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[li]Maps… check![/li][li]U-Haul reservation… check![/li][li]Roadfood book… check![/li][li]Phone numbers of people to call en route… check![/li][li]Airman’s plane ticket down here… check![/li][li]Stuff packed… check![/li][/ul]
In one more week (actually a little less than), Airman is coming down to help me move to PA. Yup, we’ve been together for just shy of a year now, and we’ve been married for three months, and we’re just now getting ready to live as a family.
We’ve decided to take a little road trip. Originally, the plan was for Dave to come down and get my stuff and drive it back, and Aaron and I would fly up. Then Aaron got a cold, and taking him through crowded airports and on a crowded plane didn’t sound like such a good idea anymore. (He’s okay now, though, but he’s still a bit stuffy.) Fortunately, Aaron falls asleep the instant he’s placed in any wheeled conveyance, be it car or stroller, so he’ll be okay with that. And one of us will be in the back seat with him when we’re not driving to keep an eye on him.
Any other advice on driving with a four-week-old is welcome!
Robin
[sub]Mods, if the last sentence would be suited to IMHO, please move the thread. Thanks.[/sub]
Having moved from Atlana, Ga to Dallas, Texas with a one-month old infact, my only advice is to be prepared to stop frequently. There will be lots of dirty diapers and unless you want to change them while the car is moving, which would involve removal from the car-seat, then you’ll be stopping often. Frequent stops will also be necessary if you’re breast-feeding. If you’re bottle-feeding, then that will cut out a few stops.
Check with a pharmacist before you leave to see if any medicine for car-sickness is available for someone that young, you may need it.
MsRobyn, I’ll probably see you on the East Coast. In which case, I will dub thee First DopeChick to meet Tripler in two different “Theaters” in the War on Ignorance.
Yeah, I think you’ll be the first I meet in two different locations.
Does that mean I finally get to buy you a beer, sir?
I am so ready for this move. Pretty much everything’s set up here, I just gotta fly down and then drive for what seems like forever, and then it’s done.
Comparitively, a long trip with a newborn is (in our experience) easier than for a toddler)s). The woolly family routinely does 8-12 hour trips. Toddlers want to be entertained, can reach the hair of their siblings, drop things that are essential to pick up, find pretending to be car-sick fun … [easy now, that stage of life is almost over. :)] Newborns sleep.
My tip to to start your trip just when bub is due for a sleep. If you can swing it, cover the bulk of the trip during the first big sleep. When necessity requires stopping take a good long break. Feed, change, lots of active play and attention. If it takes a couple of hours, so be it. As soon as he shows tired signs, back in the car. Repeat as necessary.
Zebra is spot on. And Tex-Mex. And since you’re leaving the Gulf, engorge yourself on Cajun. You think Tex-Mex is hard to find out of the region, try finding good Crawfish Etouffee away from the Gulf. Hell, that’s difficult only so far away as Dallas.
I had Tex-Mex last night for dinner, and BBQ last week.
I will miss Texas for a number of reasons, but not that much, since my parents still live here and we can come back and visit, as long as we bring Aaron. (If we so much as think about leaving Aaron home, my parents will disown me.) So good BBQ and good Tex-Mex is no further than the end of a plane flight.
It is Not A Good Idea to eat Taco Bell in the car.
Even if you feel like you don’t have to, use the rest room every time you stop for gas.
Take several empty plastic grocery sacks with you. They’ll hold anything. But if you use one for sloppy trash, be sure to double-bag.
Books on tape are your friends. You can buy them at Cracker Barrel restaurants, listen to them and return them for a store credit at the next Cracker Barrel. You get your money back minus a small restocking fee.
If the Flying J Auto/Truck Plaza Travel Store doesn’t have it, you probably don’t need it. They usually have a pretty decent selection of audio books too.
Bring yer good pal Zappo some Tex-Mex, BBQ, and Shiner Bock, please.
