We are wanting to visit my mom in Florida for Spring Break. We live in SW MI. It’s an 18 hour drive. We will have a 10 yo, 2 yo and 3 month old breastfeeding baby. How would you advise splitting the drive? Pre-planning stops and a hotel stay along the way? How long can we expect the drive to take us, realistically? Any tips for a long road trip with kids?
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Driving over night is so worth it.
I drove by myself with kiddos the last 2yrs one was a 16hr trip and one an 18hr trip.
I’m ready to do it again in May.
Stop when you need to, otherwise drive straight through. Less traffic at night.
My question is, is the baby currently 3 months old? Or when you go on spring break, will baby be 3 months? That would make a difference.
I’ve done that long of a drive with a 9 & 10 year old and it was hard, tourture on them. We stopped overnight. I’d consider flying if there’s any way possible or get ready for a lotttt of crying
We recently just did 14 hrs from Nevada to Montana and than back. I have a 7 mo old bf baby and a 3 yr old. We did 8hr and than 6hr next day. We got them up super early so they would sleep more than anything. I would lean over the car seat to feed my baby, and brought plenty of snacks for her. Same for my toddler. I also got her brand new coloring books, and games to hold her interest. As well as her tablet. We listened to lots of cocomelon radio and silly songs. I also brought a potty in the truck with me in case we couldn’t find a bathroom quick enough and disposable bags with it for easy clean up. At every stop we danced and got our wiggles out. I’d chase the 3 yr old where ever I could to release her energy. And tbh if one of them needed to get out I had no problem pulling them out of the car seat for a minute or two to stretch/nurse/or be put to sleep.
Drive during the middle of the night
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don’t do it! not worth the struggle!
Plan fun stops on the way like kids museums, Sesame Street Place, Legoland, in addition to stops to go potty & run around.
Lots of non-messy car toys (magnet things, tablets with kid videos/movies, play I spy, other car games, board and/or picture books for the 2-year old, whatever books the 10-year old likes. Take extra activity placemats from family restaurants for kids to use in the car, play kids action songs like Baby Shark, Head, shoulders knees and toes—things you can do in a seatbelt, sing other songs they like, maybe download books on tape for use with headphones. Dole out snacks judiciously when nothing else works.
Stay at hotels with swimming pools (wear those kids out!) and free breakfasts. Pick up some of the breakfast food for snacks too—bananas, granola bars, for example—that won’t mess up the car too badly.
Adults take turns sleeping and driving at night while kids sleep.
Taking a sleeper train is probably too expensive, but figure it against the cost of hotels & gas. You can’t get out, but you can walk around and maybe do exercises to get the wiggles out. You can pack food to save on costs aboard. Bonus if the rocking of the train puts your kids to sleep easily.
Good luck!
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Drive at night so they’re sleeping
You need to stop at least every two hours for the kids and you/your husband to stretch to prevent DVT. It can happen easily. If you’re able to fly, that may be easier and better mentality. It’s rough going on long drives like that. I just did 15 hours two weeks ago and then again on Monday/Tuesday. The drives were torture. Even with activities and things to do, my kid was still so very bored.
definitely plan to stop at least once. you have an INFANT & a toddler.
Definitely plan on stops… I’d imagine your baby is on a feeding schedule and kids bladders are tiny…so stop and feed the baby, kids take potty breaks…adult stretch their legs and whatnot. Drive at night if you can. Pack plenty of snacks and stuff to do for the kids.
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Drive at night while they sleep
You need to stop every 2 hours and stretch legs let the kids run around for 10 to 15 mins ( rest stops are great for this)
We are 10 hours from Disney.
We leave at midnight. Drive through the night. That way the kids are mostly asleep.
And then we stop for breakfast and relax for a bit and head the rest of the way.
My son he’s 4 now and has been on long long distance car rides since 5 months he’s a great rider.
We drove the Hershey pa about 9 hours with a tear.
I had snacks and activities to change out we made stops
Netflix downloads are great you don’t need internet to watch the downloads
Baby’s need to be out of a car seat at least every like 2 or 3 hours. It’s not safe for them to be in for super extended times. Even if you don’t usually do screen time I highly recommend a portable DVD player or tablets. Also sticker books, coloring books, a few of their favorite toys and an activity tray for them to put on their lap to play/ color on. A ridiculous amount of snacks and drinks. Plan out some car games with the 10 yo they have a bunch online. Have a mini photo shoot in each state. We drove a “12” hour drive in 18hours with a 9yo 5yo 3yo and 7 month old and a husky. At stops have them race someone mom or dad… Get their blood pumping maybe take a scooter and a ball or something burn some energy.
For the17 hr trip with twins 5month olds, 9, 10 and dog.kept them busy during the day good dinner all bathed, jammies and night time drive. Vaseline the bottom GOOD, lots of snacks & stop on feeding schedule- stretch, walk etc.
Let the babies govern your drive, if they are content just keep going…