We've done this tons. Best idea is to go when the kid is asleep. If you really don't want to drive late then I would do one of two things.

1) Leave at 4, then you have the two hour time they are 'used to' and one of you can sit back there with them and occupy them. Have a stop for dinner at like 6-6:30 and then when you're getting back in the car its bedtime and you can get to your final destination by like ~1.

2) Leave at naptime so like, noon. Get three+ hours of driving in while the kid is asleep and then plan a stop somewhere fun. Back in the car at 6 and once again, hour or so of the kid awake but then they will fall asleep and you get in around 11.

The option of driving 7-11, getting unloaded into a hotel and on the road the next day isn't terrible. We have done stuff like this on occasion, but its a pain to get a hotel room baby ready and then when you get up in the morning you have hours before any sleep opportunity presents. But this is just personal travel preference. If there is a fun point halfway then stop there, sleep, hang out and explore for the day and repeat.

Honestly, we have a 16 month old and we were considering a trip that required a 7 hour drive... and have decided against it. It's just a bad age. He's still on two naps, but he no longer naps great in the car. Takes him a while to fall asleep, etc. He never connects sleep cycles in the car now - he's up in 45 minutes. That's fine for one of his naps (especially the first one), but not for night! So leaving at bedtime seems like such a gamble, like there's a good chance he could basically scream the whole time. The only airport is a solid 2.5 hours from our destination, so that doesn't really help. If he was 10 months, we'd just drive overnight, if he was 20 months, we'd probably take the train in the morning and then drive the last leg during his (one!) nap. But with two naps - it's just not worth the hassle.

In your case, I'd probably fly. DC to Boston, there's a million flights and the flight is like an hour. One hour in the car is super manageable. You can ship stuff to your destination.

Anonymous wrote:Buck up your chin and get a little more adventurous. Don't be so scared to do anything. "Driving east, checking into a hotel too late..." Good lord. Are you ever going to have another one? Or a third? You'll never leave the house with your mindset!

Given the age of this child, I'm guessing the parents haven't had a lot of opportunity to travel. The more you do this type of thing, the more comfortable you feel, but the first time can be daunting!

Anonymous wrote:This is OP -- while I totally understand the logic behind driving as much as possible while DC is asleep, is stopping somewhere overnight a bad idea? For example, if we left after DC fell asleep around 7 pm or so, and then drove four hours, that's obviously very convenient, but we're concerned that with all the shuffling of checking into the hotel, etc, DC will wake up, and since she'll be in an unfamiliar place, she'll be difficult to get back to sleep....or maybe we're overthinking it?

I am the first pp, and I would never do this because we don’t have a problem driving through the night. Get a nap beforehand, switch drivers if someone feels sleepy, etc. I would not want the hassle of the hotel and traveling on two days for a one day journey. But you are not me, so it depends on your preferences. I have one kid who can fall back asleep easily and another who might not, so I’m not sure how disruptive the hotel would be. Of course, one parent would check in and take bags up and arrange everything in the room so that you take the kid up (hopefully carrying them) at the very end of the process and deposit directly into their bed.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP -- while I totally understand the logic behind driving as much as possible while DC is asleep, is stopping somewhere overnight a bad idea? For example, if we left after DC fell asleep around 7 pm or so, and then drove four hours, that's obviously very convenient, but we're concerned that with all the shuffling of checking into the hotel, etc, DC will wake up, and since she'll be in an unfamiliar place, she'll be difficult to get back to sleep....or maybe we're overthinking it?

You aren't over thinking it, IMO, but it also just really depends on your kid.

When we did this, one person stayed in the car with the child, and the other did the hotel registration, unloaded the car etc. Then when the room was ready, the baby/toddler went straight into the crib.

The only way to find out if this works or not is to try it

Buck up your chin and get a little more adventurous. Don't be so scared to do anything. "Driving east, checking into a hotel too late..." Good lord. Are you ever going to have another one? Or a third? You'll never leave the house with your mindset!

This is OP -- while I totally understand the logic behind driving as much as possible while DC is asleep, is stopping somewhere overnight a bad idea? For example, if we left after DC fell asleep around 7 pm or so, and then drove four hours, that's obviously very convenient, but we're concerned that with all the shuffling of checking into the hotel, etc, DC will wake up, and since she'll be in an unfamiliar place, she'll be difficult to get back to sleep....or maybe we're overthinking it?

Anonymous wrote:We'd really prefer not to drive through the night, especially since on the way back, we'd be driving east, and thus, right into the sun.

We're not totally opposed to flying, but the wedding is an hour drive from the nearest airport that has direct flights, so we'd have to deal with renting a car, etc. Plus, the concern is that we're much more limited in terms of stuff that we can bring, as opposed to driving, where we can throw whatever we need into the car. I guess if those are really the best two options, we'd probably suck it up and fly.

I'd still fly.

My husband and I did a couple 8hr drives with our kids (1 month, 18 months, and 3) recently. It actually went pretty smoothly. We made stops at parks a couple times and our kids mostly just snacked and hung out. They napped easily but they are generally good car seat sleepers.

Drive overnight if you want to avoid any of the stress but I didn’t find the drive with them awake to be too big a deal.

We'd really prefer not to drive through the night, especially since on the way back, we'd be driving east, and thus, right into the sun.

We're not totally opposed to flying, but the wedding is an hour drive from the nearest airport that has direct flights, so we'd have to deal with renting a car, etc. Plus, the concern is that we're much more limited in terms of stuff that we can bring, as opposed to driving, where we can throw whatever we need into the car. I guess if those are really the best two options, we'd probably suck it up and fly.

I would fly. I absolutely refuse to sit in a car for more than two hours. Especially with a baby.

We’ve done this a few times. My suggestion is to bring lots of snacks your kid really likes and some music they love queued up. We also found a playground along the way where we took a break and he could get some energy out. We left in the morning and he took his nap in the car seat at the usual time. Bedtime was as usual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This fall, we are thinking of bringing our then 15 month old to a wedding which will be roughly an 8 hour drive from us. While we've done a few short trips with her, they've been between 2-4 hours, so an 8 hour one is a different animal, mostly because we're not quite sure how to handle her sleeping schedule. Any tips from those who have BTDT?

We drove to Boston right about that age. Left at night and drove through the night. It's been a couple of years but I don't recall any major issues; she slept through most of it.

Yep. Try and drive while they are asleep.

Anonymous wrote:This fall, we are thinking of bringing our then 15 month old to a wedding which will be roughly an 8 hour drive from us. While we've done a few short trips with her, they've been between 2-4 hours, so an 8 hour one is a different animal, mostly because we're not quite sure how to handle her sleeping schedule. Any tips from those who have BTDT?

We drove to Boston right about that age. Left at night and drove through the night. It's been a couple of years but I don't recall any major issues; she slept through most of it.

This fall, we are thinking of bringing our then 15 month old to a wedding which will be roughly an 8 hour drive from us. While we've done a few short trips with her, they've been between 2-4 hours, so an 8 hour one is a different animal, mostly because we're not quite sure how to handle her sleeping schedule. Any tips from those who have BTDT?