[blparent] first big car trip with baby

[Erin Rumer]

Hello list,

 

My husband and I just took our 8 month old son Dawson on his first big car
ride from Tucson, AZ to San Diego, CA this past weekend and I just wanted to
share that the boy did beautifully with not one melt-down in the car.  It
was a 6 hour trip each way but with stops it was more like 7 hours.  I must
give most of the credit to a little car television that my husband got right
before the trip that just straps onto the seat in front of my son as he's
facing the rear.  Dawson was in love with being able to watch his
educational Baby Einstein and Sesame Street videos and it literally kept him
entertained for hours over-all.  Also, so we didn't have to stop the car
every time I needed to nurse him I simply slid myself next to his car seat
and swung my boob into his area to nurse.  It worked like a charm and I did
need to hold the back of my son's head since he needed to lean his head
forward a bit to nurse but he was happy as a clam with being able to feed
from his car seat.  I know that not all women could do this but this is one
of those times my big chest came in handy.  I did give in and give Dawson a
few of those quick melting puffs cereal for babies although I'm not very
comfortable giving him anything to eat when he's strapped into something
encase of choking.  I kept a very close eye on him and he did great and the
sippy cup with just water in it was a fun thing he liked to play with and
snag a sip from as well from time to time.  We would feed him his actual
meal of baby food when we ourselves would stop for food and that worked
great.  Dawson enjoyed the music we had for him in the car for the trip but
he especially got a kick out of mommy and daddy singing to him.  I sit in
back with him so I can be his "jester" and make his stuffed animals talk to
him and dance and sing for him.  Dawson loves all that interaction and I get
a kick out of watching him laugh and have so much fun.  Sometimes I'd just
simply lean over in my seat and let him play with a hat I was wearing or
merely play with my face and hair as long as he didn't get too wild and tug
mommy's skin off. LOL

 

Hope these tips help for your future travels with your little ones.  We're
going to Long Beach in a few weeks so we'll have even a longer trip to have
fun on.  Let's hope that trip goes as well as this last one did.

 

Erin Rumer