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Eco-Friendly Family
Travelling advice, please =]
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Re: Travelling advice, please =]
I've never done a car trip that long, but my 3-hour car trip tip is to do as much of it as you can at LO's sleep times (either nap or bedtime). That works a little better for a 3-hour trip, but maybe it's helpful for you too!
We just did a hotel overnight with DS (he's 20 months) and have done hotels periodically. My top two tips are bring some of those cheapy outlet covers to plug exposed outlets (they're not fantastic, but they are better than open outlets) and bring a night light. One thing DH and I do is bring a little book light so we can read after DS goes to sleep. We also brought our laptop and got a headphone splitter (you can get them at radio shack or similar stores, probably places like best buy too) so we could watch a movie together quietly after DS went to sleep. Otherwise, the hotel stays have really been pretty easy for us.
Good luck!
We have done many of these and some of them were more like 16+ hours. Does you LO still sleep in a pack n play or crib?
I will start with the car ride. Bring lots of snacks and a bag full of toys and books. It is best if there are a few new toys in there that your LO hasn't seen before or at least some of their toys they haven't played with much in the last little while. Children's CDs for in the car.
I think one of the best things to keep in mind is to stop often but most important to keep in mind is that your stops now will be longer. Park far away from whatever building you want to go to and let you LO walk. Take a ball or a little push toy. DD has a stroller that folds up and when we stop at rest stops we will let her push it around. The last trip we took was in the spring and I have pic of DD in the puddles with her boots on.
As for the hotel if you have room to take your own pack n play do so or call and make sure they use pack n play. As some places don't have great cribs or they are a lot smaller than a pack n play they would be ok for a baby that cannot stand but wouldn't be safe for a LO who is walking. If you can stay at one with a pool it may help get her sleepy and easier to go to sleep. Take your LOs blankets and anything they really like to sleep with.
When we put DD to bed or down for a nap in a hotel we have to hide in or near the bathroom depending on the layout. So you will sometimes rent a red box DVd and watch it on our laptop after she is asleep. A lot of times she would just end up napping in the car or stroller if we were out doing something. If she was really tired and having a hard time going down for her nap I would try a walk in the stroller and if she fell asleep I could just push it right into the room.
DD is no longer in a crib so we take our own children's air mattress with us and she sleep pretty well in it. However when we are away she tends to wake up a little earlier and sometimes more often but overall she does well.
Good Luck