We're going away this weekend - we have 2 options. Leave at bedtime on Friday night (7 p.m.) and then just change him and put him to sleep when we arrive at our destination (about 2 hours away). Or, leave at naptime on Saturday morning. Return trip will be Sunday afternoon. My son is 9 months old and bedtime is pretty well established.
Thoughts?
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Does T sleep well in the car? I'd leave at nap time if he does..
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
We do a 5 hour trip to my moms and we leave just before bedtime (around 6pm). We drive for a bit and then we stop for a late dinner (7pm) and change her. When we get back in the car she sleeps the rest of the way (7-11pm)
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@chopsuey119: Usually. Though, now that he naps well at home, sometimes his car naps are only 30 minutes, so I try to avoid sleeping in the car at all costs!
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@Thehistoryofus: Does it screw up her sleep the rest of the night (or the next night?)
GOLD / papaya / 10206 posts
For us, she doesn't do the transfer to an 'away' bed after sleeping in the car at night very well, so I try to time things around naps. She does awesome napping in the car.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@prettylizy: He definitely doesn't transfer (ie, I don't think he'd stay asleep when we take him out of the carseat). I would just plan to change him, maybe offer a bottle, and put him down for the night immediately upon arrival at our destination.
GOLD / papaya / 10206 posts
@winniebee: We tried that this past weekend, stopped for dinner at 6:30 and she slept the last 2 hours in the car, we arrived at 9ish and she woke up when we got there. Once she settled down we tried to put her to sleep she was a disaster :T Prettybaby is a total sleep diva though and was not having it. DH had to rock her to sleep (at home she goes to sleep on her own) and she still cried when we put her down.
coconut / 8475 posts
I' just give him some toys and leave at nap time. That way, when you arrive, you can give him a solid night's sleep without interruption. You can do the whole...bath,book,singing routine and put him down properly.
I know for us, my husbands voice and constant phone calls and stuff would not allow for our son to sleep well in the car.
coconut / 8681 posts
We're going on a weekend roadtrip coming up and we're weighing these options as well. I think that we'll probably end up leaving at bedtime so that he can sleep through the drive. E does really well with getting back to normal bedtime routine if we have a different night so I'm not worried about it.
honeydew / 7504 posts
I'm facing a 2-hour trip next week with a 6-week old. Weighing these options, as well. He sleeps well in the car, so I think I'm going to take him Thursday morning, but then I worry about what'll happen once we get home and I have to leave him with my step-dad for 4 or 5 hours. But if I take him Wednesday evening, I don't know how he'd transfer to the bed (pnp) once we get it set up.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
@littlebug: My son did great in the car and slept like a champ without it affecting night sleep probably until he was 4 months old!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
We've had about 50/50 success rate with both options. We have about a 3-4 hour trip to family usually. Lately we have been opting for naptime because Wagon Jr. fights naps so hard these days, if we want to survive the weekend we HAVE to get him to nap in the car anyway. And LMW will nap in the car any time.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@winniebee: When we would arrive at my mom's house she would be up for an hour or so. It gave her time to stretch her legs, say hello, get changed and then usually with a bottle she would go back down. Typically she wakes up the next morning just fine.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
My LO's a better night time sleeper then napper so I think she'd do better at night. Plus that means you'd have more time at your vacation spot. But..... she also doesn't do great sleeping in hotel rooms/new places so she might have a freak out if we just got to a new place, set up a pack n play, and put her in it without her having time to get to know the place.
Just depends on your LO!
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
I would leave at bedtime. Night drives are so much easier then day drives.
pomegranate / 3383 posts
I'd also leave at bedtime. Even if he wakes up during the transfer I'm sure he'd be tired enough to fall back asleep without too much fuss even if it takes 30 minutes.
If you go during nap time and he takes a really crappy nap, then your whole day is shot. At least that's how I'd feel with my LO!
coconut / 8498 posts
For anything 2-3 hours, we usually try to travel during naps. If it's longer, we go at night and LO will go back down pretty easily.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Ok, we're leaving at bedtime! Is it mean if I do our standard bedtime routine (bath, lotion/pj, book, bottle), but instead of putting him in the crib, I'll put him in the carseat?
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