To think that a 6hr drive is too long for a baby?

[Hard2Find09]

We are planning a road trip to see family. The drive will take 6hrs without any stops. This is our first long drive and I don't think our 8 month old will be able to comfortably do this in one hit and have suggested that we stay the night halfway. So drive 3hrs after work the first day and then 3hrs the next morning.

Some family feels that this is unreasonable and we should just do the 6hrs in one go. I feel that after factoring in stops for our baby to eat and do nappy changes we will be looking at way more than 6hrs and it will just be too much. AIBU?

Can’t you stop somewhere for half hour a few times

Yanbu, I would split it up too. You would have to stop so often anyway it would take an age, so you might as well split it and have two much easier journeys!

Go overnight, that’s what I used to do. Feed, set off at bedtime, roads are quieter too.

No you are not. You shouldn’t drive 6 hours straight anyway, baby or not so would need to stop at least twice for at least 30mins anyway. What you are suggesting sounds very sensible to me

Ignore your family it’s your decision

I would split the journey too. Are the family members travelling with you? If not, it's none of their business how you choose to make the journey.

yanbu
that's a long drive.
we did that with our newborns and took a 20 min break every 2 hours to feed/nappy change, have a cuppa etc.

I did a 2500 mile road trip when my DD's were 5 months and 2 yrs, it was brilliant, we even camped for part of it. Kids only restrict you as much as you allow. They slept in their car seats of course and we always scheduled an hour or two at lunch time to walk around, go to the park or those McDonald's with play areas. Typically we drove for 5-6 hours in a day

@FizzyTarte

Go overnight, that’s what I used to do. Feed, set off at bedtime, roads are quieter too.

We would prefer not driving too late. We are in Australia and the country roads here are not always great and wildlife can be a bit of a pain.

I drove from London to Edinburgh alone to get married. My son was 9 weeks old. I stopped every 2 hours to feed him. Took about 10 hours in total. I kind of loved it and he seemed fine.

We do that kind of trip all the time, to see relatives. (When not in lockdown).

The 6 hour drive takes 9 hours with little kids. We do a 90-120 minute break after 2 hours then a 45 min break after another 2 hours driving.

We tried staying overnight but we found that exhausting. We just wanted to get there.

Some family feels that this is unreasonable and we should just do the 6hrs in one go

Unless any of this family are actually travelling in the car with you, then frankly, it's none of their business.

I recently did a 7-8 hour drive to Melbourne. Never again. Factor in an overnight in each direction.

What’s it got to do with anyone else? If you want to stop overnight then do it, it’s none of their business is it?

I’d probably plan to stop a few times on the way instead for breaks but it’s entirely up to you, six hours is a long drive for anyone I wouldn’t do it in one go

I would do it in a day. Just stop maybe every hour and a half/2 hours.

Although I'm not sure why your extended family have any say in how you travel.

Unless you're asking then to pay for your accommodation, it's no one else's business! If the option is there, and you feel it's necessary, I would break up a journey with a young baby. Some might be fine with it if they're used to travelling distances, others won't. You know your own child.

@KarlUrbansWife

I would split the journey too. Are the family members travelling with you? If not, it's none of their business how you choose to make the journey.

We are traveling together but in seperate cars. I did suggest that they could go ahead. We will be slower as likely to need more breaks anyway. Our baby hates being in the carseat and will cry a lot.

I think every family and every baby is different. We are planning a 4 hour trip with a 5 week old. The plan is to take an extra day to get there, and an extra day to get back. Lots of stops etc.

Kids only restrict you as much as you allow

Only if you dont give a shit about them. Otherwise you need to factor them into your plans and then a lot depends on the child (and your nerves).

No you are not. You shouldn’t drive 6 hours straight anyway, baby or not

Is this your own opinion or do you have a legitimate source which states people should not drive 6 hours straight?

I would do this in the same day, simply because I don't like to waste time, so getting to the destination in the same day where possible works better for me. Equally though, I can see why some would want an overnight break.

I would have thought 6 hours straight in a car seat, even at 8 months would be dangerous. We did a 3 hour trip when DD was that age and had 2 decent size breaks for feeding/nappy change/time out of the carseat.

Anyway, not their circus not their monkeys. You do what's right for you.

We drove 10 hrs one day and 6 the next when DS was about 7 months old. He was fine, had regular breaks and he slept a lot

Travelling with a child that hates the car and cries is very stressful and distracting too. I remember long-ish drives with my first dc as a baby. After any break he was gutted to be put back in his seat and would cry for the next hour, it was awful. Do whatever makes it easier for you and dc.

We always found stopping overnight more disruptive than driving through, so used to set off at normal bedtime. They almost invariably slept the whole journey (8 hours plus, East Anglia to Cornwall), often better than in bed, think it was the motion.

Your family feel it’s unreasonable?! Absolutely nothing to do with them. All they need to know is an arrival time surely? I’d just tell them that- the rest is not up for any sort of discussion.