Road Trip with a 2 Month Old??

Start them young and you'll never have a problem with them traveling. At 2 months, there shouldn't be any issues. Have a great trip!

When my son was about 10 weeks old, we took a long trip around the holidays to see family. If you are breastfeeding, what I would recommend (to avoid lengthy stops for feeding every 2-4 hours), consider bringing a breastpump that will work with batteries, or that you can plug into your car's power plugs. This way, you can pump while your husband drives and then feed the baby by bottle also while driving. You don't have to eliminate all breastfeeding during the drive, but this will help you keep moving when you really don't want to stop for an hour to feed. Good luck!

He'll probably sleep most of the way. Be prepared to stop often and make it a 16 hour drive not an 11 hour drive. Be patient when he cries. Good Luck.

Hi J.,

When my first was 2 months, my husband and I went on an almost 4-week road trip with our son and it was GREAT!!! For us, it was a tour to show off our little one, as well as a chance to see parts of the country that we had not seen. It really was a breeze. He was still in eat-sleep mode, so we drove day and night while he slept, paused to breast-feed and change, and cycled through that all over the West Coast. It was wonderful. So, go for it, and since you're pumping, you don't have to stop to do that and can feed while driving. And you don't have to limit driving to when he sleeps, but that might be a good plan, since you have a single destination. It was the best time for us and we would have done it again with our 2nd, but our son was 2 1/2 and thinking about a toddler and an infant was a totally different story.

Best of luck and ENJOY!

S.
Mom of a 6 y.o and 3 y.o.

Just an idea--you should check into flying with Airtran. Their flights from Chicago to Atlanta are really inexpensive and I don't think they have started charging ridiculous prices for checking luggage.

If you decide to drive I would just be prepared to stop alot. You never know how the little one will travel and he might not sleep as well on the go as he does at home.

Have a safe trip!!

We just made a 10 hour trip with our 3 month old last week. Driving at night sounds like a great idea, but we tried it once with my older son and it backfired on us. He would not fall asleep and he just screamed and screamed and we were all exhausted when we got home.

If you can sit in the back with him that helps alot. We stopped for feedings when he got hungry (about every 2 1/2 hours). You really have to just allow ALOT of extra time and not be in a hurry. It is hard for a baby that young to sit in a carseat for that long so the breaks are good for them anyway. We would stop at gas stations and such and just pull off far away so I could nurse him. If you are pumping and feeding from a bottle there are car adapters you can purchase so you can pump in the car, but would be easier to just feed him directly.

Be prepared for some screaming and crying...it's really kind of inevitable. Bring a blanket to help tuck him in in the car so he can get snuggly.

I've had lots of experience with this. I'm a mom of a 3 1/2 yr. old girl. We moved from Wilmington NC to Chicago IL when she was just 11 days old. Also, all of our family is in upstate NY (12-14 hours from where we live) and my husband hates flying so we usually drive. We did drive to see family when she was about 3 months old. I tended to sit in the back with her, but mostly all she did was sleep (the motion of the car helped I think). I had bottles made up (pumped) incase she needed one and there wasn't a place to park, and brought along a few of her favorite toys. I also had my pump with me of course. My husband did all the driving.
We tend to take trips to visit family about every 6 months and she has always been fine. I have always brought whatever she was used to eating that she liked and some of her favorite toys. Also as she got older we got a DVD Player (I think she was about 2 years)- and that has been awesome.
As long as the little guy is usually comfortable in the car he should be good for the long road.

Good luck!! and enjoy your trip home!!
H.

We drove to Florida a few times when the kids were that age. They sleep and most cars are spacious enough to get baby out to feed and change. 2 month olds don't require much at all. Enjoy your trip.

We drove cross country with a 4 month old last year and it was a piece of cake. I think the younger the child the better for traveling...they really don't have any idea they're in a car or how long they've been sitting b/c thats all they can do! :0) LOL. Just remember to stop every 3-4 hours for diaper changes and feedings. Have fun on your trip!

Dear J.,

This is the perfect time to travel with your baby. My husband and I drove from Chicago to California and back to Chicago to visit my parents and it was perfect. I pumped in the car or just breast feed when we stopped for breaks. My baby was three months old and I had a four year old. We actually started very early in the morning like 4am and stopped around 12 or 1 in the afternoon. We ate lunch and toured the city we stopped in. Hope this helped. But do not worry.

Valerie

When I finished packing food, bottles, water, formula and the kitchen sink I imagine this would be a trip from hell. But as we started out with everything for this long car ride it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We drove to Arkansas and bedded down for the night at a hotel. I thought it when benefit the baby to break the trip up for his comfort and ours too. He was good for the most part. He was just a little fussy but we stopped a few times and made the trip without any complications. I boarded a plane with my baby once and that was more difficult especially when you consider cabin pressure and a screaming baby on an airplane with people who don't wanna hear your baby cry. The road trip was not a bad as I anticipated, in fact on the way back was quite enjoyable. Good luck!

typically, most little ones sleep quite a bit. ours did. we always drove on vacations(still do). if the baby gets fussy, one of you will have to ride in the back seat and "play" a little. I would just drive like you normally do to test the waters. driving at night is such a pain because you just get tired because it is dark!

Honestly, with gas prices today, maintain your sanity and fly! I don't think you'll save as much driving as you think you will.

That being said, only you know your child and his limitations, and perhaps your child loves to be in the car and will sleep most of the 11 hour drive. If so, maybe go for it! But I know at that age my daughter could barely make the 2 hour drive to Wisconsin to visit her grandmother without us having to stop at rest-stops at least twice along the way. And just last weekend, my girlfriend drove 3 hours to a lake party with her 3 month old, and she said it was hellatious. If she had to do it over again, she would have stayed home.

I know it is more costly these days, but my advice is to bite the bullet and fly. Gas will cost you a fortune anyway and your child can fly for free. Making a 2 hour flight with a baby is easy breezy. We did it a few times and it was well worth it. Just remember, if the drive turns out to be a nightmare, you still have to face the drive home. Ugh! A little risky, especially since you've never made a long drive with baby before. And by the way, you don't have to pay for carry-on baggage, just checked baggage. Something to consider.

Try Southwest - don't know if they fly to Atlanta but if they do, it is a good option. Cheaper fares, no fees for baggage, and when you travel with a child they still let you board first (other airlines don't) - because they don't use seat assignments, you get the best seats on the plane and can be first on/first off.

Good luck! And have a great trip no matter which mode of transportation you choose : )

J.
If you are nursing, then traveling is sooooo easy...you do not need bottles and formula. So why do you need to pump?

Just nurse when you need to fee the baby and it is so easy and you have it made......

I have traveled with a one month old when I was nursing her and it was so easy.....I did not need a pump for anything.

L.

We actually travelled w/ my son to Nebraska (10 hour ride)when he was about 8 or 9 months old & he slept almost the whole way there. This is a ? that really only you can answer. Does your son sleep through the night usually? Does he like the car? If the answer to both of those ?'s is "yes", you should have no problems. Most kids pass out from the vibration of the car. Hopefully yours is one of those babies. And if he does wake up, you can feed him & odds are he will fall right back to sleep because he's still really little! Good luck!

Oh yes, we have traveled 7-8 hours with our baby. We did not travel at night, we stopped when she needed nursed and I did it in the car, would change her and take off again. I spent some time in the back seat with her and she did sleep (loved the sound of the car). If she will take bottled breatmilk, that is an option too, then you only have to stop to burp and change (done that too). I have to say, I miss those days. I love traveling with my kids. They both did great in the car. Music always helps.
God bless you - you will do great!

Every kid is different, but I vividly recall our first trip to see family in Iowa (4 hour drive normally) with our son when he was 7 weeks old. The first part of the drive went great - he slept. We stopped around 2 hours in so I could feed him. Then he didn't go back to sleep... spent the ENTIRE rest of the trip balling his head off. We kept stopping b/c we felt awful. The trip took us 7 hours. Eek! We left at night on the way back and he slept the whole time and we were back to a 4 hour trip as usual. If you're going to do it, DEFINITELY do it when he's sleeping - but please be careful with your driving - your brain is not wired to be "on" at that time of day.

We just did this exact thing! We went 8 hours to Ohio and it went fine. I was really worried though because when my son doesn't want to be in his car seat he lets the world know! But honestly, he slept the entire time! He only woke up to eat and then we would stop to change him/let him stretch and back in the car - within 10 mins. he was asleep again. I bought the car adapter for my pump and would pump while giving my son a bottle so we wouldn't have to stop and feed him which can take an hour (we brought a cooler for the extra bottles but since we were feeding him in the car they were being used the same day). Then we'd stop when my son was done and my husband and I would get a bathroom/food break and change my son etc. It really worked out just fine.

We drove during the day and the baby still slept at night. We did have to re-adjust back to his regular sleep routine when we got back but it really wasn't as bad as I had prepared myself for.

I started driving 5 hours to our hometown of St. Louis every other weekend when my baby was 2 months. I found that he slept most of the time, and still does even though he's almost 14 months old. I think if you get your baby used to car rides early on, there most likely won't be too many problems. I've heard other moms have trouble when their child is a bit older and has never gone on a lengthy drive. Good luck to you!

We have traveled extensively with our kids since they were little and as long as you allow extra time it is not too difficult. If you are exclusively pumping you can buy a car adapter for your pump and pump in the car. If you are nursing you can just find a safe place to stop when little one needs to eat. As long as you accept that it is going to take longer than usual, I would not be worried at all. Sometimes it helps a fussy baby if an adult sits in the backseat with them where they can see.

We have a 7 week old and have been taking him on road trips to our family's cabin for about 3.5 weeks now. Since your pumping, you can sit in the back and feed/attend to baby while your DH drives. There's a Medela Harmony manual pump that you can use in the car while your DH drives. We did diaper changes at rest stops &/or gas stations. It was pretty great since the LO slept in the car majority of the 6-hour drive. Anticipate your usual drive taking longer and if you have to stop to motel it, do it! Good luck!

We visit my inlaws every month and they are about 4 hours away. I got pretty good at hanging myself over the carseat to nurse. I got some funny looks along the expressway but it saved a lot of time not having to stop all the time. It's hit or miss. We did it a few weeks ago and it went so smooth but the month before it sucked. Just try to figure out his longest stretch of sleep and make sure to leave around then.