Traveling with 18 Month Old

The only time we've taken a roadtrip since our little one arrived he was 6 months and slept. We drove overnight, it was about a 14 hour drive to get there. Hubby and I stayed up the night before, and my mom came and got DS when he woke up for the day. We crashed, and got up and left around 8, when the baby normally goes to bed. Coming home we didn't have the luxury of sleeping all day since we didn't have anyone to watch baby so we just took two days to get back and stopped whenever we needed to. Maybe look for kid friendly attractions on the way and plan frequent stops to let the little one run and get some energy out. Hopefully your 12 year old can provide some entertainment for baby, too! Good luck and safe travels!

I agree with the those that say travel at night. When our boys were young ( WAAAAY before portable DVD players were invented) we made at least 3 trips from WI to KY yearly.....12 hr drive. We'd start at around 7 pm and would arrive early morning in time for breakfast. They'd sleep most of the trip. Later when they were old enough to drive, we'd let them take turns sharing the chore and we'd sit back and relax. Now that they are married, and have children of their own they are doing the same thing we did. Good luck~!!!

When my twins were 17 months we made a 15 hour trip, and they did much better than I expected. They slept a lot, and we would stop to eat at places where they could get out and run. We left early in the morning, too, so several hours would be when they would normally be sleeping. Good luck!

if you don't travel at night, expect to make A LOT of stops to get the wiggles out!

Personally, I'd try to drive overnight since it is that far. Even if you left at bedtime that'd be a doable. I'll soon be driving 4 hours from Brainerd to Eau Claire with my 12 month old. I plan on getting going relatively soon after he wakes up. Kids are more likely to return to a deep REM sleep in the mornings, so I'll do our normal thing but then probably get him outside to burn energy. Mentally I prepare for a 4 hour trip to last me 6, just in case (I'm kind of a time nut). Since we're leaving dad behind this time, I'll fill the front seat with individual toys I can pass back to him. New toys don't seem to make much of a difference for our guy, especially if he just wants to be out of his carseat. I think it's better to plan on scheduled stops rather than waiting until the kid is freaking out. They're not going to want to get back in. I already plan to stop in Anoka, Hudson and Menomonie. Oh, and bring healthy snacks that keep theirs and your blood sugar up! Good luck and safe travels fellow Minnesotan!