Long Distance Drives 14 1/2 months

My husband will be graduating from AIT (Army Training) in February (the LO's will be 14.5 months old) so we'll be driving to that which is an almost 7 hour drive. We'll be there for 2 days then drive back. THEN a few days-week later we'll be moving to El Paso which is a 20 hour drive from here! CRAZY! We'll be stopping at my sister's which is essentially half-way for 2 days. SO LOTS of driving. My kids are not happy car kids. They cry a lot in the car. They will sleep but they're not the kids that instantly fall asleep in the car. I'm pretty much dreading all this driving. For the big move to TX we'll be driving at night so they will hopefully sleep during that time but the graduation drive will be during the day. Any advice for keeping them entertained and happy during these drives? Any good car toys? I'm looking for any and all suggestions and advice!!! LOL I'm seriously not looking forward to this with them but really excited for both of these trips otherwise.

 

1. give yourself lots of extra time for stops to stretch little legs, change diapers, eat, etc
2. have a box of toys that you can rotate around as they get bored with each toy
3. when we do road trips, one of us sits in the back with the kids - it seems to help

i always panic a little before a road trip & then it never ends up being half as bad as i was expecting. i hope that you find that as well! GL!

 

I agree with Rachel, plus I found letting the kids have books to look at was helpful. Some people ever suggest a portable DVD player to keep them entertained in the car...I have not tried that yet but it might be worth looking into. Good luck with your trip and your move!

 

We just got a new van with a DVD player so I'm excited about that. Now I just need to find some DVD's that will work for them. Any ideas on that one? LOL On the drive to graduation I have to actually drive there. DH can drive back so I can sit back with them then. On the move to TX I'll probably sit in the back and give my oldest son the front seat. Any good toy ideas for the car?

 

YAY! Sounds like you have so many amazing things going on Lisa! I"m thrilled for you! Remember, this is just a short time. It won't take long to get everything back to normal!
One of my boys LOVES tv...and baby einstien is the way to go! If your interested, I'm happy to let you borrow a few! Just send me a PM!

I'm so glad you'll be reunited with your hubby! WHat a busy time for you!!

 

Will you have anyone driving with you to the graduation that can sit in the back and help with the LO's? I would suggest some new toys - or take some of the stuff they have now and hide it until the trip it will be "new" to them again in 2 months. Also lots of snacks. If you can plan the drive at a nap time to help with some of it, but mine arent that great in the car either and didnt sleep for very long but they may sleep off and on. For the DVD's maybe pick up some stuff at a consignment store that way you wont spend a ton of $ on stuff you arent sure they will like.

 

I also agree with a portable DVD player. Baby Einstein was a hit at that age and even Sesame Street/Elmo, which is their favorite now. I don't think we could live without our DVD player now for long rides. Hopefully, you can time it around naps and they'll sleep. Lots of snacks too.

 

We did a two-day drive when our kiddos were almost 13 months old. Because we have captain's chairs as our second row in our van, we don't have the option of someone sitting in that row with the kiddos. The front row passenger would hand back toys from a large sack as needed...and I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with "new toys!!" Mine like the toy cell phones, anything that is hand-held that talks/sings when you push buttons, etc. Board books were good, too. And when things got REALLY bad (when they would start chucking a toy right after it was handed to them), I would start singing...lots of funny songs. This helped keep me sane, too!

I also pack lots of snacks...different types of crackers, dried fruit, fruit cups, applesauce cups, etc. I am also a little over-the-top (according to DH) and bring a cooler with a gallon of milk, cooked/cubed veggies, homemade mac-n-cheese, PB&Js, PB&banana sandwich, yogurts, string cheese, etc. It makes it easier on me knowing that I have everything I need to feed them while on the road...

Here is the link to the toythat was a big hit on the road at that age...not sure why, but they both played with this one for a long time!

One more thing, be prepared for the trip to take a lot longer than you would think...GL!

 

Some GREAT ideas already! We take a lot of road trips (never for that long though, 4-hours max) and the dvd player in our car is a godsend! Mine love Elmo dvds--a current fave is "Elmo Loves You"...I'll also buy the $5 dvds from Target-recently got Milo & Otis and they enjoy it too! New toys are great and fun, interesting snacks! Good luck!

 

We just finished two 6 hour road trips. I agree with all of the other suggestions. Bring lots of little toys and books. We had almost all new toys from Christmas. They actually got bored of all of them eventually. Board books are great. We didn't have a dvd player, so we bought our laptop on a whim. Thank goodness. It saved us at the end of the drive. The last hour and a half was watching videos. Ours love the Yo Gabba Gabba show (they liked it before we took the trip).
I went to babies r us and found some good travel food. They have squeezable applesauce with different fruit included (trader joe's has this, too). I also picked up some little packs of milk that don't need refrigeration. It came in handy when we ran out of fresh milk and didn't want to stop again. They also have yogurt that doesn't require refrigeration. It was worth spending a bit extra (we don't normally buy food at BRU).
Ours don't sleep that great in the car. The most they sleep is an hour or so (during the day). We stopped for lunch and made a few stops so they could run around. GL!

 

[quote name='Shelly's twins' date='30 December 2009 - 04:19 PM' timestamp='1262207996' post='1540647']
Will you have anyone driving with you to the graduation that can sit in the back and help with the LO's? I would suggest some new toys - or take some of the stuff they have now and hide it until the trip it will be "new" to them again in 2 months. Also lots of snacks. If you can plan the drive at a nap time to help with some of it, but mine arent that great in the car either and didnt sleep for very long but they may sleep off and on. For the DVD's maybe pick up some stuff at a consignment store that way you wont spend a ton of $ on stuff you arent sure they will like.
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My oldest son (who is 18) will be in the car with me and he is a BIG help so I am glad about that. I will probably have him sit in back for most of the drive to help out. We're planning on leaving when they normally go down for their morning nap for graduation. On the way back it will be afternoon nap. Well that is if they're still on the same schedule they are now. LOL I guess I'll start searching for some cheap DVD's and stuff.

 

Thanks for all of the great ideas!! I'll start my hunt for DVD's and try to pick out some toys they should like in the car and put them away to make them "new". I'll have to look into the BRU food. I'm trying Peanut Butter out on them tomorrow I think so I'm crossing my fingers they like that! PB&J sandwiches are an easy travel food!!

 

a great dvd is wheels on the bus, found on amazon.com my two LOVE this one~!
also elmo, blue's clues......dora...
get tons of snacks
and magnadoodles....they like those too