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Traveling With A Baby. Question.

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Pete Incaviglia, Feb 15, 2008.

  1. Pete Incaviglia

    Pete Incaviglia Active Member

    So Mrs. Incaviglia and I are due this month.

    We have TONS of friends and family on the other side of the country. I was going to take some time off (my vacation time and banked hours) and travel west to see those folks and, of course, show off the prince or princess.

    Is one-and-a-half-months old too young to be traveling in a car?

    I have one friend who is encouraging us to do it because, as she said, "Babies are totally portable!" She said she wishes she would have done more traveling when her little girl was a baby. She says the baby's just going to eat, sleep and poop.

    So, how young is too young?
     
  2. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Make them come see you.

    Sure babies are portable, but when the baby cries, you can't just take him/her out of the car seat.

    You have to put up with the crying or pull over.

    I drove 1,000 miles with an 18-month old and wouldn't want to do that again.

    When they are sleeping, great. But they are pretty much either sleeping or crying.
     
  3. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Agree with Ace.

    If it's a couple hours drive, that's one thing. But when you take into account all the diapers, formula, stroller (you won't want be carrying the little one all over the place), crib/playpen, it gets to be a lot to pack.

    Mrs. Scicluna and I took our first little one on a 180 mile trip to see relatives for a weekend. We were totally exhausted by the time we got back home.
     
  4. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    They say Kahlua goes great with milk...
     
  5. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Another thing, this isn't a bowling ball. It's your precious little darling, so you'll also have the stress of worrying about the baby/making sure she's safe and healthy and all to add on top.

    So you probably won't be doing 80 as usual.
     
  6. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Way, way, way, too young for a cross country trip.

    When G&D (the twins) were three months old and my eldest was 2 1/2, a three hour trip to the cottage seemed like a three week ordeal.

    Don't do it.
     
  7. Bob Slydell

    Bob Slydell Active Member

    I totally agree. We were told not to even take a baby out the first six weeks, very susceptible to the elements. And this is cold and flue season.

    If the family can't some see you at this time, then they can see the little rugrat in the summer.

    Plus, travelling with a baby SUCKS!!!! Just way too much to worry about an overnight trip, let alone corss-country.
     
  8. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    Yep, they should come to you. That's too young for any long distance travel. Any of your relatives want to argue about this, have them sign on here...

    In addition to what the others have said, you'll find your travel load quadruples from what you were used to toting as a childless couple. You've got your diapers, diaper bag, bouncy seat, stroller, etc., etc. So, either you've got an SUV already or you need to factor in renting a Uhaul trailer as well.

    Funny how different my kids were regarding travelling as infants. The older one you could just pop in the car and he'd sit and stare out the windows for hours. The younger one would start screaming the minute he was belted into the car seat and the car was shifted out of park...
     
  9. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Besides, if you wait a few months, the baby will be much more interesting. It'll smile and laugh and roll over and generally have started developing a personality. At six weeks or whatever, all it'll do is, as you said, eat, sleep and poop. Yeah, newborns are precious and all, but not so much as to make driving that far worth it. Just send videos.

    And good luck, btw.
     
  10. Pete Incaviglia

    Pete Incaviglia Active Member

    The original plan was to head out when the baby is five months old.
     
  11. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    My sister and I drove a thousand miles with her 5-month-old baby, to see our dying Grandma. (After years of cursing people who brought babies on planes--'who the FUCK brings a baby on a plane!'--she felt it would be hypocritical to fly).

    A 5-month-old doesn't hesitate to tell you what it needs. Dirty diaper, gas pain, hunger pain, seat belt chafing, too hot, too cold, too sunny....you're going to hear about it, and you're going to have to stop in the middle of the interstate to deal with it.
    (Actually, now that I think about it, those might have been my sister's complaints, I don't know if the baby had any problems at all.)

    Let the folks come to you (and send them to a hotel).
     
  12. EE94

    EE94 Guest

    18 months is different from one and a half months. the younger will sleep most of the way.
    But if it's a long ride - you'll need to stop a lot to change diapers and either breast feed - it's your precious child - you won't be doing it while you drive - or worse, find a way to heat up formula

    And as someone said earlier, you will now have so much shit to lug around you'll need a cube van
     
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