The inlaws live about 1100 miles away. And we make this trip in one day - about 17 hours in the car. The main motivation for a 1 day trip is to avoid the hotel stay - the kids never sleep well the first night in a new location, so we wouldn't be too rested for the second day on the road anyways. Plus, we can save about $100 each way - always a nice bonus.
On the way there, we leave as early as we can. The latest we will leave and try to make it all of the way from here is 6am. It is actually easier to wake the kids up and then go because they sleep more in the car that way. I make sure AJU5 has gone potty and AJU6 and 7 have clean diapers before we leave. I double diaper AJU6 actual - with a size 3 diaper under a size 4 diaper - to ensure no leaks. I also feed AJU7, so she is ready to fall back asleep as soon as we get going.
We pack the car as much as we can the night before - leaving only the last few things for the morning (drinks, electronics, and the overnight bag normally). The "big" kids each have a bag of toys and books as well as a pillow and blanket, and these are in the back seat of our SUV with them. We often put one suit case (duffle bag) under each child so toys aren't lost as easily on the floor too. AJU7 and I are in the bucket seats in the middle. Around us is the diaper bag, our entertainment (a couple of toys for her, my cell phone, and my touch pad), the snack, and the drinks. My husband gets to play "taxi driver" sitting up front alone. He has control of the GPS and his phone (with our mp3 selection).
We normally stop 3-4 hours in for a potty run/diaper change. Then we drive another 2-3 hours. We stop them for gas and food (as well as the potty and diaper changes). This last trip we just got Wendy's chicken nuggets and fries, but we have stopped at Arby's before too and gotten sandwiches and salads. But, when we stop and eat in a restaurant, it takes FOREVER!!! The kids won't sit still, so it is a challenge to get them to eat enough. So, the car seems to be working better (even if the food isn't as good). From there, we make 2 more stops, about 6 hours apart, for gas, potty, and diapers. AJU7 also gets to nurse as much as she wants during these times, so the stops are about 20-30 minutes. The big kids roam around the vehicle and stretch there legs while they wait too.
As for snacks - we have granola bars (Fiber Plus, Zone, and Fruit and Nut), trail mix (fruit and nut), crackers, gold fish, pretzels, apple chips, and peanut M&Ms. The non-bar stacks are served in small ziplocks, which helps with portion control and mess containment. For drinks, the adults each have two 27oz water bottles. The big kids each have 1 milk cup, 1 water cup, and 2-4 very weak juice cups (about 1oz juice to 5oz water) - all sippy cups. We used to bring more milk, but AJU5 and AJU6 each have thrown up in the car in the past, and "sour" milk is NASTY coming back up. So, we keep the milk for after lunch, and it seems to work great.
On the way home, we normally don't leave until 8-9am. That means we get home a lot later, which can be a little tough. But, we also tend to stay up later at the in-laws, so it isn't TOO bad. We normally have to stop about 3 hours after we leave for gas (and potty, etc). Then we stop 6 hours later and get food with the gas. Then, we can often make it with only one more stop - 6 hours later. Occasionally we will stop for potty once in there too, but it depends on how tired we are and how much everyone drinks.
So, how does AJU7 survive only getting to nurse every 6 hours? She doesn't. The first trip I pumped and gave her bottles. It worked great. Then we went to my parents, and she refused the bottle. She would occasionally take about 1oz, but there was a ton of screaming. On the way tot he inlaws, I pumped some, but she still would only take about 1oz. The first two segments were fine - only 3 hours apart. The middle segment she drank a little more from the bottle - maybe 2oz, so it wasn't terrible either. And, that also coincided with her long nap, which I think was a life-saver. But, the last segment I had to be a little naughty. I unbuckled and leaved over so she could nurse while we were driving. We were on the interstate in an area with very few exits (and no wide shoulders). It was dark and the road was pretty empty, so I went for it. And it worked great. She ate and then went right to sleep. I had to do this more often on the way home, which was a little harder - simply because it wasn't at night once or twice. But, it always seemed to happen that she would be hungry where pulling over to let her out wasn't easy/safe. If we had a bench int he middle row, I probably could have just leaned over instead of unbuckling...
So, that is how we "roll." I am not looking forward to AJU6 potty training. I highly doubt he will be able to go 6 hours between stops like his sister (she has NO problem holding it that long we found out over a year ago). That means our "plans" may change. But, AJU7 won't be nursing as much, so it might be a wash...
