Long Car Trip with 5-6 Month Old

We have driven 400 miles to visit my in laws and my daughter was probably around your son's age. We had plenty of books, toys, and music to entertain. We also gave ourselves a whole day to get to our destination, in case we had to stop to let her stretch and away from the car seat. All went well, most times, and it's good you'll be in back seat. Enjoy and give yourself ample time to stop (if necessary) and that should take most of your stress away. Safe traveling :)

My son took his first long car trip at 3 weeks old.
My mother in law passed away unexpectedly and my husband tried to get there in time, but she was already gone.
That left me with two kids, one of which was a newborn and I hadn't even driven since giving birth. (I was very ill during my pregnancy).
That said, I did fine, the kids did fine and my son to this day absolutely loves long car trips. He has always been the most patient traveler.
I never would have set out with a baby that young, but I had no choice and it just worked out. I really think getting him used to it early on was a big help. He was 3 months old when we drove 7 hours to a family wedding and stayed for two days and drove back home. He wasn't even a year old when we drove all the way to Disneyland and were there for a week not to mention the long drive back home. Of course we stopped along the way, but the only time he ever fussed was if his diaper was wet or dirty. He couldn't stand that for a second. Otherwise, he was a born little traveler. He was 6 months when we went all the way to Reno.
That said, my son is and always has been a very go with the flow kind of child, but we exposed him to things early on and he just thought that's how things rolled in his world. He got a darn early start, for sure, but he did so well, we didn't even worry about it. He loved taking trips. Still does.
Many people fly with their kids regularly. They just get used to it.
I think you'll be fine. I really do.
Stop and take potty and diaper breaks. Let him stretch a little, feed a little, talk about trees you see, anything to pass the time.
Trust me, I was scared to death taking off for the first time alone when my son was 3 weeks, but like I said, it had to be done. I remained calm, I had it all under control. It was even in the blazing heat of summer with road construction and all my fears never came to pass.
If you do happen to have a bit of a tough time getting where you're going, just talk about the fact you're on your way home on the way back.
Your little one is basically 6 months old. Their needs are pretty small. Sleep. Food. Clean diaper. Stretching out a bit once in a while.
I think you'll do just fine.

Best wishes.

We have traveled from Illinois to Tennessee (9 hours) and West Virginia ( 12 hours) a couple times each year with our kids since about that age on. Now they are 2 and 4, and I'll tell you, it is much easier when they are that little, they don't excpect to be able to run and move around too much, cause they can't yet! much easier to deal with diapers than a newly potty trained or training child!!!

I nursed still at that point, but once we were on to bottles, we just took a large thermos of VERYHOT water and then a regular water bottle of cool water, to mix and get it to "just right" temp. I would encourage you, if you are formula feeding, though, to start to train your baby to drink bottles at room temperature, maybe while you are visiting, start gradually just make the bottles cooler and cooler, and eventually just stop at room temp, SOOOOO much easier overall for mixing bottles at home and away from home if you don't have to worry about warming it, lots of my friends did this, I nursed till 9 months, so mine wanted it body temp, once they finally took bottles - how I wished they would take it room temp!

I would feed right before we left, so they would take a nice long nap on a full tummy in the car. We would stop, usually at a rest stop every 2-3 hours and change diapers, nurse or give a bottle, and lay them down on a blanket outside to stretch and roll around a little, get some fresh air. We didn't feed while driving, harder to burp them, unsafe to take them out of the seat while moving and if they spit up, OH YUCK!!! If we ran out of hot water, we would stop at a restaurant and ask for some, or at a gas station and just microwave some. Bring diapers, bring any "sleep music" you may use in their bedrooms at home, to play in the car, new toys, or some they haven't seen in a while. Read out loud to them (doesn't have to be baby books, you could ead your latest novel, just hearing your voice and the words is good for them)! Sing silly songs and do finger plays ( Itsy Bitsy Spider, Where is Thumbkin) just plain talk to them about what is outside the car, where you are going, etc. That baby will probably be LOVING all the undivided attention, because even though there are no siblings, at home, there is always housework, the phone, tv, computer....this way it is you and him! Take turns in the back seat if you want to take a break, let your SO do baby duty for a while too.

I don't think it will be nearly as bad as you might think, and remember, if he is upset, you can ALWAYS stop and take a break, you don't HAVE to push through in a big hurry, TAKE TIME and make it about the trip, and not just the destination! We like to stop and eat at Cracker Barrel, just to browse through the store, rock in the rocking chairs and take a break, and if there is something else interesting along the way, we stop and see it!

Good luck, I think you will be fine!

Does he like books with pictures? We drove to CO when my son was 9 months and he did fine. At that time, there were no dvd players, so we used audio tapes that he liked.
I'm sure you son will do fine also.

Don't be nervous, this age is actually easier to travel with vs. an older child. As others have mentioned, give yourself plenty of time to travel and allow time for stops along the way to eat, change diapers, stretch a little, etc. If you know your child is a good sleeper in the car, schedule your departure time for just before nap or even better, at bedtime, if you can travel in the evening. I've taken multiple car trips with my son for upwards of 8-10 hours in the car and until he hit almost two, he was happily entertained by books, toys, snacks, etc. Around two, he started to get antsy on longer trips so now we use a DVD player but only for short bursts. We still try to schedule travel around naps so a few hours of the trip are without worry. Best wishes.

I drove with my nearly 6 month old from Tx to Tn. It took us about 3 days. Just stop every 2-3 hours (you can go longer if he's sleeping) for a stretch break. As for heating the bottle, if he needs it warmer than room temperature, just get some really really hot water in a thermos. You can add cool water to it if it's still too hot when you are ready to use it. The best thing for entertaining her was my cell phone... just turning on the music would cheer her right up!!! (even if we had the car radio going, she liked having the cell music. lol)

dnt worry about it. we too our 4 month old from nc to fl and he was fine with bottled water and formula. Then a week later moved to south korea and the plane ride was 14 hrs and he did great.

They have bottle warmers that plug into the lighter in your car... And if he gets fussy I would just stop and take him out to "stretch his legs"... Maybe even a portable DVD player with DVDs for babies. He could enjoy watching all the colors... And plan extra time for stops.

I understand you being nervous - I always am too, but they usually go pretty well. I would always leave at nap time in the morning, then my babies would sleep the first few hours, then stop for lunch and feed your baby. We would usually stop somewhere where they would have a mircowave to warm up your water for your bottle. Change and feed your baby, have lunch. My babies would then be up for a little while, but then they hit their 2nd nap and sleep for another couple of hours... by that time we usually reached our destination. I agree with the other moms, its actually easier to travel with babies this age vs older ones. My kids are now 20 months and 4 and the DVD players are great! Good luck and have a nice trip!