Need advice - long trip alone w/ little ones

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JLCecilia

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Ok, so DH is away on business and will not be able to travel w/ us this weekend to my family’s Christmas. I will be going it alone w/ our 2 little ones (2.5yo and 1yo). It looks to be a 4.5 hr drive.

So here’s my question - just how do I go about making pit stops? I hate to leave the kids alone in the van, even w/ it locked, but it also wouldn’t be very safe (or tasteful) to stop on the side of the road. The only other option I can think of is to take my sling, strap the 1yo in and cart my toddler by the hand w/ me into the bathroom.

I had to cancel my debit card yesterday, so I’ll have to go in to pay cash for my gas. I don’t mind leaving them in the van at that time if I park in front of the gas station and I can see them from the counter . . .

Your thoughts
 
JLCecilia said:
Ok, so DH is away on business and will not be able to travel w/ us this weekend to my family’s Christmas. I will be going it alone w/ our 2 little ones (2.5yo and 1yo). It looks to be a 4.5 hr drive.

So here’s my question - just how do I go about making pit stops? I hate to leave the kids alone in the van, even w/ it locked, but it also wouldn’t be very safe (or tasteful) to stop on the side of the road. The only other option I can think of is to take my sling, strap the 1yo in and cart my toddler by the hand w/ me into the bathroom.

I had to cancel my debit card yesterday, so I’ll have to go in to pay cash for my gas. I don’t mind leaving them in the van at that time if I park in front of the gas station and I can see them from the counter . . .

Your thoughts
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**Is there a reason you can’t go 4.5hours without a potty break? Or is the 2.5 year old who will need the break?

Other than not stopping, looks like your sling and taking toddler by he hand is your only option…isn’t it?**

Oh, and the gas…will you need to fill up on the trip, or can it wait until your destination?
**
Is there a family member who can meet you halfway?**
 
Don’t leave them in the van alone if you have to stop for a bathroom break. Take them in with you. I would probably stay less than fully hydrated so that I wouldn’t have to stop as much. If you do have to go, then you’ll just have to use the larger stalls that are available for handicapped people. I would use an umbrella stroller for your 1 year old. If the 1yo is in a stroller, he can’t peek down under the stall, or worse yet, crawl under while you’re otherwise preoccupied.
 
  1. Don’t drink anything before you leave.
  2. If a potty break is required … evenyone goes.
  3. I agree with the Feanaro’s Wife, can someone meet you 1/2 way?
 
Getting gas- pick up a gas gift card or a visa gift card for the amount you think you’ll need to spend on gas. I’ve done that before when necessary- you can buy them at some gas stations, but also at a lot of CVS stores.
That way, you can pay at the pump and not have to leave them. YOu should test the card on a local pump before getting to a gas station on the road and being unpleasantly surprised.

Pit stops- under no circumstances should you leave you kids in the car. That’s illegal in a lot of areas. If your kids are like mine, they will likely cry when you leave, which will give passerbys a sense of urgency about reporting stranded children to the authorities. Also, there are a lot of weirdos in the world, and you’d never forgive yourself if anything happened to your children.

It is getting crazy- my mom used to leave my siblings and me in the car while she went grocery shopping, and nobody batted an eye. But times are different now- Can you imagine having your face plastered on the evening news as “the mom who left her kids in the car to make a pitstop”?? You’d probably have Nancy Grace and Gretta Van Sumthing camped on your doorstep!

If I needed to make a pitstop, I’d probably pull out the stroller- even though it would be a pain for such a short distance and time period, it would keep the kids contained and unable to wander off.

Good luck! It won’t be that bad.
 
Thanks for all the support. I was so nervous about this venture when we initially found out that DH wouldn’t be going with us. I finally made peace about the situation last night when my parents called and offered to make the 3 hr trip from their home to be with us tomorrow night and then make the 5 hr trip w/ us on Friday. PRAISE THE LORD!!! From the sounds of it, the weather should be in our favor this weekend as well. Thanks again.
 
Don’t leave your children in the van alone. Way to dangerous out there…it’s also against the law. I’ve never left my children alone in the car. Whereever you go they go. Don’t drink anything before you leave. And fill the gas tank before you leave.

I would pick up prepaid visa cards (gift cards) there available almost anywhere, the mall, cvs, publix…

Be safe and good luck!
 
I know you solved your problem for now… but, here is some advice from someone who had to make 15-20 hour trips with kids alone…

If possible, start your trip at night. To determine when, figure what time you want to be there and how long it takes. If you want to get there at 8 am then leave at 3:30 am for a 4.5 hour drive.

Pack the car the day before, and have a late dinner. Then off to bath and bed as usual. About a half hour before you leave, get up, start the car to warm it up, make sure you have everything, grab the kids and put them in their car seats still sleeping if possible. If not possible, they will fall back to sleep within minutes of your travels.

Make sure you pack baggies with dry cereal and juice cartons for when they wake up. Stop at the nearest public bathroom facility to your destination, unload the kids and a bag you packed with their clothes for the day. Change them, let them snack, and proceed to destination. This is also when I would apply my makeup…
 
I can’t believe I’m disagreeing with BlestOne, but I am!! (oh my!) 😛 😃

I don’t travel at night with little ones, especially in the winter. Too many things can go wrong with a car and then nothing is open to buy a part, fix a flat etc.

I usually leave at nap time or just before…1/2 of chitter chatter, 1 hour of sleep (or hopefully more). I stop after they wake up and start to get restless. I find a gas/food station. Fill up, walk into pay w/kids. Go back, park the car and then have a meal. I let them squirm and get the silly’s out and then we drive again. Summer travel is better for the squirming part. IL has the BEST rest stops! They always have playground equipment, but other states are catching on.

Most of all RELAX! Take a positive attitude, and your kids will do the same. It can be done! 👍
 
MomaMary8 said:
I can’t believe I’m disagreeing with BlestOne, but I am!! (oh my!) 😛 😃

👍
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It’s ok… this is just what worked for me… and by no means did I travel this way in bad weather. You gotta remember, I was driving like 15 hours so I was going past cities… which you just don’t want to do at rush hour! Night time worked best for us because I hate traffic in cities.
 
Most bathrooms, even on highway rest stops have wheelchair accessible toilets. They should be able to fit a double stroller just fine. Same with fast food restaurants (and you might feel safer in them too). I’ve gone to the bathroom many times with 3 kids in the stall with me. I just told my ds to face away from me - didn’t even worry about that until he was 3 or 4 though. Now that I have 4 kids, my 2 oldest are big enough to stand outside the door of the stall where I can still see their feet.

If I had to go with a 2 and a 1yo, and a double stroller wasn’t an option, I’d just use a small stroller for the 2yo and a sling like you were thinking. Then if need be you could put the 1yo in the stoller while you do your thing, letting the 2yo stand.

Glad it’s not a problem anymore.
 
BlestOne said:
It’s ok… this is just what worked for me… and by no means did I travel this way in bad weather. You gotta remember, I was driving like 15 hours so I was going past cities… which you just don’t want to do at rush hour! Night time worked best for us because I hate traffic in cities.
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I hear ya!

We quit doing the night time travel when the serpetine belt broke at 4 am and we had to sit at a car part store waiting hours for it to open, with 3 little ones and one with a fever! And oh, my was it cold! :eek: (Our trip was only 12 hrs)

Live and learn! 🙂
 
Wow! Lots of great ideas that I never would have thought of. I will log these away for possible future trips. When I was just a kid, we always made a 2-3 day car trip to my grandfolks in NC. Normally we only stayed overnight in a hotel for one evening, but as the years passed and my siblings were old enough to drive, we would just trade drivers and go straight thru. What’s the saying, ‘many hands make the load light.’ Thanks so much for all the pointers, very good stuff.
 
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