??

nenee 

[15milner]

We did London to Devon with a 6 month old.  We timed to be packed up before a feed, i fed, changed Matthew etc and we loaded him into his carseat (they need to be rearfacing until 20lbs approx age 1).  He fell asleep and we put down as many miles as we possibly could.

We took picnic lunch for us but were also prepared to stop at a pub too.  We stopped for lunch as soon after Matthew woke from his am nap in the car.  We all therefore stopped, ate, stretched our legs and had a decent break.  Then back in the car where Matthew fell asleep again.  I think he woke with about 1hr to go, and since he wasn't too happy - I squeezed myself into the back and talked to him etc.

this summer we will be going to Devon with a baby that will be ?number of weeks old.  We are going the last 2 weeks of August - so however old s/he will be from the date born.  (Hopefully soon - she says between gritted teeth!)  I'm looking to get one of the pop-up travel cots by samsonite - less bulky. 

In terms of toys etc - I took the playmat and arches, a few activity things, soft books - not too much.  Sitting on a rug and exploring grass / sand etc was interesting.


Alex

[nona]

we have a big baby and i honestly don't think a bigger car seat will help too much at your baby's age. i think one problem IMO is that they can't really adjust themselves in the seat, like we can, so maybe they get that numb bum feeling!!! well, they also get bored too. having some little toys in the car helps. since cade is older he can def kick around alot more but still can't wiggle his bum around a whole lot. we've exceeding 20 lbs already but have a couple more inches to grow before we need another seat. i think the car seat makes him hot and sometimes the sun can get bright. i also have this little einstein thing that he likes to kick on and off. when cade was 3 mo, he wasn't doing too much cause/effect stuff willingly but the bright lights were interesting (can see them best at night).

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