traveling with baby for first time
 

My husband and I are going on vacation to new york. Well we have a seven month old she will be nine months by then.We decided that we are going to drive there. Will that be bad for our baby and what should we do to make it easy ride for her. Thank you

we are driveing from texas

Our daughter travels with her son and she found that it was a lot easier during, say the first 6 or 7 months, than it has been from the 9 month point.

Pointers from her are to be prepared to make frequent stops to let her out of the car seat so that she's not confined all of the time. Being restrained like that for a long period of time seems to be uncomfortable.

Pack all medications, powders, ointments, drops, wipes, etc that you can think to pack.

Have whoever is not driving sit in the back with her to give her easy access to toys, books, snacks, drinks etc. We pack those little "Puff" snacks as well as dry cereal. We pack the powdered formula and bottled water. We pack baby food jars and juices. We also took along some of the Baby Einstein music CD's to help soothe him off to sleep.

The problem that we have found is that he is more awake now for longer periods of time and gets impatient and uncomfortable.

You might have better luck since you have a little girl, not sure.

Are you planning on stopping someplace for the night or are you going to drive straight through

Are you driving to NYC, or some other destination in New York? If you are going to NYC, I'd definitely reconsider flying.

Plan on stopping every 2 -3 hours unless the baby is sleeping, in which case floor it to make up time :) For parts of the trip, I'd sit in the back to interact with her better. I'd also bring along a picnic blanket to let the baby crawl/move around outside at rest stops. Otherwise, just be sure to bring along plenty of food/drink, favorite books, toys, stuffed animals, blanket etc. Do you have a portable cooler? I have one that plugs into the car adaptor to stay cool on long trips. Does she like listening to music? The suggestion of bringing Baby Einstein CD's is a great one.

That could be a wicked time to try and travel with a 9 month old baby. They are at an age when they want to explore and not sit still. They want to be DOWN and hotel floors are not the cleanest in the world. She will be able to pull up and "walk" and may not want to sit in a stroller. If she's an active child, you could have problems. You'll be more able to judge in a month.

If she's going through a rough time teething, and she may be cutting her first year molars, you could have a real cranky baby.

BUT.....things may go just wonderfully. That's the thing with babies, they are all different and react in ways that you don't expect. You could have a great time. Plan on making a lot of rest stops along the way so that she isn't strapped down so much.

In my experience 9 months old is an extremely difficult age for car travel. Kids that age have about a 2-3 (max) hour limit confined to a carseat. That's why I never bothered with carseats on planes, infants and toddlers (mine anyway) couldn't stand to be strapped in that long and would scream at the top of their lungs until I set them free.

Maybe you can drive at night so your daughter will sleep most of the way? You definitely have to sit in the back with her and be prepared to stop often.

Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to drive all that way with a 9 month old.

Good luck.

My kids at that age were great during the drive. The problem, though, was that they slept during the drive and then were awake at night. This meant I was also up so they wouldn't cry and disturb the other hotel guests.

I would follow Nina's advice and sit in the backseat to keep her entertained and awake.

Just remember, it doesn't matter whether it ends up being a good or bad trip, because the memories of it will always make you smile. Have a fun trip!

Drive at night. We would get up and leave at 2 am and drive drive drive drive, so that baby would sleep.

Be prepared to be flexible and not feel obliged to do everything you thing you want to do. If you are going to Manhattan, you WILL wait on line for almost everything.

At that age, beach vacations were best for us. Expectations were low, and there was something for everyone to do regardless of nap schedules and moods.

I surprised no one has mentioned the best tip of all. Get a serviced APARTMENT for your stay:
1)There is always something on the menu to suit baby and you won't have to have EVERY meal at a sit down restaurant.
2) It's cleaner
3) There is more room to crawl/climb around
4) If you choose well, there can be a playground next to the apartment.

We always went this route when my kids were younger and it made all the difference. Very stress free.

Oh yeah. I agree w/ flying also. Factoring in cost of gas, motels/meals on route, tolls, and time not spent in NYC and it will soon start to look like the better option. Baby flies free depending on airline.

"Just remember, it doesn't matter whether it ends up being a good or bad trip, because the memories of it will always make you smile."

Yes, finally, almost 16 years later I can crack a smile when I think of my eldest turning bright red, screeching bloody murder and contorting himself to break free of his carseat while I covered my ears and begged my husband to break landspeed records for a Jeep Grand Cherokee...I remember it like it was yesterday!

Driving that far with a 9 month old will take a really long time - since you can;t expect the baby to act like an adult. You'll have to make frequent stops for exercise/play and won;t get in many miles per day.

I would think flying a much better choice - esp since it resolves the problem of what to do with a car while you're in NYC (hotel parking is VERY expensive and the car is useless in the City).

Have you thought about a series of day trips from home? Then at least, the baby will be in familiar surroundings and less likely to get cranky. Save NY for a year.

We have a grandson that all of a sudden, took a dislike to sitting in a car seat. As soon as he was strapped in, he started screaming and he screamed until we got him home. About a 15 minute drive, but it seemed like 2 days.

Every child is different. For all we know, she may love her carseat and travel just fine. I only sit in the back w/ my kid when he’s really upset. When I am in the back, I sit on the right side (carseat in the middle), and pull the front passengers seat all the way up and take off the headrest. That way, it feels like you have more room and have a better view out the front window.

Here’s my list for the backseat of the car - all medication possibly needed, extra clothing for the baby and the parents (my kid pukes these days on long road trips), some NEW toys, hand towels for messes, plus the items previously mentioned. If your baby takes a pacifier, load up on them.

Aileen679 makes a good point about the nasty carpet at hotels. Bring a big flat sheet that she can crawl on to keep her a little cleaner.

You should talk to her doctor about the trip for suggestion in case she has a hard time traveling (ie what drugs to give her, if any)

I’ve only been on an 8 hour road trip w/ my kid. You are a brave person to go on a 24 + one. Best of luck to you.

I can't imagine doing such a long car trip with my guy - he's 22 months and never stops moving (I don't let him kick the back of airplane seats though - one is never too young to learn that lesson)! Having the ability to get up and walk around is a must for us. He was, of course, much more manageable at 7 months. Take lots of toys, snacks, books (the little magnet books are fun for long trips - just watch her very closely so that she doesn't eat them), stickers (same goes for the stickers - probably not good on the digestive system) and a DVD player with Baby Einstein DVDs or Sesame Street, or whatever you feel o.k. letting her watch. Even if you buy into the no tv for two years thing, just let it go for the two days or so you will spend in the car. It will make everyone's life much easier, especially hers. Will it be bad for her to travel? I say no way is travel ever bad for a tot, but it may be a bit uncomfortable. Good luck :)

It certainly depends on your baby.

It seems like travel with our little one was easy up to about 6 months and then 6 months until about 15 months was very difficult. She didn't like being in her carseat. She wanted to crawl and then walk everywhere. She was not content to sit quietly in a restuarant. She required a lot of extra gear and baggage.

I would carefully evaluate whether you want to do this vacation now. Good luck. I think you need to consider that it could be a very long and very miserable trip.

I would not drive that far under the best of conditions - much less with a 9 month old.

It's the equivalent of 3 days of solid 8 hours of driving - each way! That's draining for me and I joke that I drive for a living. :-)

Add in a 9 month old and there's no telling how much you can cover comfortably in a day.

How long will you be there? With at least 6 days of driving (IF you can do 8 hours a day of driving) then have at least 6 days in NYC - or more?

I agree with everyone who says FLY. We have two boys ages 6 and 2 and have lots of experience on six hour car rides to Grandma's house. It practically kills me and we have a DVD player in the minivan in addition to every toy and snack known to man.

We were considering driving to California (10 hour drive) this summer and once we factored in the time, hotel and restaurant meals in addition to the cost of gas we realized it would probably be about the same as flying, and (hopefully) a lot less stressful.

Whatever you do, good luck!