Road Trip Tips!?!?

huzzahuzza

We're headed to Seattle this weekend for a four day weekend/road trip! Anyone have any travel with a one-year-old tips? 

c-elizabethf

missk0411 said:

Time your departure to coincide with a nap. We also give A a (somewhat) spill proof container of snacks and that entertains her for a while. We also have fairly regular stops to let her stretch out for a few minutes. Have fun!

This is what we did. It was around her nap time and we also gave her a spill proof container with snacks and her sippy cup. I put a couple of small toys with her, she's pretty good about just listening to music though. But there has been times when she has gotten restless and the snacks help a lot.

Shoecrazysarah

We did 1700 miles recently with LO. Average of 8 hours per day. We would leave ar 3am and LO would sleep for a few hours. Then stop for breakfast, I mapped out parks, etc ahead of time. Take long stops and let LO burn energy. I would ride in the backseat and play with him until he fell asleep if it looked like he wasnt gonna go right down Snacks helped. I also had LO help me pick out toys ahead of time that were then saved for this trip.

botanicalbliss

Yup - lots of stops to let them get out and run around.  It's not good for them to be stuck in a carseat for more than a few hours at a time.  Sit in the backseat and play with toys/read books if they aren't content on their own.

coffeeandbooks

drive at night...do the night time routine and then put in the car seat and go.

Also, if you drive during the day be careful about the temp...the car seats can get really hot.

And you probalby aren't supposed to but giving them a bottle if they get fussy while driving seems to help too.

MAdams728

We have only done 4 hours, and we only stopped once halfway. We have an RV, so we were able to stop, make lunch and let her play for a little bit before getting back in the truck.

smg2302

We did FL to NY at Christmas time.  Driving during sleeping hours helps.  It also helps to know what places are convenient to stop for diaper changes, because doing a diaper change on the floor of the gas station is not a pleasant experience.

huzzahuzza

coffeeandbooks said:

drive at night...do the night time routine and then put in the car seat and go.

That's what I wanted to do but I was vetoed.
Thanks for the tips ladies! My bro and sis in law are coming too so back seat entertainment won't be lacking!

beatlechicksteph

We just did a 3 day 5-8 hours a day move. We caravaned both cars, so I drove by myself with LO. He slept pretty much the whole time. When he was awake, I rationed toys. Like I had a pile next to me, and when he would inevitably throw the toy he was playing with, I would hand him another one. I also gave him a snack cup and sippy cup.  And an applesauce pack to suck on during mountain climbs. We only stopped once a day for lunch.  I used my camera to check up on him (reach back, snap a picture, look at the picture.) I wish I were more help, but my child slept the whole time he was in the car.

emmy236

I also vote leaving at bed time. We didn't on our last trip to the beach and R was miserable. We're going to the ILs for the 4th and I got DH to agree to leave at bedtime. It's like 4 1/2-5 hours so hopefully he'll sleep the whole way. Also, use the overnight diapers. R never has leaks except when he's in his car seat for awhile.

flyliceandcoffee

We haven't travelled recently, but we generally do a 12+ hour trip at least a couple times a year and we did so twice last year. We definitely left at night so most of our driving happened during what would be her normal sleep time. Why and who vetoed you? I'd push back if it were me just because while it may suck for the driver, it's best for LO.

We don't usually sit in the backseat with S when we drive and we just did a 2 hour trip where my SIL and her step-daughter were in the back with S. We found that that actually made the trip worse since S thought them being back there meant they should be paying attention to her and she screamed bloody murder to get out of her seat because she wanted to be held/carried. If we just give her some snacks and things to play with, she'll either fall asleep after a while or play with her toys. Every kid is different though so you'd know what's best for your kiddo.

huzzahuzza

The trip there went really well and we found that having dh or I sitting in the back with him was a bad idea but he did great with bro and sil! The way back was a totally different story (which is typical with my LO) and we had to stop three times more often! Oh well. We're home now and we had a great weekend!!!!!!

Angela183

Wow, I can't even imagine doing road trips as long as most of you have done. That's awesome! LO seems to have an hour tolerance for being in the car seat when awake before she completely flips out no matter what we do to entertain.