Okay, So I'm Crazy

[Insomniac]

Woooo....alright.

Sooo...I'm leaving Tuesday to join my husband at Ft. Drum in New York. We just decided this today. I have nothing packed. We're going to have the Army move our stuff. I'm going to be driving from KS to NY by myself with a small baby. My husband needs me. Well...actually, he needs us. He found a place to stay for the time being, until we can find an actual house. Any advice on what I should bring? Any travel advice? Any encouragement (other than "You're crazy")?

[Breandan]

PRE-PACK EVERYTHING!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. The Army contracts out to civilians to move stuff, and those civilians further contract out to the local primate preserves to borrow randy, angry gorillas with pent up frustrations that they take out on belongings. Having everything pre-boxed and ready to go reduces the risk of many things being broken to 68%

If this is not an option, Ikea and Wal Mart furniture section are going to be your new best friends....

[Insomniac]

Well, when I said I had nothing packed, I meant for the trip and what we might need until our stuff gets there. Most of our stuff is still in boxes from the last time we moved.....a year ago. :roll:

Does anyone have any idea how long it will take our stuff to get there, and what we might need to have on hand until it does? Also, travel advice (routes, cities to avoid, etc.) would be much appreciated.

[Darth Lorax]

All of my Army moving experiences have been good. They hire reputable moving companies and I never had a problem with the packers.

Too bad you're not going Ft. Stewart, GA. I have a condo there that I'd make you a great deal on.

Do you want to live on or off post? If you want to live on post get on the waiting list NOW. There might be some vacancies right now since some of the 10th Mountain is deployed. Even if you don't want to live on post for the duration, if they have any vacancies there's a free place to stay while you look for a house.
One word of advice if you've thinking of buying a house; think about how difficult it will be to sell in a few years. Especially if you use the VA loan and don't put any money down. I wish I had never bought that condo.

God speed on your trip.

[Erling E.]

Drive safely! :-)

[Tarnagh]

Diapers, baby wipes, bottled water, powdered formula, more wipes, more diapers, a music box of the wind up hook to the side of the crib sort (you can mount it to the top of the car seat), if baby can handle powdered cereal (like the gerber rice or whatever) from a box, add a little to the formula to thicken it so baby stays full longer (read: sleeps longer), spare blankies to prop the bottle so you can drive while he eats, something to teethe on, something that makes noise to keep him busy (tie it to his carseat so when he drops it on the floor of the car you don't have to stop to retrieve it), assortment of bottle nipple sizes (one slightly larger to handle abovementioned formula plus cereal or it'll clog), have I mentioned diapers & babywipes?, at least two changes of baby clothes cuz baby is guaranteed to mess at least one set, Anbesol or jack daniels - your choice (I kid), Valium for you, and rest assured that no matter that you're POSITIVE you thought of everything, you haven't ;) Reassure yourself that you WILL get there and everything will be fine.

You've heard of Dances with Wolves? My name would likely have been Travels with Infants. They're 16 and 17 now but I can still remember the days of having an 11 month old and a newborn...

Joking aside, have a safe trip. :)