Making road trip with a newborn

Leggs2011Leggs2011
edited November 2011 in Pregnant
Hubby and I just learned that he gets 10 days of free leave AFTER I am released from the hospital. Baby is already 5 days late so I should be having him soon! (I hope).

Anyways, we are thinking about making a suprise road trip home if I don't need a c section. Would we be awful trying to make the long drive? We usually stop every 4-5 hrs when going home( its about a 20 hr drive).

I plan to breastfeed no doubt. But will sit in the back, pump and bottle feed baby so we don't have to stop for feedings, only to change him. Babies sleep a lot anyways, so can the drive be bad?


Derek hasn't been home for thanksgiving in 4 years(army life). So this suprise would be GREAT even though we just had block leave(2 wks of vaca) 3 weeks ago.

He was suppose to deploy for a yr yesterday, but since baby is stubborn his 1st sgt put him on rear d(meaning pushed back to later flight,usually a month)



Any input would be great, good or bad. I'm a ftm and obviously don't want to ask my family since its a suprise!

Comments

  • 1stWoodsBaby1stWoodsBaby
    edited November 2011
    My hubby and I drive 4 hrs every Sunday with our LO. We started when she was 2 weeks old. Maybe 3 weeks. But she does fine. She sleeps the whole ride unless she gets hungry. If she does I just climb in the back and feed her a bottle (I bf so its pumped) and she goes back to sleep.
  • ashley_smashleyashley_smashley
    The baby should be fine..just make sure you take your LO out of their car seat occasionally and let them stretch. I woukd be more apprehensive about your self and the car ride. You will be super sore from the birth. I was so sore after labor I could barely stand!
  • Leggs2011Leggs2011
    @1stwoodsbaby did you pump before baby would wake up or after? And how long is breastmilk good for at room temp? I hope to find a reallly good thermal bag to help keep it warm. Or should I put it in a cooler and buy a car bottle warmer? I heard those can suck and take 30 min or more to get the bottle to luke warm though.

    @ashley_smashley I usually sleep the whole way. Waking up to pee and eat and hubby will let me drive 3 hrs and he'll sleep for like an hr, 2 if he's lucky. Id be so happy for my family to meet baby and hubby to be home again, esp for thanksgiving, that id suffer through it. I already can't stand. When I stand and go to walk I'm like the tin man. So stiff from being swollen it takes me a min to get going. but don't worry its 'normal'. I hate my doctors.
  • Mrs4cMrs4c
    I also would be more concerned about your pain level. I know if I had done a 20 hour road trip I would have been super sore and real cranky! I'd want to wait about 2 weeks before doing a trip like that. I know you may not have the time to wait so do as you will but take a HUGE bag if patients and take your time with stops.:)
  • ashley_smashleyashley_smashley
    I second the bag of patients! Lol. And throw in some strong ibuprophen! My doc prescribed me 800 mg and one of those every few hours was enough to take the edge off for me. Also remember to get out and walk at every stop..even if you dont want to...it will really help!
  • starrxoxo9starrxoxo9
    I agree with the other ladies, I'd be more worried about how you feel. Is taking a plane an option?
  • stbmilitarybratstbmilitarybrat
    I did it when my son was 8 days old, I had no choice. I stopped everytime he got hungry though and changed his diaper and let him stretch out for a little. We stopped overnight also but baby and I were both fine :)
  • lily_glzlily_glz
    Go for it!
  • Leggs2011Leggs2011
    @mrs4c @ashley_smashley @starrxoxo9

    I'm not worried about me. I plan to go natural with labor(semi scary thought since I'm 5 days overdue!), so I'm sure the ride will be fine. I have a prescription of 800 mg ibueprofin too that I used for knee pain. Ill pop one in if its rly needed.

    @stbmilitarybrat well baby will be like 2 days old. B.c. we'd leave as soon as derek signed the release forms. I'll def take him out of the carseat to stretch. I'm talented. I can hold a baby and potty. Lmbo.
  • Leggs2011Leggs2011
    @lily_glz I think we will!! What else is baby going to do but sleep when we get out of the hospital? And we have great insurance since we are army, so if we have to go to the hospital for some freak reason, we'll be ok.
  • gorgeousmommy2011gorgeousmommy2011
    I live in the Midwest and soon after I had my baby I moved to miami. I think she was almost two months. The road trip was about 24 hrs but even at two months I had to stop every 2 hours or 3 so she could eat. It was a hassle but we made it lol if your breastfeeding I'm sure it will be a lot easier.
  • gorgeousmommy2011gorgeousmommy2011
    The only thing to worry about would be if you guys are driving in the middle if nowhere and there happened to be no hospital around. I worried myself sick over that.
  • Leggs2011Leggs2011
    @gorgeousmommy2011 def breastfeeding :) so just pump and give. No worrying about mixing crap. And we take the highway so there are always exits to hospitals. :) we've taken the trip many times and I always see the hospital signs.
  • preggointxpreggointx
    We just went on a road trip and my baby did not cry at all in fact he slept most of the way
  • biffymnstrbiffymnstr
    You may want to feed directly from the breast instead of pumping. Id worry about nipple confusion if bf is still new to the baby. Just stop every 2-3two-three hours to feed. You will need the breaks to walk and stretch too.
  • gorgeousmommy2011gorgeousmommy2011
    You should be fine then :)
  • lily_glzlily_glz
    We went to Mississippi when my daughter had just turned 2 months and she did awesome! We didnt have to stop bc od her irs an 8 hr drive from tx ..I thought since she was older that she'd be fussy. All Newborns do is sleep so you'll be fine!
  • Leggs2011Leggs2011
    Waaaay past due. But he did great! We stopped to feed him before he was hungry. So he wasn't screaming while we try and find a truck stop.
  • captivatedcaptivated
    I am sure your trip would be fine, but I worry about the pumping. You want to avoid pumping so soon as your supply isn't fully established. That is the number one cause of a woman to have to stop breastfeeding- bottle feeding and pumping too soon. Just feed baby from breast and you will be fine! :) Good luck!
  • Leggs2011Leggs2011
    @captivated we already made the trip, I was just updating since I haven't been on since Nov

    But thank you :)
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