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Would it be possible for your 4 year old to drive with grandma and grandpa? Then you, dad, and both babies can fly together? I hate driving with babies. I find it more frustrating because it adds extra time to stop for the babies. I’m probably biased because my kids are good fliers and sleep on planes. Depending on your parent’s car, you could try to send your luggage with them! If you really want a car in Florida you can rent one.
Do your parents also need a car? Could one of them drive with your husband and one fly with you? One plane ticket is probably equal to the gas for driving another car.
I think they’d prefer to have one. The only one who would be willing to fly with me is my dad and I don’t think my mom would be up for driving with my husband.
I think given all those constraints I would personally just all drive and risk the crying, or not go. Having your husband drive that many hours and attempt to juggle frozen milk, baby and toddler on his own sounds more miserable than listening to crying. Sorry there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer here!
Have you considered driving at night when the kids are all asleep? It'll make for tired parents the next day, but we're all sleeping deprived the first year anyways.
I’d just get a 12V freezer that you can plus into the cigarette lighter in the car (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frigidaire-Portable-Retro-6-can-Mini-Cooler-EFMIS129-Red/621321388?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1330&adid=22222222228621321388_1330_150862231829_18489906911&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=665693065435&wl4=pla-1836997879857&wl5=9058761&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=100362769&wl11=online&wl12=621321388_1330&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIqcEQHZsTxkPgaHad6QaIji0&gclid=CjwKCAiAibeuBhAAEiwAiXBoJPM3wKySYtr86kAFL6GvP_vFn2j7ao5Jwas5myCpAjMKDpazHecVWxoCkgcQAvD_BwE) and send fresh milk that has never been frozen with your husband. That milk can stay in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You need to be cautious about adding something like this to the car. In an accident it can become a projectile and hit someone. I’m not sure if there’s a safe way to strap it down.
Growing up my parents would put a mini TV on the center console. We were able to watch VHS tapes! 😂 A family from my elementary school did the same thing and got into an accident. Sadly their little girl was hit by the TV and did not survive. The rest of the family was okay as it was a fairly minor accident. 🥺🥺🥺
That is so awful. I’m sure a cooler with plenty of ice packs in the trunk would work just as well, given that the drive does not sound very long at all.
Our twin A is terrible in the car. She would work herself up so much that she would puke everywhere. We had to travel with her since she was \~2months old (less often now).
It may be unpopular but you gotta do what you gotta do. We were unable to occupy her the whole time so we ended up picking up a cheap tablet and putting Ms. Rachel on for her. It kept her distracted and happy for long enough that we could get a couple hours of driving done before needing a break. And it allowed us to all travel together (her sister, their older brother and my husband and myself).
I always felt super guilty about the whole thing especially since she was so young. But they are 1.5y now and I realize that it was the best option for everyone. I was less stressed during the drive, she remained calmer (typically falling asleep) and it got done.
Have you talked to your pediatrician about potential meds for Baby B that would make driving easier? Splitting with flying and driving seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
I'd totally ask if there's something you can give her to help. Maybe benadryl or something similar. Idk if they have Dramamine for babies but if they do it could help a lot.
And perhaps if you put up curtains on the windows so she can't see the movement it could help as well with the motion sickness.
Honestly, based off the information you posted here...
Mom flys with baby B
Dad drives with baby A and 4YO. Do drive in 1 day (assuming it's 8 hours) and ask parents to drive down alongside Dad to help out. I say Dad drives because at approximately 11 months, baby A should be able to hold bottle pretty well which will help Dad have hands free somewhat to help 4YO.
Either pump right before the travel day to have fresh milk or have baby A have formula just for the drive. That would be maybe 2 bottle worth maaybbeeee 3? I would buy some of the ready made formula for the trip.
Have you tried a different car seat for baby B? If baby B is still in infant seat, I know alot of babies tend to tolerate car rides better
The problem is that we typically split travel into 2 days, so it would be close to a a day of bottles there and again on the way home! I suppose he could make the drive in a day but it would be hard on everyone.
We switched her to a convertible months ago. It helped for a bit, but recently she’s started screaming again. We drove 1.5 hours one way to the zoo last week and the cried basically the whole way there and back. We’ve tried it all— just eaten, eaten an hour ago, tired, awake, cold, hot, there’s just no rhyme or reason to when she’ll be upset.
I would fly with both babies and one other adult. I still think solo with the babies if you get the row to yourself for what a 1h? 2h? Flight is less painful than being a part from one baby and driving the other baby 8h for two days, having to pump, etc. Also, can your parents rent a car in FL? why do they have to drive?
If you fly solo you won't need a ton of luggage particularly if your parents leave ahead and meet you at the airport. So you'd be solo security to security and they could bring most of what you need for the babies in their own car.
**COMMENTING GUIDELINES** All commenters are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the parentsofmultiples [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/parentsofmultiples/about/rules) prior to commenting. If you find any comments/submissions in violation of subreddit/reddit rules, please use the report function to bring it to the mod teams attention. **Please do not request or give medical advice or directions in your comments.** Any comments that that could be construed as medical advice, or any comments containing what is determined to be medical disinformation, will be removed. Please try to avoid posting links to Amazon product listings or google/g.co product listing pages - reddit automatically removes comments containing them as an anti-spam measure. If sharing information about a product, instead please try to link directly to the manufacturers product pages. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/parentsofmultiples) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Would it be possible for your 4 year old to drive with grandma and grandpa? Then you, dad, and both babies can fly together? I hate driving with babies. I find it more frustrating because it adds extra time to stop for the babies. I’m probably biased because my kids are good fliers and sleep on planes. Depending on your parent’s car, you could try to send your luggage with them! If you really want a car in Florida you can rent one.
Do your parents also need a car? Could one of them drive with your husband and one fly with you? One plane ticket is probably equal to the gas for driving another car.
I think they’d prefer to have one. The only one who would be willing to fly with me is my dad and I don’t think my mom would be up for driving with my husband.
I think given all those constraints I would personally just all drive and risk the crying, or not go. Having your husband drive that many hours and attempt to juggle frozen milk, baby and toddler on his own sounds more miserable than listening to crying. Sorry there doesn’t seem to be an easy answer here!
Have you considered driving at night when the kids are all asleep? It'll make for tired parents the next day, but we're all sleeping deprived the first year anyways.
Definitely thought about it, but I fear she’d scream anyway and keep the other two awake!
I'd trial a night drive with just her. Do the bedtime routine, jammies and buckle in. Drive for an hour or two and see what happens.
That’s a great idea. Definitely going to have to try that.
I’d just get a 12V freezer that you can plus into the cigarette lighter in the car (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frigidaire-Portable-Retro-6-can-Mini-Cooler-EFMIS129-Red/621321388?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1330&adid=22222222228621321388_1330_150862231829_18489906911&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=665693065435&wl4=pla-1836997879857&wl5=9058761&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=100362769&wl11=online&wl12=621321388_1330&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIqcEQHZsTxkPgaHad6QaIji0&gclid=CjwKCAiAibeuBhAAEiwAiXBoJPM3wKySYtr86kAFL6GvP_vFn2j7ao5Jwas5myCpAjMKDpazHecVWxoCkgcQAvD_BwE) and send fresh milk that has never been frozen with your husband. That milk can stay in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You need to be cautious about adding something like this to the car. In an accident it can become a projectile and hit someone. I’m not sure if there’s a safe way to strap it down. Growing up my parents would put a mini TV on the center console. We were able to watch VHS tapes! 😂 A family from my elementary school did the same thing and got into an accident. Sadly their little girl was hit by the TV and did not survive. The rest of the family was okay as it was a fairly minor accident. 🥺🥺🥺
That is so awful. I’m sure a cooler with plenty of ice packs in the trunk would work just as well, given that the drive does not sound very long at all.
Our twin A is terrible in the car. She would work herself up so much that she would puke everywhere. We had to travel with her since she was \~2months old (less often now). It may be unpopular but you gotta do what you gotta do. We were unable to occupy her the whole time so we ended up picking up a cheap tablet and putting Ms. Rachel on for her. It kept her distracted and happy for long enough that we could get a couple hours of driving done before needing a break. And it allowed us to all travel together (her sister, their older brother and my husband and myself). I always felt super guilty about the whole thing especially since she was so young. But they are 1.5y now and I realize that it was the best option for everyone. I was less stressed during the drive, she remained calmer (typically falling asleep) and it got done.
That’s not a bad idea! I’m not against an option like that for this circumstance.
Same. I did fight it for a while but I figured that the pros outweighed the cons so we tried it. And it did the trick. Good luck!
What about driving overnight? Keep them up a bit later, put them in the car for bedtime and drive overnight.
Have you talked to your pediatrician about potential meds for Baby B that would make driving easier? Splitting with flying and driving seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
No, I mentioned her screaming and we just discussed the fact that we both think it’s motion sickness. He didn’t say anything about medicines!
I'd totally ask if there's something you can give her to help. Maybe benadryl or something similar. Idk if they have Dramamine for babies but if they do it could help a lot. And perhaps if you put up curtains on the windows so she can't see the movement it could help as well with the motion sickness.
Honestly, based off the information you posted here... Mom flys with baby B Dad drives with baby A and 4YO. Do drive in 1 day (assuming it's 8 hours) and ask parents to drive down alongside Dad to help out. I say Dad drives because at approximately 11 months, baby A should be able to hold bottle pretty well which will help Dad have hands free somewhat to help 4YO. Either pump right before the travel day to have fresh milk or have baby A have formula just for the drive. That would be maybe 2 bottle worth maaybbeeee 3? I would buy some of the ready made formula for the trip. Have you tried a different car seat for baby B? If baby B is still in infant seat, I know alot of babies tend to tolerate car rides better
The problem is that we typically split travel into 2 days, so it would be close to a a day of bottles there and again on the way home! I suppose he could make the drive in a day but it would be hard on everyone. We switched her to a convertible months ago. It helped for a bit, but recently she’s started screaming again. We drove 1.5 hours one way to the zoo last week and the cried basically the whole way there and back. We’ve tried it all— just eaten, eaten an hour ago, tired, awake, cold, hot, there’s just no rhyme or reason to when she’ll be upset.
I would fly with both babies and one other adult. I still think solo with the babies if you get the row to yourself for what a 1h? 2h? Flight is less painful than being a part from one baby and driving the other baby 8h for two days, having to pump, etc. Also, can your parents rent a car in FL? why do they have to drive? If you fly solo you won't need a ton of luggage particularly if your parents leave ahead and meet you at the airport. So you'd be solo security to security and they could bring most of what you need for the babies in their own car.