Driving 5/ 6 hours (without counting breaks) for Thanksgiving with a 2 month old. Would you do it?

[johnjjp]

@graced1257 No. I absolutely would not do it, for all the concerns you listed.

 

[ymashie]

@graced1257 No that’s way too long in a car seat!

 

[martod]

@graced1257 No. Not worth the risk. Even when they do get their shots, it takes 2 weeks to really take affect on the body. Any large family gathering has a chance for spreading flu, RSV, covid, etc so I'd personally wait til baby is older and has a better chance of fighting any sickness. We got covid 2 years ago at our first Christmas gathering after covid from a family member. While it was nice to see everyone, if I could go back knowing someone had it, we would have stayed home.

My twins just turned 3 months old and last weekend we did a 4hr road trip with a break halfway to nurse them and give my 3yr a chance to run around (so it took 5 hrs). I'd at least wait til your baby is closer to 3-4 months old.

 

[markpillay]

@graced1257 I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s RSV and flu season and many people are getting Covid again too. Unfortunately sometimes family (like mine) doesn’t respect boundaries.
I just attended a family wedding and some people were upset that I didn’t let them hold my 6 month old but idc I rather be extra cautious.

Aside from the viruses, a 5/6 hour drive isn’t terrible BUT yes you would definitely need to take multiple stops. If you still end up going, please take enough stops to let your baby stretch and take a break because they get tired too. And I personally would sit in the back with them to prevent them falling asleep in an unsafe manner.

Maybe try asking your immediate family to come over this year instead without a huge crowd? A hotel shouldn’t be terrible.

 

[katrina2017]

@graced1257 We travelled around 11 countries and countless cities with our 9 months old. She used car, plane, train, 18 hours overnight ferry, spend a night in a yatch. If you cant afford it thats different. Everyones parenting is different. We tried our best to avoid germs bus as you can guess she contacted a lot during our travels. We are preparing our 14 hour flight in 3 weeks. Its depend kn you and what parent you want to be. If you want to keep her away from germs and bacterias and if you will ble yourself if she gets sick. Then you should not do it.

There are some parents disinfecting everything, some parents just never do.
Some parents travel, some parents doesnt leave the house for a year.
Some parents let the kids watch Tv, some parents never do!

I think there is no right thing to do. Americans i see a little bit closed compare to us Europens when they have a new baby.

We never had a sleep schedule, we never had a feeding time. Everywhere and anytime was her nap or feeding time. Whenever she wants.

Comes to affording doing stuff. Again, if you feel good that you went do it. But later if you are going to blame yourself that you did it, dont do it.

Please read carefully how many hours babies can spend in car seat. Some babies sleep through all road and some doesnt. Again depends on your baby and you. If you can feel you can do it safely, then i dont see why you cant.

Personally i did and i would.

 

[babykuku]

@graced1257 I would go, and see if they could help pay for dog boarding and lodging for you. Our baby does great on car trips, and it’s nice to get away from the house. I will say it’s easy as I’m EBF, so I can’t speak for if you need to prep bottles along the way.

My baby has been around lots of sickness, and the sick people simply don’t hold him. He’s two months old and healthy as can be.

 

[meplus3]

@graced1257 Nope. I have a seventh month old and I’m not traveling for the holidays. Between germs and the difficulty of traveling with a little one it is just not worth it.

 

[starcomet]

@graced1257 So for the drive part, my husband and I took our at the time two month old on a 17 hour road trip (one way) to Canada to meet her family. The trip was split over two days with stops every 1.5 hrs for feed/change/stretching. So that part is doable! (I also sat in the back seat with her the entire trip).

However. That was over the summer. I wouldn’t be taking her to see people over the holiday season. It’s a lot of indoor gatherings, people with germs etc. My husband and I went out for one night to a wedding two weeks ago and for the first time caught covid and gave it to our now four month old. It SUCKED. But apparently flu and RSV are even worse for babies. So for that reason alone I wouldn’t do it.

 

[christian99]

@graced1257 All finances and pathogens aside, I still wouldn’t do it. It’s really emotionally difficult on everyone if the baby is crying while in the car because you can’t really do anything. Even on short rides it’s hard for us. He screams bloody murder and if my husband is driving I’ll sit in the back and try my best to soothe him but it’s not safe to take him out of the car seat (and NEVER worth it to risk it), so you can only soothe him so much. Maybe you would be lucky with a baby that loves car rides. We though we were those people at first but he’s been way more screamy in the car lately.

 

[kmcdaniel7]

@graced1257 Yes. You can do it your way! Family is important and you say your husband's side is helpful with good energy. If you set the expectation ahead of time, just a few nights with extra support or a date just the two of you can be extremely refreshing and make it not feel so lonely and repetitive. We drove 10 hours for a week with family when our colicky LO was 4 weeks and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. For a colicky baby she still had a pretty good attitude though, I'm sure a different temperament might make me feel differently. Good luck!

 

[darren927]

@graced1257 Make them come to you. If they no then sorry we won't be going anywhere for the holidays. My husband is military so it's expected that if family wants to come for the holidays they come to us, plus my son's birthday is in December. They were pretty annoyed so nobody is come this year im like that's cool with me.

 

[midestinee]

@graced1257 No, for a few reasons

• you can't afford it and need to be saving what you can now as it will be getting more and more expensive as the months go by
• your baby hardly has an immune system yet
• your baby is still getting used to you and your home/routine/themselves. A 5-hour car ride and all new people/places, I am sure, is going to lead to many meltdowns - it's too much right now

Focus on your immediate family right now. That is you, your husband, and your baby.

I know it's hard, I am in the same boat - I live in my husbands country and closest family is 3+ hours away. We have no help and it's difficult AF. Hang in there, it's hard now, but it does get better. Put baby first for now. Maybe Christmas, MAYBE!

 

[annaliseh]

@graced1257 Would the two of you be able to drive that distance without fear of sleep deprivation from the last two months effecting your judgement and motor skills?

Obviously there’s the money and sickness side to it as well, but if you are driving tired you may as well be driving drunk.

 

[seekeroftruth777]

@graced1257 The drive sounds like it would be fine. Babies that age are pretty easy to travel with generally. However everything else is not sounding like it’ll be worth it to put that financial strain on you

 

[04foordr]

@graced1257 You have new family and can celebrate with your new traditions etc. Next year maybe celebrate with them.

 

[leadmeplease]

@graced1257 My in laws live across the street from us, and still they come visit, and we rarely go out because my baby is only 7 weeks old..
2 months old is too small for a long road trip, I know you need some family around, but it's not worth it now

 

[ajbarton97]

@graced1257 Personally I flew with my 6/7 week old across the country for a family event/reunion. If the family is worth it to you and they're willing to help you get there/post for some of your expenses, I'd do it.

 

[day2dayuk]

@graced1257 You can’t afford it, sad but that’s the final word. Babies get more expensive and if they can’t crash on your floor then that’s a shame but it is what it is.

 

[strangertoo]

@graced1257 F no.

 

[victoryleann]

@graced1257 This is insane, i would do at least three stops, as is not recommended that baby stays for too long in the car chair without breaka