Travelling/car journeys with babies

Would love to get some tips/advice on travelling long car journeys and staying away from home with small babies.

Our son is 7 weeks old and feeds and sleeps really well - always settles in Moses basket at night and sleep periods are getting longer all the time.

My husband has suggested going to stay with his family for a

few days who live about 4 hours away. Not all of them have seen the baby yet so he really wants us to go.

I'm a little worried about such a long car journey for my little man and terrified that the change in environment will interrupt his routine and my much needed sleep in the evenings will be a thing of the past!!!!

Any tips? Am I worrying unnecessarily?

[DrFluffy]

I guess every baby is different, but hopefully your LO should be ok.

We took our bubba to my parents when he was about 6 weeks old. They live about 3.5h away. The main 'issue' was planning where we would stop to feed him. Wasn't an issues on the way there, but was on the way back, and I ended up having to BF him in a layby on the A40!!

He usually sleeps in a crib, but both times we'be been away for the weekend he has slept beautifully in a Moses basket!

I guess the truth is that you won't know until you try and it's always lovely showing off your pride and joy

[Hidden in reply to DrFluffy]

Thanks Dr Fluffy! I think as you say we just need to plan our route to take into account feeding and changing. As we're formula feeding hopefully we should be able to time this but you can never tell with the little monkeys!

My husband (and me) is desperate to show him off!

[Hidden]

I totally agree with the last comment "made by DrFluffy" & say every baby is different & do tend to suprise us at how well they cope being in different environments .

The only issue Id imagine you'd have is feeding & maybe changing time when travelling.

xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Great, thanks Abenaa. Good to hear positive opinions about how babies respond. We'll take his Moses basket so he's familiar with that and as long as he's fed, warm, dry and has lots of cuddles hopefully he'll be fine!

[mamacool]

Basically as a rule of thumb, happy Mummy = happy Baby. So if you are feeling anxious about the trip then the tension will be felt by your little one too. At this age they really do go with whatever. For the journey it may be as well to discuss with OH about pit stops along the way, perhaps you could have a half day out en route as a family.

While you're there with the relatives, don't be afraid to delegate, they will probably be only too pleased to help. Ask ahead of time if you could do the baby wash if you need to to reduce the amount of packing. If you forget anything then chances are that you're not that far from civilization so you can pop out and buy what you need anyway.

You may be able to agree a quite time, with no visitors/ going out, which coincides with your home routine so you and baby get your normal rest while you are visiting as it can be tiring, catching up when you've not seen anyone for a while. Either way it will be a family adventure (the first of many no doubt) so have fun and enjoy showing off your little one.

[Hidden in reply to mamacool]

Thanks mamacool! Hopefully we shouldn't be too overwhelmed with visits and friends. He def gets worked up later in the day if he hasn't had any 'down time'.

I love all your suggestions and will ensure we stick to his routine and get hubby to help reinforce it with family.

Quite excited about it now I've got a bit of a plan!

[CarolineDarz]

Hey also remember bubs shouldn't be in a car seat for longer than 1-2hrs. So when you have your breaks from driving, get them out for a while xx

[Littlepickle]

I think that's a lovely age to travel with lo. We did it (a 4 hour trip) about the same age and baby was no trouble at all, just slept. I spent weeks worrying about it! When you've done it once it gets easier. Now my lo is nearly 7 months its a bit more challenging as he wants entertaining more but as long as you plan your route carefully and expect to make some stops its fine! Good luck xx