Tips for Road Trip for 10 Days with 15 Mth Old

we took a trip to Orlando, we took a box of flash cards with animals on them, the aquadoodle Thomas drawing set (you can buy from Walmart, stickers and a sticker book, any toys that are new.. we bought a box of plastic toy dinosaurs and this kept him entertained..maybe also a CD with silly songs!!!this kept him entertained, I also do not agree with watching TV and buying a DVD player so good for you!! I met a mom the other week with older kids and she really regretted letting her son watch TV when he was younger!!

This sounds like a trip our family took July of this year. We flew to VA and drove from Va to "Outer Banks" NC (approx 6 hr drive) with a 23 month old. In my case, my son likes to snack, so we brought along lots of various snacks to keep him busy eating. He napped approximately 2hrs(great w/naps). Also, brought along some books, favorite toys and so forth. We did have to make 2 stops because he started getting a bit "ansy." Overall, snacks and a few toys did it for him- I know not all kids are the same...but hope this will help you plan your trip with your 15 month old baby. Good Luck! Enjoy your trip!!

C T,

I know that you may not want to do it now, however breaking down and doing it in the middle of the trip may be a little late. I would do it know and break it out in the middle of the trip if necessary but at least you have it on hand. I have found that Mickey Mouse and Baby Einstein are great. I have 3 boys and have taken lots of trips with them. I like the magnadoodles, or the books that make noise, the best thing is to walk through the toy section and get creative. My suggestion to you is to stop often, every 3-5 hours let your little one out and run, run, run and once back in the car seat you might find that he will sleep quite a bit. Once asleep you will find that you can drive further and longer. This is how I got through a trip from FL to SC when my two youngest boys were 4 and 1 1/2. Plus make sure that you have plenty of snacks and drinks on hand. I hope some if this information helps you.

S.
35 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
13, 6 and 3

Hi CT,

We did this trip with a 9 month old and also with a 22 month old (same baby boy, two different times). We decided to withhold TV watching until after he turned 2 so we didn't use a DVD and purposely bought our van without one!

Some ideas: plan a picnic lunch or snack in FL where it might still be warm...we found the I-95 picnic areas to be very adequate and allow for some running, jumping, etc.

Toys: books of all types, you might even visit the library to get some different ones, most libraries allow check out for 2-3 weeks. A Fisher Price doodle pro (this is what it looks like: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=creativek...) I know that it says for 2+ but my son got his before he was 1 and loves it still! Some Fisher price little people or other smaller toys...Crayola flashcards. I know, sounds like something he is too young for, but they have animal ones and color ones, and it is something to hold and look at...again, my son got at one and we are on our second set of them!

Create a present bag...with small gifts. I often use the free toys from McDonalds, Wendys, Chick fil A and wrap them up. When it is tough to get back into the car or you cross a state line, offer a present as a reward.

Plan to stop every couple of hours and really run, stretch, etc.

Fun food...raisins in yogurt, animal crackers (in your own carry box), cracker packages, actually any of that 100 calorie stuff is good. Not too much sugar, no need to create additional energy.

Play games. Can you find a truck, can you find a van, etc.

We've done the trip a 3rd time last week and have never used TV and tend to enjoy them. Our son does great! We just bought a mini-van for this most recent trip (well, we needed a new car, just ended up that we bought it in time to do the trip last week) and it was easier having the extra room. Oh, one other tip, have someone ride in the backseat with the baby. We've always done that, one adult drives and the other is on baby duty. Makes it much easier when things fall, baby needs something, need to see if a diaper needs changing, etc.

Bring any loveys, blankies, etc. I alwasy pack an extra bag that is just toys so I can easily find it.

Good luck! Really, this can be fun!

CJS

Ok so we did a similar trip from FL to NY and of course back home. My son is not always into the TV watching either and we said the same thing as you if we have to buy one along the way so be it. Our son was not walking yet but now just a quick trip to the mall can feel like a drive to NY on some days…lol!. But I did have a couple of suggestions go to the dollar store, they have little board books, mini maracas or other musical instruments, small hand size balls, even measuring spoons at this age are good for 20 minutes of entertainment. I leave a lot of stuff in their package because once it is open it only may get 1 play out of it, but playing with the packaging is fun now too, then open it on the way home. Oh and before you come home or just along the way you can always stop at another dollar store and restock. We also brought one of my sons gymboree bumpy balls which can be inflated and deflated in less than 10 seconds, you can get them at gymboree play and music awesome for rest stops. Also I got this book from borders it is magnetic and it came with little cars and airplanes that you could move around while reading the story (I can get you the name and author if you like but my son is napping right now). Color wonders are always fun too! Now before we went I did buy a couple of things that still to this day I LOVE (here are the links)

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

I still use this and LOVE this it lets me carry all kinds of snacks for my picky little guy.

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Now the one above is a bit misleading…I don’t know how they got the fast food cup in there as I could not but bottles of water and sippy cups fit perfectly. The two top Velcro pockets were my favorite. But this does hold a lot of stuff.

Hope this helps and have a great and safe trip!!!

You may try starting your driving trip at night during his regular night sleep time. You may get 10-12 hours of driving with no worries:)