Long car trip with infants
June 19, 2009 12:45 PM Subscribe
Travel with infant from North Carolina to Texas
Hi:
My employer is moving me to Wilkes county, NC to Dallas, Tx (over a 1000 miles). We have a restless 9 month old who has not flown at all.
From prior relocation experiences I know that the truck will likely take time (at least a week to 2 weeks) in getting our stuff to Dallas. There are things like stroller, bouncer, car seat, crib etc which will be really helpful to have handy when we get to Dallas. We have been thinking of driving down over two days (stay two nights in hotels on the road).
Is that sane or should be just try to fly down and live with the inconveniences for a few weeks? (a prior post on this subject suggested flying, but that decision probably didnt involve shipping all the baby paraphernalia ... ).
Any advise or prior experience in travel with infants over this kind of distance will be much appreciated.
Hi:
My employer is moving me to Wilkes county, NC to Dallas, Tx (over a 1000 miles). We have a restless 9 month old who has not flown at all.
From prior relocation experiences I know that the truck will likely take time (at least a week to 2 weeks) in getting our stuff to Dallas. There are things like stroller, bouncer, car seat, crib etc which will be really helpful to have handy when we get to Dallas. We have been thinking of driving down over two days (stay two nights in hotels on the road).
Is that sane or should be just try to fly down and live with the inconveniences for a few weeks? (a prior post on this subject suggested flying, but that decision probably didnt involve shipping all the baby paraphernalia ... ).
Any advise or prior experience in travel with infants over this kind of distance will be much appreciated.
Disclaimer: though I do have two young kids, I've never moved cross-country with them or driven with them longer than a 5 hour stretch. But my thought is, could you not just check most of these items on the plane? A stroller is checked at the gate and doesn't count towards your luggage allowance. You could also bring the carseat onto the plane if your baby has his/her own seat (not 100% sure about the guidelines on this). You may be able to pay extra to check more items. Whatever you can't check, you can probably do without for a little while, with a little creativity (e.g. you could feed the baby in the stroller or bouncer instead of high chair, etc).
Also, remember that Craigslist is just FILLED with people selling baby stuff, much of it in great condition. You might consider selling some of your stuff and buying it again when you get to Texas.
Good luck!
posted by yawper at 1:01 PM on June 19, 2009
Also, remember that Craigslist is just FILLED with people selling baby stuff, much of it in great condition. You might consider selling some of your stuff and buying it again when you get to Texas.
Good luck!
posted by yawper at 1:01 PM on June 19, 2009
I used to drive at night sometimes when I had to go long distances with babies and young children. The kids slept through it. But then there was someone at the destination who would look after them while I recuperated.
As long as you don't rush it, stop whenever the baby gets fussy, you should be fine driving. You might even want to spread it out over 3 days of driving.
posted by mareli at 1:01 PM on June 19, 2009
As long as you don't rush it, stop whenever the baby gets fussy, you should be fine driving. You might even want to spread it out over 3 days of driving.
posted by mareli at 1:01 PM on June 19, 2009
It might be more expense than you want, but you can always fly and rent the equipment you need.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:06 PM on June 19, 2009
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:06 PM on June 19, 2009
I mean to post a link to one place you can rent baby stuff: Baby's Away. They have a Dallas office.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2009
posted by Pater Aletheias at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2009
Seconding the idea that the world is aswim in used baby gear, so you probably can get what you really need cheap on Craigslist or at consignment shops when you arrive.
On the other hand, I have done long car trips with babies and small children many times, and if you prefer to drive, taking it slow, stopping when needed, and driving during sleep times are all good tips. My partner and I also used to have one adult ride back with the baby on long trips (I could even sit next to our son and breastfeed him while he was strapped into his car seat!) which helps with baby-entertainment, sense of security, returning toys and pacifiers that are dropped, handing the baby snacks, and so on.
posted by not that girl at 1:15 PM on June 19, 2009
On the other hand, I have done long car trips with babies and small children many times, and if you prefer to drive, taking it slow, stopping when needed, and driving during sleep times are all good tips. My partner and I also used to have one adult ride back with the baby on long trips (I could even sit next to our son and breastfeed him while he was strapped into his car seat!) which helps with baby-entertainment, sense of security, returning toys and pacifiers that are dropped, handing the baby snacks, and so on.
posted by not that girl at 1:15 PM on June 19, 2009
I have a friend who just drove from Houston to Virginia with her husband and 8 month old a couple of weeks ago. It took three days in their Camry. One of them sat in the back seat next to the baby for a good part of the trip. They drove at night as much as possible. Frequent stops helped. But they said he was pretty well behaved, and adjusted well.
However, he isn't a restless kid. Personally, that would be a factor for me if I were making such a decision. Many hours for at least a couple of days in a car seat, versus several hours in that same seat for one day on a plane. Can your baby stand to be in his or her car seat for an extended period? On a plane, you'd most likely be able to hold him or her and even walk up and down the aisle when he or she gets fussy. In a car, for safety's sake, that means pulling over.
At 9 months, my wife and I flew to Dallas from New York with our twins. We did not buy seats for them, but were lucky enough to fly during quiet times when window seats were available. The flight attendants moved our seats so that we'd have a free window.
The vast majority of infant car seats are FAA approved to take on a plane. This is the sticker you should be looking for. You simply put the car seat in the window seat (it has to be a window seat, that's an FAA regulation,) and strap the lap belt across. Our seats, Graco Snugride, fit perfectly.
We fed ours bottles on takeoff and landing to make sure their ears didn't pop, kept plenty of snacks and toys on hand, and did reasonably well. The advice in that post you linked to is excellent. (Extra receiving blankets, changes of clothes, bottles, diapers, etc.) Assume you're going to be in the plane for 2-3x the amount of time listed, just to be on the safe side.
If you do fly, don't be afraid to ask the flight attendants for assistance. They distracted our children if they became fussy, heated bottles for us and even held my daughter briefly when I needed to rummage through the overhead compartment.
Good luck. :)
posted by zarq at 1:43 PM on June 19, 2009
However, he isn't a restless kid. Personally, that would be a factor for me if I were making such a decision. Many hours for at least a couple of days in a car seat, versus several hours in that same seat for one day on a plane. Can your baby stand to be in his or her car seat for an extended period? On a plane, you'd most likely be able to hold him or her and even walk up and down the aisle when he or she gets fussy. In a car, for safety's sake, that means pulling over.
At 9 months, my wife and I flew to Dallas from New York with our twins. We did not buy seats for them, but were lucky enough to fly during quiet times when window seats were available. The flight attendants moved our seats so that we'd have a free window.
The vast majority of infant car seats are FAA approved to take on a plane. This is the sticker you should be looking for. You simply put the car seat in the window seat (it has to be a window seat, that's an FAA regulation,) and strap the lap belt across. Our seats, Graco Snugride, fit perfectly.
We fed ours bottles on takeoff and landing to make sure their ears didn't pop, kept plenty of snacks and toys on hand, and did reasonably well. The advice in that post you linked to is excellent. (Extra receiving blankets, changes of clothes, bottles, diapers, etc.) Assume you're going to be in the plane for 2-3x the amount of time listed, just to be on the safe side.
If you do fly, don't be afraid to ask the flight attendants for assistance. They distracted our children if they became fussy, heated bottles for us and even held my daughter briefly when I needed to rummage through the overhead compartment.
Good luck. :)
posted by zarq at 1:43 PM on June 19, 2009
My wife and I have done road trip style holidays with our young son (he's 4 now). We've just taken our time and made sure we have had decent rest stops (an hour, ideally) every three hours or so and not driven for more than three 'sessions' in any one day.
Doing this, we have covered well over a thousand miles in less than a week, so if you were to give yourself say three full days to do the trip, you could do it comfortably.
Regarding taking baby stuff with you. Really, when you pare it down to the essentials, a baby doesn't need much. For the journey, diapers, pre-prepared food (if weaned), bottles and milk (if not breastfed), lots of wipes, a small first aid kit with baby paracetamol, a few changes of clothes, some toys and books. Once you arrive at your new home (good luck, by the way - hope all goes well!) you need the above plus maybe a few more toys, books and clothes. Diapers, wipes, milk, food can all be bought as needed. High chairs, baby seats, changing tables, sterilisers, cutlery, crockery can all be improvised, as can sleeping arrangements - A travel mattress and a gro-bag will do the trick.
You'll probably need a stroller, although if yours is bulky then local Craigslist for a small, cheap MacLaren style would be perfect.
posted by mooders at 1:51 PM on June 19, 2009
Doing this, we have covered well over a thousand miles in less than a week, so if you were to give yourself say three full days to do the trip, you could do it comfortably.
Regarding taking baby stuff with you. Really, when you pare it down to the essentials, a baby doesn't need much. For the journey, diapers, pre-prepared food (if weaned), bottles and milk (if not breastfed), lots of wipes, a small first aid kit with baby paracetamol, a few changes of clothes, some toys and books. Once you arrive at your new home (good luck, by the way - hope all goes well!) you need the above plus maybe a few more toys, books and clothes. Diapers, wipes, milk, food can all be bought as needed. High chairs, baby seats, changing tables, sterilisers, cutlery, crockery can all be improvised, as can sleeping arrangements - A travel mattress and a gro-bag will do the trick.
You'll probably need a stroller, although if yours is bulky then local Craigslist for a small, cheap MacLaren style would be perfect.
posted by mooders at 1:51 PM on June 19, 2009
Best answer: Flying: We just took a trip from Atlanta to San Diego and rented a double jogger, pack-n-play, and highchair from Baby's Away (mentioned above) and had a great experience. I'd fly, get the trip over with fast, and rent or borrow equipment (if you have friends/family in the area) for a week or two. Make sure to bring the stroller on the plane with you -- you never know when you'll be delayed or detoured when flying. Our pack-n-play folds up ridiculously small, so if you bring a stroller and the PNP, you'll be set (we didn't want to fool with it in addition to two kids, but when we had just one it was no big deal). Just bring blankies and sheets that smell like home. We also began using a noise machine to trigger "sleepytime" for our younger one, and since we packed it along, it made our vacation spot sound like her usual bedroom.
Note: with the extra fees you have to pay for checked baggage/equipment, it cost us about the same to rent the equipment as it would have cost to fly with it all -- with far less hassle. They'll pick up and deliver to your destination, too.
About driving: we have 2 small children (3 yrs, 16 mos) and they NEVER sleep the way you hope they will when driving, even at night, even when they were your baby's age. Frankly, I think this statement *used* to be true when we the parents were kids and could loll around in the back of the wagon sans carseats, but I doubt kids above 7 months old will sleep for very long in a modern carseat. Our best case was to have an adult in the back playing games (bicycling legs, baby jazz hands, etc) with the baby and to stop every 2 hours at least to let the kids stretch their legs. (Stopping in towns with a courthouse square was excellent -- the green around the courthouse is a great place to hang with the baby, and there's usually a cafe nearby.) But we were exhausted by the end of that trip, and that was just with one kid.
posted by mdiskin at 3:21 PM on June 19, 2009
Note: with the extra fees you have to pay for checked baggage/equipment, it cost us about the same to rent the equipment as it would have cost to fly with it all -- with far less hassle. They'll pick up and deliver to your destination, too.
About driving: we have 2 small children (3 yrs, 16 mos) and they NEVER sleep the way you hope they will when driving, even at night, even when they were your baby's age. Frankly, I think this statement *used* to be true when we the parents were kids and could loll around in the back of the wagon sans carseats, but I doubt kids above 7 months old will sleep for very long in a modern carseat. Our best case was to have an adult in the back playing games (bicycling legs, baby jazz hands, etc) with the baby and to stop every 2 hours at least to let the kids stretch their legs. (Stopping in towns with a courthouse square was excellent -- the green around the courthouse is a great place to hang with the baby, and there's usually a cafe nearby.) But we were exhausted by the end of that trip, and that was just with one kid.
posted by mdiskin at 3:21 PM on June 19, 2009
I'd choose to fly over driving in that situation, but won't you have a car that needs to get to Texas anyway? Or will the movers take the car too?
If the flying option includes staying in a hotel until the moving van brings your stuff, they will have a crib/PNP you can use.
posted by lakeroon at 5:33 PM on June 19, 2009
If the flying option includes staying in a hotel until the moving van brings your stuff, they will have a crib/PNP you can use.
posted by lakeroon at 5:33 PM on June 19, 2009
Response by poster: Thank you all very much for your help!
We'll fly. The advise about using used or rented for a few weeks from Craigslist or Baby's away (didnt know that such a service exist!) is very helpful.
It sounds like we could drive too, but we should keep at least 3 days or more to do this drive. The point about having to stop every two hours is quite true for our son. Can be quite stressful since this is not quite a "for the fun of it" trip. We'll just grit our teeth and try to get the flying time over with .:-)
Lakeron: Yes, the car will need to be shipped seperately and it would have been nice to have that from day one. But that is a secondary consideration. My office will pay for a compact rental for up to 10 days; we'll manage ....
posted by justlooking at 5:52 PM on June 19, 2009
We'll fly. The advise about using used or rented for a few weeks from Craigslist or Baby's away (didnt know that such a service exist!) is very helpful.
It sounds like we could drive too, but we should keep at least 3 days or more to do this drive. The point about having to stop every two hours is quite true for our son. Can be quite stressful since this is not quite a "for the fun of it" trip. We'll just grit our teeth and try to get the flying time over with .:-)
Lakeron: Yes, the car will need to be shipped seperately and it would have been nice to have that from day one. But that is a secondary consideration. My office will pay for a compact rental for up to 10 days; we'll manage ....
posted by justlooking at 5:52 PM on June 19, 2009
this isn't related to the MOVE, necessarily, but it's VERY hot in Texas during the may-sept months, with the obvious peaks. a handful of years ago, we walked through 100+ unbroken days of 100+ degree temp with 0 precipitation. just something else to plan for. sunscreen, plenty of water, avoid taking the little one out for extended periods during the day, cool off the car before bringing the baby out, etc.
posted by radiosilents at 5:56 PM on June 19, 2009
posted by radiosilents at 5:56 PM on June 19, 2009
Just got back from a plane trip with a 10 month old. If you don't get a separate seat for the baby, you can check the carseat with your luggage and they don't charge you. (At least not on Delta and whatever airline my sister went on a few weeks ago.) Then, we took the stroller to the plane and they took it at the gate and gave it back right away when the plane landed. We didn't get a ticket for the baby because I had NO illusions whatsoever that she would sit in the carseat on a plane ride. She would barely sit on her daddy. Also, then I couldn't nurse during takeoff and landings and she despises all bottles and cups. Fun!
Anyway, both times when we went to check in for our flights we were told to self check in, waited in that line and then were told that we can't check in because we have a unticketed infant with us. So just go straight to the regular check-in. Also, once there was a hold up because the computer said we were trying to put an infant on a lap in a restricted seat, although it wasn't. Turned out the computer had us traveling with 4 infants instead of just the one. So, if it's stressful, just imagine traveling with your quadruplets. Won't seem so bad!
posted by artychoke at 10:26 PM on June 19, 2009
Anyway, both times when we went to check in for our flights we were told to self check in, waited in that line and then were told that we can't check in because we have a unticketed infant with us. So just go straight to the regular check-in. Also, once there was a hold up because the computer said we were trying to put an infant on a lap in a restricted seat, although it wasn't. Turned out the computer had us traveling with 4 infants instead of just the one. So, if it's stressful, just imagine traveling with your quadruplets. Won't seem so bad!
posted by artychoke at 10:26 PM on June 19, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks Artychoke. We'll have to stick to regular check in because we are going to have some luggage to check in anyway. But good to know :-)!
posted by justlooking at 1:51 PM on June 21, 2009
posted by justlooking at 1:51 PM on June 21, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Or you could fly and ship the absolute necessities with UPS or FedEx.
posted by chiababe at 1:01 PM on June 19, 2009