Can you take an 8 week old baby in a car for 3 hours? If so how many stops and for how long? Thank you xxxxx

[BabyCJuly]

Hello there,

We are planning on taking our newborn away. She will be 7 weeks old. Only thing is... it’s 3 hours away. Is this ok? How long would you recommend between each stop and for how long? Xxx

I did a 5 hour journey with a 7week old... he was in charge of the stops 😬
I think the advice is every 90 mins. But if you have a lay flat car seat it can be longer xx

Should be fine, just stop when it feels right. We travelled to see family when DD2 was only 3 weeks old and they're a good 4 hours away, longer with stops.

Yes it’s fine but you’ll want to stop at least every hour. I think unless the car seat is a lie flat one then it may even be every 30 mins or so !

Max 2 hours in a car seat in one stretch at that age, so you can get away with one stop. I'd go with the flow so see how long you can drive before he gets upset but stop at the 2 hour mark regardless.

30 minutes is just for babies under 4 weeks old.

I drove from Kentucky to California with my six week old who had been in intensive care. When she needed feeding we stopped - that simple.

We did a 3 hour journey when my dd was 8 weeks and stopped twice, an hour between stops. That worked well for us and her, I sat in the back so I could keep an eye. We were slightly limited as to when we could stop just as there weren't many service stations en route so maybe do a bit of research and see what your options are. Just see how you go and stop more often if needed.

I did 4 hours with a 12 week old and stopped once halfway through (she slept through the first half) the long journeys when she was a baby were far far easier than the last one when she was 2 and a bit! I didn't know it was possible for a 2 year old to talk non stop for 4 hours.... Think we went for a record 😂😂

Yes, we drove with both ours 5-6 hour journey, we just stopped every hour or two for a good break, feed, nappy change and carried on. It did take about 10 hours though lol

At that age we used to feed, wind and change before leaving and drive as far as we could before she woke up. Then repeat in service station before last stretch.

MUCH harder now she’s nearly 2. Lots of bribery involving snacks and and book animations downloaded onto iPad.