Need Travel Advice for 6 Month Old

My husband is from NJ and I am from OK. On one of the trips we had our daughter face us up front while in her carseat in the backseat. She was around 9months. When she would sleep, we turned the carseat and base back around. Also, I would sometimes sit in back where she could see me. For some reason it was just seeing our faces that made the LONG ride easy!

Traveling during their sleeping hours is a great idea - we drove from here to Florida when my daughter was around 6 months; she slept most of the time. You may want to get some of the glow sticks (the ones kids carry around at Halloween) they have them in the toy section at walmart. They are nontoxic and keep the kids attention (and they are great teethers)They work wonders if you ever fly with your baby as well.

Well, unfortunately, i really don't have advice! I had to travel with mine by plane at 8 months but never took a long car trip. I would suggest the night driving if you feel that you and your husband can be alert and safe!! Otherwise, i just wanted to wish you luck!!
Have a fabulous day and god bless!!

I'd definitely try to drive through the night if I were you. Whenever I would drive to my parent's house, I would try to stop about halfway through (3 hours) and breast feed my son where I knew there was a safe area. I'd usually feed him in the backseat, unless my sister was with me and then she'd hand him to me in the front seat. With your husband being with you, that will be a lot easier. You might also bring a breast pump with a car adapter and pump while you give your son a bottle. I'd definitely plan out stops so you're not stuck in the middle of nowhere with a hungry child screaming. Been there, done that! Good luck!

Everything will be just fine. Even if it doesn't go perfect this is very do-able. We traveled with our 9 month old under similar circumstances and she did wonderfully. We actually drove 30 hours straight and she did sleep through the night. Some tips that worked for us...

Try to schedule all stops around your baby's feeding schedule so you don't have to make extra ones.
Make sure you have a really great sun screen visor on his window and sun screen on him. You can get exposure while in the car.
Make sure to pack some toys he's never seen before to help keep him entertained.
Try to be flexible. It's inevitable that he may not take his naps or feedings at the same times but you'll be able to get him back on track once the trip is over.

Good luck and have fun!

My husband and I drove from Oklahoma to New Jersey
(23 hours) straight through with all 5 kids when my youngest daughter was 6 months. At the time my husband worked nights so when he got home from work at 7:00am we left I drove the first half while he slept and he drove the night while I slept. I also breastfed and we were on a pretty good schedule so I knew when it was around time to feed and the other kids could entertain her for me till I could find a good place to stop. If you pump and your son will take a bottle (mine never would) that is a great option you don't have to stop. Just don't forget to bring your pump with you. Bring a few toys. Something that can me straped to the car seat so your not playing the pick up game for 15 hours. I would recomend you driving at night and when you get back to your hometown let Grandma an Aunt whoever take the baby for a few hours and you and your husband get a nap. No matter who drove both of you will be tired because sleeping in the car is not all that restfull. Enjoy your trip and the wedding
A.

I drove 12 hours alone with my dd at 6 months old. She did fine schedule wise because she had toys and when she'd wake I'd stop somewhere to let her out and stretch my legs. If you don't want to drive through the night (probably not the safest choice), then I'd try to put off a nap until time to go, then let him nap, when he wakes, stop and eat dinner and feed him. Get back in the car and drive until you are sleepy and get a hotel (take your pack n play). Get up early and get him moving, go eat and then be on your way as early as possible. He'll likely take a good long morning nap and then you'll just have to have someone in the back with him to get out new toys, talk or sing to him, etc. It's very doable. Stop and get out and move around, lay him on the car seat and let him relax for a bit between stretches.

E.,

When our oldest son was four months old we drove from SE Kansas to the Portland, OR, area, 2000 miles one way. I too was breastfeeding and being a first time mother I was nervous how we would cope. Well, he screamed at the top of his lungs the first leg of the trip, 200 miles. No matter what we did calmed him down. But, for the rest of the trip, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon he was much better. We stopped every two hours to nurse and get him out of the seat and I made sure I rotated the toys hanging from the handle of his seat. Once in a while I'd sit in the back seat with him, no easy feat since it was a small sports car.

I did not nurse him while DH drived because I'm small-breasted, I don't think it's safe and I didn't want to give truckers a free peep show.

Our trip a year later, from SE Kansas to Mobile, AL, was MUCH rougher because at 15 mo. old he was all about moving. Being strapped into his seat for hours on end made him cranky, unconsolable, and just plain miserable. No matter how many times we stopped for him to play and nurse, he still cried as soon as he saw that he was being put back into the seat. DH and I gritted our teeth and just drove as hard as we could. Since then we have had two more children and no longer take trips longer than 200 miles.

K.

I have had my twin girls on 12 hour trips when they were 8 weeks, 7 months, and again at 13 months. I recommend driving through the night if you can, as I find they will stay asleep better that way. I also breastfed, and I would pump (staying in seatbelt) and then give bottles at 2-4 hour intervals (sccording to schedule). Following feedings, we would then stop for a diaper change. All my trips have went pretty smoothly. It also helps to have new toys to play with and for someone to sit back by the baby. Good luck!

Until my son was about 10 months old, we only did long trips driving through the night. It made a HUGE difference. As long as you have a pretty good carseat, he should sleep the whole way, or almost at least. My son slept much better and longer in the carseat than in his crib even, which meant we didn't have to stop much to breastfeed at all. We drove a long way during the day at 10 months (13 hours) and even stopped overnight to try to minimize the stress on him. The second day was awful and he cried much of it...no fun. The main downside to driving all night is that one of you is pretty tired the next day, so make sure you allow some nap time when you get there for whoever drives.