Is a 10 months old baby ready for 6 hour car trip?
We'll drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles with our 10 month old baby. We're thinking of resting 30 minutes every 2 hours. Has anyone done it before? How does the baby handle the long trip? We're afraid this would be too stressful for the baby, especially sitting in his car seat for so long, probably would hurt his back.
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A 10-month-old child should be able to handle a 6-hour car trip without serious or long-term effects. Speaking from considerable experience, I can recommend some things that will help make the trip bearable.
1. Be sure to pack plenty of toys, books, teethers, etc.. that he likes.. but don’t give them to him all at once — just when one stops occupying him.
2. Try to leave either right before nap time or after bed time… with luck, he’ll sleep for a good portion of the trip.
3. If he is awake, stop for rests when you think he’s had enough (or you have). Get out, walk (or crawl) around, play some games, have a snack etc.
4. If he is breastfed, prepare for longer than usual feeding times.
5. Bring favorite music or (if you have a portable DVD player) movies (Baby Einstein is great at this age)
6. Be prepared for some screaming… I’m not one to ever let a child scream and cry if I can stop it but having had it happen too many times that you are 3/4 of the way to your destination and the child decides it’s time to be at home.. there are times when you just have to do your best and realize they are going to cry for a bit anyway.
7. Upon reaching your destination, expect some extra crankiness on everyone’s part. A long car trip with a baby isn’t a cakewalk but can be done. Your child will usually need a little time to adjust afterwards so go easy on them – arriving at mealtime or bedtime helps but the unfamiliar surroundings will make these events take longer than usual and may involve thrown food.
8. The trip home will go better. (No, really, it will, maybe)
As long as your taking adequate breaks your baby will be fine. My nephew recently moved from Anaheim to Dallas Texas, the car ride was three days, their 6 month old handled the trip fine. He wasn’t completely happy the entire time but they made it.
You could always travel at night the baby would most likely sleep most of the way. Of course he would be awake the next day as normal and you would both be beat, but that is always an option.
i did the same road trip (more east of s.f) to san diego when my son was 10 months old for my sisters wedding.
there really wasnt a problem. left about 8pm, and headed down HWY 5. my son slept pretty much the entire time. he woke up when we stopped for gas or a bathroom break, but other than that he was fine. he did get a little fussy after one of our stops because he was sick of being in the car seat, but settled pretty quickly.
for an easy trip, id leave at night.
my son was 3 months old when he made his first 12 hours car trip. it worked out ok. I am going ot amek teh trip again as i do every year and he is 3 years old now. it’s 12 hours there and 12 hours back.
I was 12 months 5 days old when I went to Hawaii for the first time from Pennsylvania(I had a lay over in San Fransico in all it was a 22 hour trip). Your baby will be fine I turned out alright.
Most babies sleep in the car so I would drive until he woke up or started being fussy. I’d do more than a 30 minute stop though. My daughter can do a 3 hour trip just fine so it probably be fine.
As long as you take some breaks for feeds and to let baby out of seat then all is fine. I took a 7.5 month old on a 8.5 hour trip and it went well
Travel to his call.
If hes getting restless stop earlier, if hes sleeping soundly as he probably will for a lot of the time, sneek those extra miles in.
In Australia we have a road safety campaign: stop, revive, survive which actually advocates stopping every 2 hrs for the driver to beat fatigue. They suggest 10 mins breaks getting out of the car & walking around, eat/drink etc to increase circulation 7 alertness, so your plan of 1/2 hr will be beneficial to you all. If you let him stretch out when you do stop Im sure he’ll cope well, just remember though it is tiring & is a change in his routine so he may be somewhat fussy or out of sorts for a day or 2. I would expect this even if you were to fly as you would still have those routine & environmental changes.
my friend took there daughter from florida to NY when she was that age ,they just stopped every few hours during the day and less at night ,baby just needs to stretch allot when there little.
you know ur kid if they are good in the car..try to leave around nap time so a good part of the trip they are asleep
Seriously, your baby will be fine. He/she will be happy to eat, sleep, ride, and pass gas occasionally. It get harder to travel as the baby becomes a toddler. They move around more and talk non-stop.
We took our daughter from Los Angeles to San Fransisco when she was 6 months old (and again when she was 18 months, but traffic was so bad it took over 12 hours each way). She did just fine. Better than we did, I suspect. However, we did have to stop every hour or two, whenever she wasn’t asleep, to get out and let her stretch a bit, have some food, get a new diaper, pick out a new toy, etc. She continues at age three to be a great traveler on trips of similar length.
I don’t think there is any way to know how your child would do except trying it. Most parents I know have said their children do pretty well, so I think the odds are very good. If it doesn’t go well, the worst that will happen is a really long day.
Be on the lookout for any rest areas, so he can run around, and also for IHOP restaurants. We knew when we saw an IHOP that there would be changing tables and a chance to get a quick bite to eat; they are very family friendly
Make sure that if you are staying at a hotel that they know you might be arriving late. A child in the car makes that pretty likely.
Pack a bag of favorite toys that don’t have small parts to fall all over the place. Toy cars, toy cell phones, musical toys, and light-up toys are all good. Food also acts as a great entertainment, so bring lots of small snacks.
The first time, we packed the car with enough stuff for a month, and only later learned that we didn’t need to bring absolutely everything with us. I say pack everything if that makes you feel comfortable and give yourself plenty of time, and have a great trip!
I took this trip when my daughter was around 9 months old and we broke it up to two days to get there and one day home. It was actually very fun as we spend the night half way there and it made it a lot easier. However, on the way home, we did it in one day and stopped about 2 1/2 hours into the drive. My daughter didn’t mind as I had tons of toys and snacks to give her while my husband was driving. I also sat with her in the back seat when she was awake. It really depends on your child and if your baby can sit that long. Some of my girlfriends would have NEVER attempted this as their kids can barely sit in their car sits for 5 minutes. So really you need to know what your baby can handle. It can be done with LOTS of patience. Don’t believe it would hurt his back.
No one really wants to be in a car for 10 hours and a baby is no different. I don’t think you have to go so far as to schedule such frequent breaks. I say get it over with as quickly as possible. When nothing is making him happy anymore, find a stopping spot and let him run around for a while. Each time you stop and get out his protests will get worse when it’s time to get back in.
Bring plenty of his favorite foods and toys and songs along to keep him busy and entertained. I know kids songs are usually torture, but which would you rather hear? corny songs or a screaming baby? Kindermusik has great CDs, real music, not junk(I’m biased, I’m a Kindermusik teacher). Also, music for little people is awesome. Putomayo is great too, They have a great cultural mix and grown-ups like it too. Joe Scruggs is another great one. He has a CD called Traffic Jams. My mom bought it for my baby sister and all of us, even the teenager and adults love it.
When you do have to stop for gas or food, make sure you stop somewhere he can move around safely. (Is he crawling? walking?) Really you just need some grass is he’s strictly a crawler.
It won’t be fun, but it shouldn’t be terrible either, and babies have very short memories, so once he’s there and having fun again he’ll forget all about the car ride.
sure, i’ve been taking my granddaughter on long trips since she was a week old. every other weekend i’ve taken her for a 5 hour trip to see her uncle up north. and now i take her from florida to wisconsin and back. sometimes straight through. other times with a night overstay. i’m taking her from florida to memphis to wisconsin in a few weeks. spending a few days in memphis and all. she just turned 7 months. we make lots of stops, and make sure she is always dry. they do get bored so try to keep toys and all around. someone in the back seat to talk to would be good. good luck