Roadtripping with a 7 month old..are we nuts?

[allycat06]

So we're off to Sydney in January, initially we were going fly but are now toying with the idea of driving. I really want to see the new Masterpieces Exhibition at the National Gallery in Canberra so we thought we could check it out on the way home. I believe Melbourne to Sydney is about 12 hours non stop but obviously it will take alot longer with a littleun. Some tips on how to keep DS happy on the trip would be much appreciated and perhaps other's experiences of driving long distances with small people

We are thinking it'd probably be a good idea to stop somewhere on the way....

[murraysmum]

we and my other half have done a 4000 km round trip in a weekend
and it was ok but alot of driving
we kept ds enetertained who is 3 with regular stops eating breaks pee stops fresh air as he gets car sick we allso have an portable dvd player he can watch which saved our sanity . toys he can play with
most of the time he slept

so i wish u the best of luck and ur not crazy road trips can be fun

[littlelara]

I think you'll be fine. We drove from Melb to Adelaide when dd was 3 months old without a problem. We stopped every couple of hours for food, air, and a stretch, but she slept most of the driving time. If you're worried she'll get bored they have those things that stretch accross the car seat with bobbly things to play with, or you could hang something obove your littlie's head.
My best advice is take snacks, water, and follow your bubs cues, but you should be fine.

[Erin_25]

You will be fine, bubs is still very young....just have a stretch on the way & if it helps drive around sleep time. The younger they are the easier they travel.

[{sarah}]

We took DS from about 2hrs north of Canberra to Melbourne when he was just over seven months old & it was just fine. We took roughly 11 hours & that included heaps of stops. Most of the time he slept, he was only just on solids so food wasn't too much of an issue, but we made sure he had lots of bottles & water in case he got dehydrated. We took lots of toys but kept them hidden until they were absolutely needed. We also left quite early in the morning so we knew he would sleep until we were a fair way from home. One thing that we had a minor issue was when he needed to do a poo, he just started crying & crying. We had no idea what was wrong, nothing calmed him but after about 5 minutes out of the car it became obvious, poor little guy was having problems pooing whilst sitting!

[Doing my best]

We went on a 4 week roadtrip when DD was 7 months old. But cause we didn't have to be anywhere at any time, we only travelled about 5 hrs a day, when DD was in need of sleep (a few hours in the morning and afternoon).. But when she was awake, we sung, played 'her' music and just had plenty of toys and food to give her. And stopped for fresh air!