Sitting in the car during a long drive can be hard on anyone so it is no wonder babies don’t particularly enjoy it either. They are used to be able to stretch out, be held, play, and be able to see you. Being stuck in the backseat of the car, facing backwards is not exactly what your baby thinks is the ideal situation. There are ways to make it a little easier on everyone though.

Our daughter is now 9 months old. Our families live pretty far away so a couple of times a year we have to travel to see them. We drive, which, with a baby has meant things are a little different than before. Before we would make the 11 hour drive straight through, now we break it into 2 days. We hardly stopped before, now we stop a lot.

Driving with a baby can be a bit of a struggle, particularly if your baby doesn’t like to sit in the car. Here are a few quick tips for those long car rides with baby in tow.

  • Know your baby’s tolerance for the car seat. If they don’t like the car seat figure out what makes it more tolerable for them. Maybe they need to stop more often, maybe they are better if they can sleep most of the time.
  • Stop as frequently as necessary. Expect the trip to take longer. You will need to stop to feed the baby and stop to let the baby stretch a little.
  • Invest in some good car toys. Car toys can be great distractions. We have this great little mirror/music/lights toy that our daughter just loves. It works by remote control so we can change the settings without having to stop the car.
  • If your baby doesn’t travel well sitting the back by herself consider having one of your sit in the back with her, if that is possible.
  • Never feed the baby in the car while driving, always stop to feed your baby.
  • Invest in some shades for the windows to prevent the sun from blinding your poor little one.
  • Be patient.

No one likes to sit in a car for a long time and neither does your baby. Being patient and making frequent stops will make the trip more tolerable for everyone.

Have your taken a long car ride with your baby? What tricks worked for you?