My parents are 5.5 hours away. I have one good friend in that area also and a close family friend. Yet, we only visit 2 times a year. I drive. We usually go when my husband is away on business. My kids aren’t in school yet so our lives are flexible. It’s usually summer and mid winter.

Anonymous wrote:PPs who are experienced traveling with a mobile toddler, do you think it’s better to break a long plane ride with a layover or an overnight stay, or is it better to go nonstop 6 hours (to west coast) or nonstop 13 hours (for travel abroad)?

Always nonstop when possible. I’ve posted this here before but to little kids the first flight is a novelty but the second flight is basically a prison sentence. If a layover can’t be avoided then I always say to keep the first flight super short (we did DC-NY before an 8 hour flight to Milan and that was okay) but there is nothing worse than getting off a longish flight and having to board another one.

Anonymous wrote:PPs who are experienced traveling with a mobile toddler, do you think it’s better to break a long plane ride with a layover or an overnight stay, or is it better to go nonstop 6 hours (to west coast) or nonstop 13 hours (for travel abroad)?

Nonstop

Just start doing the flights. If you want to. Don't feel obligated, but don't let your husband's inability to travel keep you from seeing your family. Life's too short.

Have your parents buy a high backed booster with straps and get it installed before you visit. Or buy one and have it shipped to them.

Have your husband take you to the airport.

When you arrive, rent one of those little push carts. They are crucial!

PPs who are experienced traveling with a mobile toddler, do you think it’s better to break a long plane ride with a layover or an overnight stay, or is it better to go nonstop 6 hours (to west coast) or nonstop 13 hours (for travel abroad)?

We don’t have nearly as much distance to cover—only 2 hour flight to my family but I take dd about 5-6x per year (and then my family visits in between.) DH comes with us for almost a week at the holidays and an extra long weekend in the summer. Sometimes he joins other times if a special event is happening (grandma’s 90th, niece’s HS graduation etc.) but otherwise I travel alone. But I traveled A LOT for work before staying home (like 20-30 trips a year) so I don’t find traveling daunting and bringing an infant and now preschooler along is more like company than a hassle to me.

Anonymous wrote:I'm jealous of all of you that travel without your DH! Mine refuses to ever go a night without seeing DD, so we are banned from traveling without him. And he hates traveling for a variety of reasons, so we never see family. If he allowed it, I'd probably visit my family 4-5 times a year.

I also find traveling solo with DD much, much, MUCH easier than traveling with DD and DH. DH has so much anxiety and I'd take a screaming kid over a screaming husband any day!

Sounds like he could really benefit from some therapy! He doesn't have to live that way.

I visited my parents 3x a year without DH and once with DH - on average. 7 hour drive to the Carolina Coast. I started doing it on my own when I became a SAHP and could go more often. They were 4 and 2. The first trip was the hardest. I also drove around once a year to CT, in the summer, to visit my sister without DH.

You can do it. It just takes one trip to give you confidence.