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3 hour road trip

meresal

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
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I leave tomorrow morning on a roadtrip to grandma's house...

I am traveling by myself, and at the moment, I am literally freaking myself out. C is great for the first 45 mins to an hour in his car seat, and then he gets a bit unruly. We haven't driven anywhere over an hour away, but I usually try very hard not to put him immediately back in the car seat after removing him, because he hates it.

Are there any tricks of the trade that can ease my mind... I'm worried that I am going to be stopping every thirty minutes to walk him around for a half hour, over and over again. Worried that it could take me the whole day to get there.


I'm wishing we could just fly, but I really need my car while I am there.
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I just don't want him to by crying/screaming the whole way there...
 

KimberlyH

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Jun 15, 2006
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i traveled alone with j last weekend (one way, my husband ended up renting a car and coming to get us). if i were you i''d find someone to go with me. if that''s not possible hang a toy from the carseat handle and cover it with a solid colored blanket.
 

Lilac

Brilliant_Rock
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May 4, 2009
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I know he is still very young, so I''m not sure if this advice will really help at all, but I have seen people put mirrors on the back seat if the baby is in a rear-facing car seat so they can see the baby when they are driving. Maybe if you can angle a mirror so you can see him it will give you peace of mind while you are driving (so you know what he''s up to if you haven''t heard anything from him in a while) and maybe if he can somehow see you in the mirror he wouldn''t cry as much.

To be perfectly honest, I don''t have kids yet and I have NO idea if that advice is even remotely helpful for a baby his age, but I do know that friends of mine have said it really has helped them when they go on long driving trips and nobody can sit in the back with the baby.

I wish I could offer some more (useful) advice!
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Good luck and I hope you have a great trip!
 

meresal

Ideal_Rock
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Nov 13, 2007
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Kimberly- I wish I could take someone with me... but it just isn't possible. Thank you for the advice on hanging toys from the handle. I will be sure to attach some before we head out.

Lilac- I actually already have a mirror back there, and it is indeed very reassuring when they are quiet or sleeping... However, it doesn't do much good to be able to see how red your child's face is when he is screaming his head off.
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I'm ho[ing that it goes better than expected. I am expecting the worse, so if I make it in less than 5 hours and C still has a voice by the time we get there, then I will be pleased.
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ETA: I should mention that I don't mind getting out and walking around with C as long as it makes him happy... however, the highway I am traveling along, though it is very high traffic, there is a stretch of about 150 miles(second half of the trip) that doesn't have a single decent stopping area, other than fast food joints and gas stations. THIS is not helping to ease my mind.
 

Mara

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It doesn't bother me too much when J has a screaming fit in the car. It happens. What are you going to do? I woud not pull over as long as I knew he was ok. If you can see him in the mirror and you know he's not starving or sitting in a pile of poop, in general he'll be fine. It's 3 hours, he may be a little PO'd or tired when you arrive but it will prob be harder on you than on him if he is fussy. Plus for J, if I pulled over to soothe him then put him back in, he'd be even MORE PO'd at that point.

Anytime I take J out I feed him before we go. Even if he's not that hungry. I make sure he is really full and change his diaper and then we go. It doesn't always work out to where he loves whatever I have to go do, but oh well.

A few tips.. if I know he is tired-- if you draw the shade on the carseat a bit to help keep light out it might help him sleep. J gets so overstimulated sometimes from the lights and the scenery going by etc he might not fall asleep easily even if I can see he is tired. If I draw the shade and give him his paci, typically he will be calmer and fall asleep.

Also if you have white noise it might help calm him. Or a kids CD you can play in the car. J loves to hear the radio and music in general. You can also try singing to him. Basically I find a 'distraction' works for J. Like if the music is too low I turn it up loud for a minute and he will stop because it's something different. Sometimes it's enough to 'jolt' him out of the 'I hate this' and buy you some time.

But...he'll be fine. And you'll be fine too. I personally think that the kids know when the parents get flustered in general and respond to it, so I always try to stay calm and sound upbeat when I talk to him esp in the car so that he doesn't think 'hell i hate this and mom is losing it too'...hahaa.

Good luck! You guys will make it. You never know he might pass out from the constant movement of the car on the freeway and give you a break. Drive safe!
 

MonkeyPie

Ideal_Rock
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Apr 23, 2008
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Mara has good tips, and they are ones I use too, because Micah loathes being stuck in the carseat. He has a jingly blue bunny that hangs from the carseat handle and that usually can distract him for awhile since my baby pretty much never sleeps in the daytime, hah. I definitely second you feeding him literally right before you leave the house so he is full and close to food coma. He''s over a month now, right? Half a teaspoon of baby cereal in his bottle may help him sleep better, and longer.
 

meresal

Ideal_Rock
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Nov 13, 2007
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Thanks Mara and MP.

I was planning on leaving as soon as he eats in the morning, but now, instead of BM, I think I might stuff him with some formula, since it tends to be a little bit thicker. (I don''t have any cereal, so hopefully this will work out.)

I don''t have a sun shade on my car seat, but Kimberly mentioned something about putting a solid colored blanket over the handle, so I will try that. Probably works the same way.

Mara, you are right. It more than likely bothers me more than it bothers him. I hate those little tears, and I hate the idea of him blowing his vocal chords even more. My little guy sounds ALOT like yours. I try to avoid putting him back in the car seat within 3 hours of removing him. If I took him out just to feed and then stuck him back in, you are right, it would be much worse than just driving thru the cry. (I used to run errands every day when he was sleeping thru everything, but starting last week, we have switched to an every other day schedule, just so he wouldn''t completely despise me. We had 2 VERY unfortunate trips to BRU and BB&B that left both of us in tears. His started when we entered the stores, and mine started on the way home...
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I am just hoping that maybe he will surprise me. I hope it goes well.
 

KimberlyH

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
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the blanket does help with overstimulation.

it sounds like you aren''t comfortable with letting c cry so i''d just plan on pulling over wherever i could safely do so if necessary.

everyone i talked to says it gets easier as they get older because you can talk to them, hand them toys, etc. i sure hope so!
 

fieryred33143

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May 18, 2008
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6,689
I have traveled to Orlando which is 4 hrs from my home by myself with S since she was about 8 weeks old.

My #1 tip is to get him very, very sleepy. Before I head out with S, I give her a long warm bath and then fill her tummy up. She falls asleep almost immediately and there have been times when I could have driven the 4 hours without stopping and just let her continue sleeping.

My other big tip is to leave with plenty of time in your schedule. If you have to be somewhere at 1, don''t leave at 10. Leave at 7 or 8 so that if you do have to stop, it doesn''t stress you out.
 

meresal

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
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5,720
Ladies, thank you so much for the advice. Fiery, I''m sorry I just now saw your post. This morning at our house was a *bit* hectic, so i didn''t get a chance to log in before leaving.

We arrived at Marmie''s house, and I am such a proud Mama! C was the best back-seat rider I have EVER had!

DH and I woke up at 6:30 in order to get C woken up, and he would eat at 7.

We left at 8 with a solid colored blanket over his carseat. (I also put a toy on his handle, but his handle doesn''t come past the back of his head, so he could never see it... just heard it gingle when we went over bumps
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At 8:45 he began to cry a bit, so i turned off the a/c and rolled all the windows to half way (He loves being outside every other day, so why the hell not!!) Well, he slept for the next hour!

He woke up about 10 minutes before we reached the halfway point, and though he wasn''t crying I decided to stop anyway. We walked around the Buckey''s (a chain of high end gas station/stores in Texas... great bathrooms!) for about 30 minutes, we bought a cross to commemorate his first road trip to Marmie and Grandad''s house, and then he ate. All in all, the stop was about an hour. Perefect.

I put him back in the carseat, took a quick picture for the g-parents, and he proceeded to sleep for the mext 2.5 HOURS!!! He woke up about 10 minutes away from the house. Hw was not happy, but I can''t blame him. 4 hour car rides aren''t my favorite either. He just wanted to be held. Now we are relaxing on a couch and in air conditioning!

Not only did he surprise me, he far exceeded my expectations! I hope the trip home is just as pleasant!
 

KimberlyH

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
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7,485
i''m so glad it went well, mer!
 

Mara

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
31,003
yay mere! you''ll be a pro heading back home. enjoy the days at g''mas...!!
 

MonkeyPie

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
6,059
Yay, go baby! He did so good
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I hope the return trip is just as smooth!
 
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