https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:35:12 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898798 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 17:29:21 +0000 Jess1483 2898798@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We usually start our long drive (14 hours) at 3 am. Someone goes to bed early the night before and starts. We stop for breakfast and to get dressed, and do the rest of the drive in the daylight. It gets a good chunk done during “sleep” time without having to drive all night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898796 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 17:09:32 +0000 codeitall 2898796@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Day trip for sure. Most of our trips are 12 hours long. We actually start early in the morning so that the kids are still tired enough the car ride lulls them back asleep. At that age, you want to optimize the time they spend asleep. So by the time they wake up from their first 'nap', you are ready for a break and you can do a feeding stop.</p> <p>On past trips around that age, I would pump in the front seat and then climb into the backseat to feed the baby. When it was clear they were getting tired, I'd swap back up to the front because my kids refuse to sleep if they can see you.</p> <p>Have junk toys that make sound just for the trip that you parcel out as needed. Use blankets and stuffed animals to play peekaboo and tug of war, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898754 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:24:25 +0000 jhd 2898754@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I can't stay awake to drive at night. We have always done what @erinbaderin: suggested. Try to leave around a naptime and make sure the adults have snacks, drinks, etc. and we have a full tank of gas. We don't stop unless baby needs a stop. We have sometimes split up a 7-8 hour trip by doing a few hours one evening and a few more the next morning. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898741 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 10:07:35 +0000 periwinklebee 2898741@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've never done a trip that length, but I would probably choose night. However, it's mostly because my LO gets carsick if he has any toys, books, etc in the car - since he can't have anything to play with he requires non stop entertainment from me instead and generally hates it but will sleep well if he's tired. If I had a smaller baby that would sleep a lot during the day or a kid that could be entertained, I would definitely do daytime.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898732 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 09:24:47 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2898732@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@foodiebee: oh it was a disaster but I can laugh now </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898724 Mon, 07 Oct 2019 08:57:26 +0000 foodiebee 2898724@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Sams Mom: Omg my nightmare!!</p> <p>@snarkybiochemist: "playing with her own poop" hahahahaha that is horrible but also cracked me up</p> <p>@erinbaderin: I would've done the same thing! :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898557 Sat, 05 Oct 2019 09:53:54 +0000 LemonJack 2898557@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely daytime! It’s possible babe will sleep at night, but if not it would be a really looong trip. The longest trip we’ve done at that age is four hours, and we’ve always left either late morning or right around dinnertime. The late morning trips have always been easier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898548 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 20:37:32 +0000 erinbaderin 2898548@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We once embarked on a 4 hour drive with our baby at about the same age. He fell asleep about 20 minutes in, and slept the whole way. My husband kept whining that he was hungry and had to pee and I wouldn’t let him stop in case the change woke the baby up. </p> <p>All that to say that I’d probably leave at around morning nap time, hope the lull of the car got you an extra long nap, and then go from there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898531 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 14:31:10 +0000 kayla0416 2898531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For that age, I think I'd drive during the day. You can sit next to him and bring lots of things to entertain him - books, small toys, or just sing/talk to him. I'm sure he'll sleep quite a bit too. When they get to the stage where they want to be moving all the time, like crawling through preschool age, that's when I try to drive at night if possible. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898526 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:51:50 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2898526@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We took a road trip when E was 7 weeks and other long distance travel at 6, 8, 10, 21.5 months. We almost always day drive. I cannot stay awake at night to help keep my husband awake for nighttime driving. For the 7 week trip I sat in the backseat with E the whole time. We bought an converter for my pump and then I bottle fed so that feeding didn't take up too much time. We as adults would take breaks every 2-3 hours and always made sure to get E out of her carseat. For the later trips I tend to sit up front for most of the drive and move to the back as needed for short periods (I have totally switched seats on the side of a highway when absolutely necessary). As she gets older E does better if I am not sitting next to her the whole time but that obviously is baby specific. I will forever and a day pick not during my personal sleeping hours, so even on trips where we get a head start at night after work we stop by about 9pm and stay at a hotel and then get up the next morning and continue on. Pack way more wipes then you think you will need so when your baby has a massive blowout and starts playing with her own poop and you are 20 miles from a rest stop you can essentially bathe her in wipes when you can finally stop. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898523 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:41:57 +0000 Sams Mom 2898523@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I tried the night time because he'll sleep logic on a 6 hour drive to Texas... I was wrong, so so wrong, he screamed for 75% of it. 10/10 will never do that again. He did much better on the way home during the day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898518 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:21:08 +0000 MrsSRS 2898518@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>When we had to do a cross country drive we did a day drive and I pumped and bottle fed from my seat next to the baby. We stopped every two to three hours for a diaper and tummy time break. But we had a newborn. I would still pick daytime with a four month old though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/travel-with-baby-drive-at-nighttime-or-daytime#post-2898515 Fri, 04 Oct 2019 13:08:34 +0000 foodiebee 2898515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hi! I know the experience of all you glorious Bees will have an answer to this. :happy: </p> <p>We need to travel soon to see a sick relative who is near death. :crying: Our DS is 15 weeks. We can't decide if it would be better to drive during the day and stop lots for him to get out of the car seat or at night and hope he sleeps the whole time. He handles our weekday commutes just fine 4 out of 5 days, but that's different than a 7 hour drive. </p> <p>What has your long-distance travel experience been with babies? Any suggestions? </p>