first long car journey with baby...any top tips?

[jumbly]

Hello there... we're only just now about to embark on our first long(ish) car journey with 19 week old baby...he's been ok during 4 or 5 very short journeys (no more than 15 mins) around town thus far but I'm filled with some trepidation about taking him on a 6 hour motorway trek in a couple of days' time. Any advice gratefully received...

Time it so that you can feed him before you go, then he will hopefully sleep for a good while before you need to stop again (and check out your possible stopping places beforehand). Or travel at night?
Sit in the back with him so you can keep an eye on him/entertain him.

bump for you

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He will probably sleep most of the way. Feed before you go as foxtrot said. Make sure you check out a stop along route.

Have plenty of toys - a toybar if you have one.

Have a change of clothes and nappies easily to hand.

Make sure you know where to stop every hour, even if you dont have to.
Pack the car so you can change/feed on the back seat and not have to get out of car in case it is raining.
Work out his favourite song/game my DD can be kept from a tantrum for about 10 minutes by singing 5 little ducks (I want to scream by the end though!)
Have a bag of toys with you, then when he drops one or loses interest it can appear magically from behind the seat and keep entertained for another few mins

Most important, if you can sit where you can see him face on, I always sit in teh back with DD when ona long journey if DH is driving, its easier to keep her entertained then

good luck!

as VVVQV says - he will sleep most of the way. give him a good feed before you leave, then be prepared to be pounced upon when you arrive if hes slept all the way as he'll be starving

take with you the same stuff you take everywhere anyway, ie - changing stuff and either your boobs or prepared feeds if FF... then if he howls along the way, pull over and feed/change, then put him back (still howling if need be) and he'll give up and go back to sleep in no time.

(if its your first baby/long journey with a baby, 'no time' will feel like about 3 and a half hours of pure hell and torture, but will in reality be about 5 minutes of screaming followed by peace and tranquility.)

Hi Jumbly. We took DS on a 9 hour trek to the Scottish Highlands when he was 2 months . My tips would be as follows:

Stop every two hours for at least 20 minutes and get baby out of the car seat for a good stretch, even if he's asleep. We put the changing mat on the car boot to let him stretch out.
Plan your stops as much as possible.
If you formula feed, use the ready made cartons. Don't forget to pack a pair of scissors!
Consider getting an in-car bottle warmer if you use bottles but make sure you let it warm up well in advance as it takes ages. Otherwise take a thermos flask of hot water and a jug.
Make sure you've got all the stuff you need for emergency nappy changes easily accessible, including a towel/roll-up changing mat.

That's all I can think of for now. Good Luck!!

BTW, I didn't sit in the back with DS for most of the journey. I've found that he gets more unsettled if he can see me, whilst if I'm in the front he just falls asleep.

Friends swear by doing the six hour trip for their holidays at 7pm, they get there at 1am but the children sleep the whole way.

Not what I would do because I'm crap after 9pm but a good idea for night owls.

I'm quite fascinated that your 4 month old has only been on 4 or 5 trips - but I'm basing this amazement on NZ where everybody drives. More cars per capita than LA here.

Have a change of clothes to hand for yourself and DP - nothing worse than hours in baby puke

set off in the early evening after a bath and a good feed. it worked everytime with dd. did a few long journeys this way when she was under a year. on a six hr journey she woke up once, breastfed her and she was gone again.

oh yes! as twinkleinsantaseye says, he will settle much more quickly if you just leave him be...

i mean, if youve strapped him in and hes crying/seems unhappy - it is a mistake to sit there and try to comfort him. he will just be frustrated and annoyed that you dont pick him up. if you just leave him alone and stay out of sight he v quickly gives up and goes to sleep.

(my mother wouldnt believe me when i told her this on one 2 hour journey and insisted on trying to comfort/distract/entertain him the whole way...consequence was that he was crying and unhappy for 2 whole hours instead of ten minutes at the beginning and asleep for the rest. i could have murdered her by the time we arrived!)

thanks so much everyone...sounds like great advice...i bet I'd have tried to entertain/comfort littl'un all the way there and ended up with us all having a totally dismal time of it too... i know it sounds barmy that we're only just setting out on a longish motorway trek after more than four months but, after DS was born on back seat of our car (!), it started playing up (car, not DS, that is...) and we've only just replaced it (er, again, car rather than DS!) so he's mostly used to seeing the world go by only at walking pace ao far... thanks again for top tips!

youre very welcome from me! birth on back seat of car sounds...um, interesting (!!)
i think its lovely your LO hasnt been in cars much really, my poor wee scrots have spent probably weeks of their young lives in cars...

oh god yes i hate car journeys with my ILs. they absolutely will not let dd have even 2 seconds of peace. we often drive for 2 hours to see some of my family and it does my head right in. they think i'm highly neglectful because i don't talk to her throughout the journey and dare suggest we ignore her and she'll go to sleep.

oh crikey dizzy, i'd nut one of them for sure at least my mother has learned that lesson now...

Blimey..I've been missing a trick all these weeks..those tips worked like a charm and DS slept for solid 1.5/2 hour chunks in between milk and nappy stops...leaving plenty of time for self and DH to bicker about directions!