Do you drive through the night on vacation?

Suzibeck · Apr 3, 2007

I am amazed how many people do this! We make long trips at least once or twice a year and people always assume we will drive all night, while the kids sleep. I just can't imagine doing this, I'd be too afraid of one of us falling asleep at the wheel. Also, my oldest would never stay positioned correctly while sleeping and she is too tall for the Parkway to give her support. My kids travel really well for up to 12 hours. We don't do DVD players, but we do listen to books on tape and have great family discussions. We also play games like finding license plates from each state, finding the alphabet, and I Spy.

So, I'm just wondering if any of you other safety conscious people do this driving all night thing?

southpawboston · Apr 3, 2007

for older kids, you are right about the safety aspect, and not sitting properly in the boosters. but for harnessed infants and toddlers, nighttime driving is awesome!!! that's what we do. they are too young to play the license plate game (or the car make game, which i used to be a champ at

). they sleep all night, and DW and i get to catch up on conversation, which we could never do if we were driving by day. we make sure we nap the afternoon before the trip and have everything packed at least a day in advance, so that we don't get tired from the stress of packing and getting ready.

there are actually some significant safety advantages to driving at night... the kids are not a distraction, so you're always looking at the road and have both hands on the wheel. the co-pilot is conversing and has the job of making sure you are not getting too tired to drive. there is very little traffic, and that provides another safety advantage.

just make sure that your headlights are in correct alignment (poorly aimed headlights can be a serious safety deficit). any dealer or body shop can do this for you for about 1/2 hour labor. poor headlight alignment not only reduces your vision, but it stresses your eyes and can make you more tired.

Minniemouse · Apr 3, 2007

We do the nighttime thing as well.

Yearly we do 1-3 trips that are about 7-9hrs each way. We do it in one straight shot and generally leave about 9 or 10pm, arriving in the wee hours the following morning.

We just took a trip in February though and left at 12am, arrived at 8:30am. Drove straight through until 5am and then stopped for a potty break/stretch the legs. The kids woke up, I nursed and changed Ben and then we broke out the DVD player (dual screen). This was okay for a while but I don't suggest it for a 5.5yo going around and over 7 mountains after eating a blueberry muffin. :thumbsdown: (we need the puking smilie!).

Bethany always did great sleeping in the car, and Ben seems to be doing just as well. Beth traveled "okay" during the day but Ben isn't as happy of a little guy, so I forsee us travelling at night for the near future!

TXDani · Apr 3, 2007

We sure do! For us it's the only way to go. We drive from Portland to Vegas a few times a year and it is about a 18 hour drive. We usually leave in the early afternoon and drive straight through and get there early the next morning. To me I figure if we can safely do it, which we can, why waste the money on a hotel room. But like the pp said it is a lot easier driving when the kids are asleep then when they are screaming and crying during the day.

Suzibeck · Apr 3, 2007

How do you function the next day after not sleeping? I just SO NEED my sleep and so does dh. I can just see us screaming at the kids the day after driving all night.

jen_nah · Apr 3, 2007

Nope, We drive during the day and if it's that long of trip we get a hotel room along the way to sleep for the night.

We drive from Texas (Dallas area) to AZ (Scottsdale) once a year to see my dad (he comes out here more frequently). It's a 19hr drive with minimal stops. We break it up into 2 days for the girls & for sanity.

broken4u05 · Apr 3, 2007

I dont have kids but yes i drive at night going to my sister's house 12 hours away

southpawboston · Apr 3, 2007

broken4u05 said:
I dont have kids but yes i drive at night going to my sister's house 12 hours away

if i didn't have kids, i'd most definitely be driving by day. it's only the kids that make travelling at night worth it for us.

broken4u05 · Apr 3, 2007

We drive at night because there are less people on the road. And yes when i have kids i will drive at night too. but i dont think i will be wanting to drive that much when i have kids.

southpawboston · Apr 3, 2007

broken4u05 said:
And yes when i have kids i will drive at night too. but i dont think i will be wanting to drive that much when i have kids.

heh, we went from averaging 12,000 miles per year on our car to about 8,000 since having kids. so yeah, we drive a lot less and try to consolidate errands. we also walk a LOT more now with kids than we ever did before.

sorry jenny for taking this O/T... do you knowthe miles on these cars?

twokidstwodogs · Apr 3, 2007

We drive at night, but not necessarily *through* the night. We'll often get up super-early or else drive into the wee hours of the morning. With enough caffeine and good planning, it's doable for us, and well worth it to be able to drive in comparative peace.

skaterbabs · Apr 3, 2007

We don't drive terribly long distances, but I much prefer driving 8-midnight when there is very little traffic to driving noon-6 when traffic is crazy and the kids are whiny. Last year when we came back from our vacation, we left Kitty Hawk, NC around 8 and got home shortly before midnight. There was no traffic, the kids slept nearly the entire way, and neither of us were *that* tired when we got home.

becca011906 · Apr 3, 2007

We drive to Florida about 2 times a year, we tried once to drive throuhg the night IT WAS HE**!!!! Awful, my kids were 5, 3, 1, NEVER again! LOL
What we like best is waking around 4am kids in jamies will sleep till about 9am then stop for breakfast, then we are good to drive till atleast 2 or 3 with snacks in the car, then we'll eat again and drive till about 5 stop and eat then drive till about 11 or so and stop for the night. our drive is about 18 hours first day of 13 hours on road and day 2 flys by at only 5 hours to go! LOL

Namegirl · Apr 3, 2007

We do not. We did a 2-week, 4,000-mile road trip last summer with a 15-month-old. We drove only during the day time--extended night driving is not for us. Probably just depends on your temperment. We're very big fans of sleep!

twokidstwodogs · Apr 3, 2007

becca011906 said:
What we like best is waking around 4am kids in jamies will sleep till about 9am then stop for breakfast, then we are good to drive till atleast 2 or 3 with snacks in the car....L

The first time we tried this, we were foiled by DD#1, who was way too excited to go back to sleep. So there we were, driving along in the dark at 4 a.m., with a three year-old chattering away in the back seat. (She did eventually go back to sleep, but not until after breakfast.)

Erika Ruth · Apr 3, 2007

We are the 4am type. We plan our trip so that the kids can sleep until about 9am, then we get to where we are stopping for the day by 10-12 It works SO much better for us, and not as many people on the road.

Erika

natysr · Apr 3, 2007

Yep. We are actually driving 11 hours to SLC, Utah. We are leaving at midnight on the 12th..well, 13th of April. I learned the trick from my parents actually.

My DH will go to bed early on Thursday night, and I will keep our 2 year old awake as long as he can stand it. I'll try to put him to bed at 11 p.m. We will leave at midnight, DH will drive and Jordan and I will sleep. By 7 a.m. we will stop to eat breakfast, then we will have less than 4 hours of driving left. When we get to the hotel, we will play a bit, then all 3 of us will take a nap together.

Natalie

Dillipop · Apr 3, 2007

We have never driven at night with the kids. We drove cross country when DS1 was a baby, so we did 4 days of about 10-12 hours and he did great. He was only about 3 months though, so slept most of the time. DS1 is a great traveler. We drove 14 hours over 2 days to NC last spring and not a peep out of him. He listened to his books on tape and read books. He also just sat and looked out the window. In all, we were in the car for 28 hours over a week period, down and back, and no complaints. We, as parents, also got to enjoy nice sleep when we got to the hotel.

I really think it depends on you and your family. If I didn't get enough sleep, the family would suffer. Same with DH. And so far, my kids seem to do well on long trips and like to be in the car.

BudgieStew · Apr 13, 2007

DH sleeps during the day before we leave.

We did it last summer. I was terrified to fly alone with two small children so made DH drive me. Both kid's had a good nighttime thing happening so we figured it would be easy. Nope.
It was hell. Neither child slept for more then 15 minutes at a time. They were 5 months and just over 2 years at that point. We had bought a DVD player for our oldest but he was still too young to get it.
So there were many points where all 4 of us were crying.
It took 15 hours and we stopped to move around and eat several times. DH and I did the trip once before kids in 13 hours.
Oh and we almost hit a moose..that was fun:thumbsdown:

Dh stayed two nights and then went home by himself.

6 weeks later my ils were on holiday there and picked us up. Much better we were in a van so I could sit back with them and interact. DS understood the DVD player and was zoned out to Dora and Winne The Pooh. We also stopped for a overnight. It was not that bad considering I was with my il's

This summer I plan on having DH drive me to a certain city meet up with my parents. DH flies home from that city and my Mother drives my car back to their place. We need a second car while I am there but I am not the best driver so this is for everyone's safety. Crazy huh?
We still haven't decided to drive at night or during the day. I think last time was just a fluke so am aiming for nighttime again.

Melizerd · Apr 13, 2007

We've done it before we had DS. My husband works 3rd shift so it doesn't change his schedule anyhow. We would leave around midnight for Toronto from Milwaukee, WI. I'd sleep in the car part way and he would drive. Then he'd catch a couple of hours sleep once we hit the Canadian border. We'll do it again this year with DS.

Do you drive through the night on vacation?

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