Dear Tracy,
Road Trip!
Growing up military and then marrying military, means that any family events aren’t just a drive across town. They’re often a drive across several states and I made that drive the first weekend in August for my family’s reunion back in the mountains of Virginia. It’s a date set in stone decades before I was born and if my dad could make the trip across states during his chemotherapy, then in his memory, I could take my son to the reunion.
Which means when the tiny human was just about 8 months old, he and I drove from Georgia to Virginia and back home again.
I’m very much about breaking down a trip into multiple days and I have a pretty set rule on my driving versus break routine that I still implement to this day. I would drive two hours, rest an hour, and then drive two more before stopping for the night. (Now that he’s 4 years old, it’s drive 3 hours, rest an hour, and then drive three more.)
My tiny human has generally been a great traveler, a fact I am very thankful for, but I do my best to facilitate that and when he was just about eight months old I drove 8 hours up to Virginia and 8 hours back down to Georgia and learned some tricks along the way.
Keep a basket of toys.
He would get bored or indulge the impulse to toss the toy and then start to cry at the devastating loss. So, I’d pass him a toy. Crisis adverted. Tossed another one? No big deal, I’ve got plenty!
Keep extra drinks.
You think Mister Moose being tossed was devastating? Try losing the only cup you have to the backseat slowly leaking all the water…
Throw a towel down in the back next to the car seat.
Easier to wash milk out of a towel than the entire back seat.
Invest in a sunshade for the car’s window.
But still put sunscreen on them. The sun expose can still lead to sunburns, so don’t forget to put some on yourself too!
Give up keeping socks on them.
You’ll just lose your mind trying to find them on the depths of the car and I’m not entirely certain the car seat doesn’t eat socks up… because I have never seen some socks again after that trip.
Pack extra blankets.
Nothing like being stuck on the highway in completely stopped traffic and your tiny human screaming because they want a blanket.
If they are asleep… push through.
Seriously. If he was asleep, I would just drive. Didn’t care if I was thirsty, hungry, or whatever; I would just drive because if I stopped and interrupted his nap for a 5 minute stop? Woe to me. An extra candy bar or bottle of water in the seat next to you won’t be amiss.
Food delivery is your friend.
When stopping for the night, you are going to be exhausted from driving all day, but your kid is going to be wired and raring to go because they’ve been sitting down all day. Splurge on yourself and order food to be delivered. Most hotels usually have a list of local places that deliver and their menus, but Yelp is a good source for that too. If all else fails? Pizza is always good for delivery.
Take as long as you need to get where you are going.
Getting there safely is what’s most important. If that means you stop after two hours of driving because your little one has cried and screamed so hard they are choking on their own vomit (a true story that’s happened to a family member) then it means stopping to take care of your first priority: your little one. Better to be safer than sooner.
Wherever the road takes you, I wish you Safe Travels!
Love,
Jess
Even if your doctor okays it (and of course check with them), many airlines have rules about women in the third trimester flying that you need to be aware of as it may impact when, where, and how you are allowed to fly. I dedicated a post to Airline Rules for Traveling While Pregnant that I encourage you to read, but very generally speaking most US airlines don t have many flight restrictions until the last month of pregnancy, but many international airlines do have restrictions and documentation requirements beginning at 28 weeks. If you are pregnant with more than one baby, the restrictions kick in even earlier (as do many of the tips in this post).