Traveling with LO Cross Country

TechieGirl1

I have a question for all of you, in April DH, LO, and myself will be traveling cross country (900 miles) to go visit Dh's family.  We are  trying to figure out ways to entertain LO in the car for 13+ hours.  I was thinking of the following things purchasing at portable DVD player for watching movies, etc.  as well as some perhaps new toys (or toys he hasn't played with in a while).  Any other ideas, or things that have worked for you all on long distance trips, if you have taken your lo on a long trip??  We are also thinking of taking him on a couple longer (like 2 hour each way) but not as long trips to see if we can ease him into it.  ideas?  Suggestions anyone??

KEfam5

Driving at night has worked best for us. We are doing a 17 hour drive in a couple weeks and will be driving through the night in hopes that DD will sleep. We've never done it since she's been in her upright carseat but she did well when we did a 13 hour drive in Sept. she was still in her infant carrier at that time.

sdlaura

No advice, but there's no way I would ever attempt that! I would definitely fly. But DD is not a huge fan of the car. Good luck!

Jessica Swanlake

Travel at night- leave an hour or two before bedtime. If you guys can manage to drive through the night (in shifts) then you will be there in time for a lovely breakfast and LO will have slept through most of it. Bring an audiobook to keep you alert and awake during the night drive- something funny, preferably, so you don't zone out.

Megispreg

We drove cross country for Christmas. It was 4,000 miles round trip.... I know, we are insane. I thought we would drive a lot at night, but DD actually did worse at night because she wanted to stretch out in a bed. So we ended up doing mostly day time. It took three days. I would say allow yourself lots of extra time, because we needed breaks every 2 hours or so. I don't know if you have an ipad, but it was a complete lifesaver. She played with all the apps and watched movies. I also bought her a bunch of new toys. Good luck! It's an interesting experience, but I would not do it again.

TechieGirl1

Well driving through the night is not an option. I have this lovely genetic trait where if its past 900 I tend to fall asleep, and if there is a book on tape I also have the same reaction within 5 minutes. Its awful! I do have a tablet, which we always take on trips. Planes sadly are not an option, I'm highly allergic to cats, dogs, and basically anything with fur. With airlines allowing pets in the cabin it prohibits me from flying (my reaction is basically 1 level below anaphylaxis, and I don't know if lo has this allergy yet, and he can't communicate enough to tell me which scares the crap out of me). So driving by daylight it is. I will definitely bring more snack and the like. Thank you for the suggestions I really appreciate it!