Road trip with a 1 year old

[monkeybabe]

Tips, tricks, things to bring?

I'm going to visit my family in Northern California tomorrow and the drive is ~8 hours without a baby. Anyone have any tips on how to keep her from being pissed off the entire time? What should I bring to keep her amused? Would a couple new toys be a good idea?

[ruby412]

Drive overnight so she'll sleep the whole way?

[monkeybabe]

Apr 10, 2013 9:59:26 GMT -5 ruby412 said:

Drive overnight so she'll sleep the whole way?

That's what we did when she was 3 months old, but we're leaving as soon as my mom gets off work tomorrow: at noon. 

[Regina Philange]

Sing a long music?

Oh, and pray. LOL I kid I kid.

Good luck!

We have only done overnight.

[mala]

New toys. Frequent stops so she can get out and run around.

[Deleted]

I've done 8 hours twice lately with Ada. I always left right before naptime, she will sleep about 3 hours at the beginning then. Then we stop, let her stretch and crawl and eat.

I pack like 20 small toys (her favorite is an empty water bottle) and rotate through them. We only stop when she needs to stop!

[ruby412]

Apr 10, 2013 10:01:17 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

Apr 10, 2013 9:59:26 GMT -5 ruby412 said:

Drive overnight so she'll sleep the whole way?

That's what we did when she was 3 months old, but we're leaving as soon as my mom gets off work tomorrow: at noon. 

Oh, bummer. Maybe an iPad that someone can hold in front of her playing a TV show?

Good luck!

[Deleted]

I did 4 hours this weekend and that stunk. I suggest having room in the backseat for you to sit in as well. Lots and lots of new things so she doesn't get as bored. Books are always nice. Snacks helped as well. Good luck!

[chasbride07]

We've done pretty long trips with the kids. For the most part frequent stops help - I'm talking every 1 1/2 to 2 hours while they are awake and definitely no stopping unless they are awake and are getting whiny. Snacks and anything that will keep her occupied will when she's awake. We have been lucky and the kids, especially when they were young, would just sleep a lot.

[musiclover]

eeek, good luck MB. The most we have done is like 3 hour trips and they have been ok. I ditto the variety of toys, snacks and car music.

Wishing you luck, my dear.

[mumegs]

What saved me flying with her was the iPad loaded with yo gabba gabba episodes.

[laurack]

Are you opposed to TV/Dvd player etc.? That is the only thing I could think of right now.

I've flown with her twice 6-7 hours each time and it was not bad BUT she was younger then. I think now would be tougher because she doesn't like me just holding her she wiggles to get down and run around.

On the plane I found the most helpful things to be nursing (which won't work for you unless you aren't driving, you could position yourself over her and dangle boobie in her face! I have heard of people doing this.. maybe it was thedahliharpa ) Also food. I gave her food constantly and sometimes it worked. And twice through of a barney episode on the inflight entertainment bought me 30 minutes of peace on the return leg.

On the plane too it is easier because she doesn't have to be in a carseat.

If you time it to nap time you might get a couple to a few hours out of that depending on how she naps/whether the car makes her sleepy.

Good luck!

[monkeybabe]

I have done the boob dangle before. It's quite effective. I'm opposed to screen time before two, but desperate times and all that.

[tzeng]

i just did about 12 hours in the car... i would suggest stopping often to let her crawl and change diapers, lots of snacks, and toys. she really liked playing with a book that made noises and the gps case. other than that, she just talked to herself a lot.

[melis74]

Apr 10, 2013 10:34:41 GMT -5 @chelsmonster said:

We have taken 12 hour road trips with L twice already, and will be doing it again in May. We usually either break it up into two travel days, or go straight through the night. I would definitely bring books, snacks, lots of different toys so she won't get bored...good luck! I think a lot of it obviously depends in how the kid does in the car...Layne used to be horrible, but he's used to it now so we just let him be back there. He likes looking out the window, playing with his toys...does she take a pacifier? That keeps L pretty content on car trips.

Mia always has to have her pacifier at some point when in the car, she gets ragey pissed off and that is the only thing that calms her down. I sooo want to take it from her soon, but I'm scared! haha When are you planning on taking L's away?

[Deleted]

Apr 10, 2013 13:24:46 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

I have done the boob dangle before. It's quite effective. I'm opposed to screen time before two, but desperate times and all that.

If she hasn't seen shows beforehand I'd be surprised if they worked. Ada was sick the other day and I tried to get her to watch like 3 shows and she was not interested at all but she's never really watched anything.

[katfco]

We've taken 12-hour road trips 2-3 times a year since Abby was 1. Have someone sit in the back seat. It's a must. Have lots of toys you can rotate. Make sure they're toys that are really engaging. They don't have to be new neessarily, but they have keep their attention. Snacks.

We sometimes take a tray with us to hold smaller toys. You can just us a baking sheet and it give you a little table on their laps. This way they can play with blocks, cars, etc. Larger magnetic toys can be fun too.

Add about 2 hours onto your expected travel time for longer stops. We usually take a blanket and let the kids play at rest stops for at least 15 minutes. They need that time to stretch.

[shevacc]

Apr 10, 2013 15:18:10 GMT -5 katfco said:

We've taken 12-hour road trips 2-3 times a year since Abby was 1. Have someone sit in the back seat. It's a must. Have lots of toys you can rotate. Make sure they're toys that are really engaging. They don't have to be new neessarily, but they have keep their attention. Snacks.

We sometimes take a tray with us to hold smaller toys. You can just us a baking sheet and it give you a little table on their laps. This way they can play with blocks, cars, etc. Larger magnetic toys can be fun too.

Add about 2 hours onto your expected travel time for longer stops. We usually take a blanket and let the kids play at rest stops for at least 15 minutes. They need that time to stretch.

katfco has great suggestions so all of what she said. We've done a 10 hour drive to southern OR twice with G and brought a bag full of toys she hadn't seen in a few weeks. Her favorites are every day objects (clear plastic cups and empty bottles, measuring cups, the empty applesauce jar, an old remote control etc.). Also, my water bottle, DH's watch, and as a last ditch effort one of our phones. We alternated who sat back there -- the entertainer job was more tiring than the driver job.

We left right before naptime and she took a nice long nap. We then drove until she started to fuss and took a break (ours were closer to 30 minutes for diaper, nurse, and wiggle). Rinse and repeat. We stopped for a sit-down dinner (TGI Fridays, Chilis, Red Robin -- I forget -- some place like that) since it was a nice break for all of us.

ETA - she just started doing "art" in daycare. So maybe you could bring some paper and some of the fat crayons?

[Deleted]

No real advice accept earplugs. Good luck!!