moving from ky to ct long trip with new babe

[mamaflutter]

Hi ladies! I'm not sure this is the rite place to post this if not please let me know I need as many ideas as possible!
Tuesday night we will be leaving ky and moving back to ct. I have a feeling it is going to be a long hard trip for all involved. I am super hormonal and crying constantly abouty everything from leaving my mom to the infinate what ifs. I just don't know how I should feel about all of it exspecially since its kind of last minute like we had one day to decide and 3 days to pack! So any way we r making this trip with a 10 year old 4 year old and a 23 day old baby a dog me and dh in a car! I think the older 2 will be semi ok on the trip since we r going at night they should sleep most of it. But my lo hates being in her car seat when she is awake. My dh is seriously concerned about how long she will b stuck in that thing ! Any ideas to make 4d an easier trip? I figure we will have to stop every 3-4 hours so I can change and bf baby but what can we do to try and make this a smooth trip or at least so I don't pull all my hair out! Any ideas would be greatly appriciated.

[Adaline'sMama]

First of all, what kind of vehicle are you traveling in?

My grandmother had a brain tumor when my DD was born, and I made two trips to see her(with DD less than a month) before she died, and a third to go when she passed. Now, it was only 7-8 hours, but DD slept pretty much the whole time. I had to wake her up to bf when we stopped. My LO hates being stuck in the carseat when shes awake too. I have been known to lean over the carseat and nurse. (passers by are always super puzzled)

As for the other kids, I would have a stay up all night party the night before (your 10 yo could help you with last min packing) and have them stay up as late as they want. The later they stay up, the longer they will sleep in the car. They will be tired from the move, so its doubtful that they will get on the wrong sleep schdule because of this. My father would always do this to me before long trips and I actually continue to do it myself so that I can sleep in the car and pass the time away. When the 10 yo wakes up, let her be DH's co pilot up front and sit in the back with the other two. It seems like if a 10 yo got to sit up front, there would be less commotion.

But, Im not sure what kind of vehicle you'll be in.

[Pookietooth]

Could you fly with dd to make it easier?

[mamaflutter]

Hi again we will be driving up there in a 91 buick centry! Fingers crossed she makes it ! We r planing on leaveing at night hoping they will sleep most of the trip. Its the lo I worry about my mom rembers making almost the same trip with my sister when she was 8mos old and said she was miserable cuz her back hurt her. I just don't know what I could do to make her more comfy without risking her safety. Nursing leaning over the seat? Please tell me how! I can't stand the thought of her waking and being 20 mis away from a rest area. I never let her get hungry to the point of crying.
I wish we could afford to fly out but its just not in our buget. Also my 4 yo would freak if I wasn't with them she is having a hard enough time leaving her yaya(gram) the goats and donkey and her aunt as it is. Any ideas to easer that? I'm under so much stress and this postpartum hormone stew I'm sitting in is not helping at all!

[hakeber]

I have nursed over a car seat, too. I don't feel very graceful, but it gets the job done. The other option is to pump, keep a couple bottles in a lunch bag cooler and bottle feed if she wakes up.

I'm sure she'll be okay! Good luck!

[Adaline'sMama]

The way that I nurse in the carseat is i unbuckle, get on my knees, put my left forarm on the side of the carseat that is next to the window, and lower myself down towards her face so she can nurse. I use my right hand to keep the boob in her mouth. This is all assuming that the carseat is located behind the drivers seat.

Also, you dont have to wait for an exit or a rest area. If you need to calm her down you can pull over in the emergency lane and nurse her just long enough to calm her down, then drive to an exit to finish up.

It seems like your 4 yo is having a hard time leaving Kentucky (i totally understand, its awesome here...I wouldnt want to leave). Maybe you could have her draw a picture of her goats and donkey in the car. Or talk to yaya on the phone a couple of times while you are on the road. I dont know how safe this is, but my parents used to let me draw on the car windows with dry erase markers. We also drew on the windows to keep score for the letter game. Thats a game where you go through the alphabet and you have to find all the letters on the signs. Whoever calls out the word for whatever letter we were on first got a point. (example: A: Akron, B: Burger King, C: Caverns, D: Dealership). Its all fun and games until you get to Q.

[terra-pip]

we did a big move when my first was 3 months old. Leaning over to nurse is easier if you can sit in the back seat which may not be doable with the other kids and car seats in there. I would suggest stopping...even along the side of the road or wherever...you can slide baby out of carseat without having to get out yourself and nurse and then put baby back...good thing they like to sleep in them at that age...certainly being in it so long will cause her to sleep. Maybe stoping for an overnight in a hotel since you're going pretty far.

Keep her cool and keep her straps firm so she doesn't slump around. You'll make it!