My Advice for Fussy Baby Car Trips

1. Travel during naps.  There was a period where we couldn't get her to sleep in the car, but that is because she wasn't tired enough and we had to drop a nap.  Now, she is awake for 3 to 4 hour at a time, and if we need to go somewhere and its nap time, we throw everything in the car and go.  But, this was a lot easier with the infant car seat and snap 'n go than it is with the convertible car seat.

2. Blast the air.  Lily gets really hot, and it's not always obvious how warm it is in the back.  So, if you have a warm baby, too.  Try blasting the air.  And, we also sort of dress her down so that she's not sweating in the car seat.

3. White noise.  We turn on the static on the radio and turn it up when it's nap time and she's having trouble falling asleep.  We also have a white noise track (Baby Got Colic) on the amazon mp3 player.  We use the colic track when we're transferring her from the car to the snap n go or to the house.  But, she's been sleeping so well lately that we haven't had to. 

4. Take the route with the least stop lights.  If I want her to nap, I take the route that has the most movement and the least stop lights.  The stop lights are killer!  Actually, it's not just when I want her to nap, it's all the time!

5. Travel in pairs, one person sitting in back.  If possible, Sean and I travel together.  I sit in the back.  This to sing to her, play with her, feed her distract her, etc.  Even though Kelly Mom doesn't condone this, I boob her in the car if nothing else works. 

6. Sing to her.  We've gotten though so many car rides by singing our hearts out.  Sean's aunt recorded me singing on her smartphone and played it back for Lily, which put her to sleep the other day. Very cool. We need to try that.

7. Teether toys.  In the beginning, we could hand her a teether toy and be good for a little bit.  But now, she's not really interested in teether toys.

8. Food.  We find a favorite food that she can hold onto, and when she starts freaking out (i.e. as soon as she's in the car seat), we hand it to her. This has been bacon, turkey jerky, and apple slices lately.  This doesn't always work.  But, if she's sleepy and I hand her something to suck on, she'll pass out more easily.  Some parents are worried about choking, but Lily is fine.  If she's having trouble, I will pull over and get in the back seat.  But, this has really allowed us to get around a lot easier, and especially with me and her by ourselves.

9. Other toys.  I would bring a bunch of things in the diaper bag and just hand her different things as she dropped them or got fussy.  This worked for a few car trips.

10. Toys that are not toys.  Lately, she isn't putting everything in her mouth.  So when I'm alone, I hand her lots of different things (a new thing every time she starts to cry), which gives me a few minutes.  My floss, library card, mail, keys, etc.  This is when we're kinda at the end of our rope, and she's done.  Sometimes, she's kinda covered in a pile of stuff, but it gets us home!  LOL.

11. Pull the shade back so she can see out.  And, I use the mirror to see the sun in her face, so that I can pull the shade back.  I sometimes have to toss a blanket over the carrier if the sun is really horrible.

12. Check the diaper.  Lily is one of those babies who cannot stand a wet diaper.  So, I check/change her before a car ride. 

13. Stop the car.  If she won't stop crying/melting down or go to sleep, I will stop the car to check her diaper and nurse her. 

14. Roll the windows down.  Lily loves the fan in the nursery, and she fell asleep three times on Friday because I rolled the windows down a little.