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Original poster

Holiday with an eight month old

20 replies

PirateWeasel · 26/08/2018 20:51

Am I completely insane to be considering a week's holiday a 3-hour drive away from home with an eight month old? My DM thinks I'm mad and that we should either stay at home and go away the following year instead or find somewhere much closer. I didn't think a 3-hr drive sounded too bad at that age, when I know people who've taken tinier babies abroad on planes! But please disillusion me if you think it would be more trouble than it's worth!

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Moody123 · 26/08/2018 21:05

I wouldn't but that's only because my baby HATED the car (I know most baby's love the car RIGHT)
Go, have fun !
Although my LO is 18 months and we still haven't had a holiday, I can't face it 😂

NinaMarieP · 26/08/2018 21:05

We went about the same distance with our 8 month old.

He slept for 45 minutes and we thought 'great this will be a breeze' then he woke up and howled and howled until we stopped.

Had a break, got back in car. He slept for a while then we repeated the howling and a hurried stop in a lay by.

Then third leg and we got there.

Coming back was similar.

Totally worth it though! We had a great week, he slept fine (well, no worse than at home) in a travel cot and we visited plenty of nice places.

Figmentofimagination · 26/08/2018 21:11

It don't think that would be insane at all, but maybe it would be easier to travel that distance at bedtime/ early in the morning. That way your baby can mostly sleep. You can buy a travel sleeping bag that the 5 point harness fits through.

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Alex3101 · 26/08/2018 21:18

Not insane at all. We drove to the west coast of Ireland when DS1 was 6 months old. We left very early in the morning so he slept until we got to North Wales (3 hours away) we fed him got to the ferry and he slept for the drive across other than a stop to feed.
We went to France this summer and DS2 was also 6 months. 2 hour drive to the ferry, we had a cabin and he slept for a bit on the crossing (6 hours) then a 3 hour drive the other side.
Be prepared try and time things with feeds and you'll be fine.

Pumpkin314 · 26/08/2018 21:19

Not remotely insane. Leave at naptime, stop for lunch somewhere, carry on at their next naptime. We've just been camping with our 7 month old and had a great time, and that was her 4th holiday! I admit we probably won't go further than about a 4 hour drive til she's a bit older and we don't have to stop so often.

WaffleFroggy · 26/08/2018 21:27

This made me laugh - I thought you were going to say uk - Australia or something but 3 hours?! It will be totally fine! My parents and in-laws both live an 8 hour journey from me and with both my children I had done it by the time they were 6 weeks old. Have a great holiday, you will look back and laugh that you thought this was an issue

FreshEyre · 26/08/2018 21:32

Not at all insane. Just be prepared for the journey to take longer than planned - with DC we stopped every hour(ish) for a quick breather but it was fine.

Take as much stuff as you can to make it as easy as possible. Oh, and have a plan for what you might do if you get good/bad weather.

Catheroooo · 26/08/2018 21:32

Depends on the child... mine only sleeps 30 mins in the car seat whatever time of day it is. Gets fed up in the car seat after 2 hours. Very jealous of all the 'it'll be fine' posters...

DaisyLand · 26/08/2018 21:32

3h But might be more as you might need to stop but Apart from that ... my baby is nearly 5m and has already flown 3 times. By the time hes 8 he will have flown7 times. Your dm must think I’m mad.

Go and enjoy but At Baby’s peace

xoguineas · 26/08/2018 21:41

Definitely not insane. We done this with a 6 month old and she was fine. Slept most of the way as we timed the journey for nap time then when she woke we stopped for a feed and quick change so she was happy for the rest of the way.

Just make sure you make a practical list of the stuff you'll definitely need. We took way too much with us and barely used any of it so it was just taking up much needed space in the car!

Bumdishcloths · 26/08/2018 21:44

We did 3.5hrs with an 8 WEEK old. In snow. So it took about 6 hours in reality with all the breaks haha. It was horrific but we did it! 8 months will be fine, just make regular stops

Ginorchoc · 26/08/2018 21:44

No, it’s only a few hours. She is being daft.

lovetravel2 · 26/08/2018 22:12

You'll be fine, I've just done 3 trips to Scotland this year alone (the highlands) from Suffolk with my DD. First was at 5.5 months. Next trip a month later -family bereavement sadly and 3rd trip back to Scotland with DD who is now 11.5 months to the Outer Hebrides (google that) 😂 it took 3 days with all the stops / hotel stays and one 4 hour ferry trip plus another 1hr drive when on the Island to our cottage. We just arrived home a week ago 😅

I know every M6 service station and can write a full report on the baby changing facilities We were more worried now she's older and how well she would cope? We stopped around every 2 hours, but previous trips we use to stop 1.5. Babies generally sleep 45 mins, but if there well fed she could sleep nearly 2 hours which was bliss.

We always got her out of the car every 2 hours for stretch as she's now nearly walking and she loves people watching so plenty of that at service stops. 3 hours will be no problem at all. Plenty of toys and games in the back if your LO wakes up. I also sat in the back with her through the whole car journey to keep her entertained.
Have a lovely holiday xx

leasedaudi · 27/08/2018 00:58

Geez I've taken a 4 month old on a 28 hour flight and back again when he was 6 months. A 3 hr drive is nothing, especially if you stop for a couple of breaks.

AornisHades · 27/08/2018 01:04

We did a 4 hour trip for a holiday with our 8 month old pfb. We had some stops and it was fine.

PaulMorel · 27/08/2018 03:23

I think it would be great if you travel at bedtime. In that way your baby can sleep and you don't have to worry about it.

Caterina99 · 27/08/2018 07:30

I live abroad and all my family in the UK. 10m old DD is on her second trip to the UK right now, and part of our trip usually includes 5 hour drive between parents and inlaws and a 3 hour drive to other relatives which we’ve done over a weekend. So that’s a 10 hour flight with a 3yr old and a 10m old, as well as the traveling while here. Honestly it’s fine.

Go now! Even if your baby is crawling, 8 months is significantly easier than traveling with a toddler!

Figgygal · 27/08/2018 07:33

Why would it be mad?
They'll probably be asleep most of the drive.

We took Ds2 to Portugal at that age it was his third set of flights. That age is very portable.

QueenAravisOfArchenland · 27/08/2018 07:36

Why on earth would it be a problem? We drove from London to Edinburgh with a 10 week old and a 3yo earlier this year. We split the journey and stayed overnight to make it easier for us, but we just planned things out so we could stop for a decent break every 2hours. If we'd needed to go faster we would probably have started in the afternoon and driven into the night.

myotherbagisgucci · 27/08/2018 07:59

I don't think you're mad! We've just taken our 8 month old to America, which was two flights/three countries totalling 11hrs.

We took plenty of toys, iPad with shows on Netflix downloaded and lots of snacks.

DD was amazing there and back.

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