Kind of an unusual request, but maybe this has been asked, I couldnt find a related topic. I'm looking to put together a kit for the following scenario, which is very real, and about to happen, soon, for an adoption...

1. 14 hour drive from the South up to Chicago area, me and my wife, as soon as we are notified that birthmother is in labor..
2. In a modern rental 4x4. (The wife wont tolerate my Jeep for such a long trip!)
3. Drive back a few weeks later with 3 week old baby.

Want to avoid the whole plane scenario due to germs, altitude, and infant.

We'll be new parents, so this is all new to us. Of course we'll have a car seat, and the basic changing items, formula, etc. I'm thinking emergency here, what would be good to have?

Thanks!
blkjeep

Whoo, boy, do I remember those days as though they were yesterday!

Congrats on the impending new arrival! What a wonderful time this will be for y'all....

OK, so the baby will be in a rear-facing carseat in the backseat, and Mom will be right beside the baby.

Traveling with a baby when he's so small is a piece of cake, compared with when he starts crawling at about 6 months.

I recommend you throw some extra pillows in the car for you to prop the baby on (or prop your arms on) while you bottlefeed him. My arm muscles were sore for about 3 months from holding a new baby while feeding him.

Have several extra changes of clothes for the baby, and at least one for each of you. Kid #1 threw up all over the carseat and me at the start of a 10-hour drive once...not good!

Don't forget that the baby might be warmer than you think while stuffed in that carseat. A hot baby might be more inclined to throw up.

Every time you stop to feed the baby/change her clothes, try to remove the diaper and get some fresh air on her bottom. The lastthing you want is for a case of diaper rash to pop up. Even if she pees or poops in the car without a diaper, it is a pretty quick cleanup. Put down an old sheet on the floor/car seat to protect it, and don't tell the rental company, LOL.... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Diaper wipes and some paper towels/regular towels might be a handy thing, too.

Any type of medication is IMHO inappropriate at this young age, except for a baby thermometer. If she is sick at all, you'll want to head to the nearest hospital. You don't gut it out with a 3-week old.

.If the driving conditions are forecasted to be lousy, you might postpone the road trip for a day or so until they improve. If you absolutely have to go, then plenty of water, formula, diapers, extra gas can, and supplemental heat in case you get stranded for 24 hours in a snowdrift. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Kudos to y'all for not wanting to go into the airports at this time of year and expose the baby to all the germs.

Best of luck to you!

Congratulations! We're past the diaper stage, but, those are still very vivid memories.

Something to consider, pick up your rental a few days before you plan to leave, and drive it around for a while, trying everything on the vehicle. I rented a pickup to haul a bunch of gear about 800 miles, and about 100 miles into it, we started having freezing rain, and the defroster wouldn't circulate air to the windshield...it was ugly.

Anyway, make sure you're comfortable with the rental, take it back if anything isn't what you'd expect. Best of luck!

Old bald Guy may want to give input on this. The yellow warning signs BABY ON BOARD had their period of popularity and succumbed to sarcastic car culture. I don't know if emergency personel found these helpfull or not in case of accident. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

A sign isn't going to slow down idiot drivers or make them do anything that they weren't already going to do. (However, maybe a shotgun barrel....?)

OTOH, if there's an accident, all the baby paraphernalia will scream that there should be an infant nearby. Years ago, there was a rollover, the unsecured baby was flipped out of the rolling car. As soon as the first officer hit the scene, he knew there was a baby nearby-- and it was, 'way over in the weeds, totally unconcerned.

Sue

Blanket
Cell Phone
Patience

All babies really need are you and mom. Just do what feels right, and all will be well. There's no book out there that will tell you better than your instincts. Trust yourself, don't trust the magazines, the advertising, the "experts" who tell you to do what feels wrong.
Keep the baby close and warm and fed.

As long as you've got a stocked diaper bag (with change of clothes right?) and the usual baby safety equip such as the car seat plus your usual pre-parenthood safety equipment (fire, water, light, first aid, communications, etc) you'll be ready for anything that is likey to happen and a whole lot that isn't likely but could certainly still happen! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Martin summed it up nicely with <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> For an emergency situation where you may be stranded on the side of the road and have your trip unexpectedly extended, I guess the best thing in addition to the above-mentioned stuff is extra everything. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Particularly, diapers, wipes, formula, and sterile water (or a way to make sterile water). Oh an maybe aspirin and earplugs for you and mom. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I would like to add that when you make a thirteen-hour drive with you and your wife, you can expect it to take almost twice as long on the return leg.

The emergency stuff is great, but you will need to stop every three hours or so to feed and change the bambino. If you are up to it, I would recommend flying. My son did great at four weeks, and that was flying during the holiday rush. I was going to drive him home, but with a 20-hour drive, it would have taken us almost twice as long! The stops for food, etc, coupled with the lack of sleep that I would have received in the hotel room with him and his appetite, made it a sound choice for him and mom to come back via plane, while I drove our new suburban home!

just my two cents,

Garrett

I wouldn't fly with a baby that young. I flew with my son at 4 months and that was hard enough (on both of us)! Just my opinion though... YMMV. Some infants do fine in the car, others appear to become temporarily posessed by demons. Garrett has brouhgt up a an excellent point about changing and (if noone rides in the back with the baby) feeding. Prepare to stop a lot more than usual. Doubling travel may be a bit of an exxageration but it will certainly take a lot longer. We fed our kid plenty in the the car in his car seat. He was on half breast milk and half formula and we often gave him bottled breast milk or formula in the car. My son had no problems eating in the car seat but then he still has no problems eating so again YMMV. Don't sweat it. Don't rush. Enjoy the trip and your new addition to the family. Making the trip take twice as long may not actually be that bad of an idea.

Thanks for all of the great feedback. If my nerves can make it that far, I'm sure the journey itself will go just fine.