Weekend Getaway with Baby

- Lake/beach vacations are always fun with toddlers! The whole experience of sand, water and near-nakedness is so much fun for them!
- Consider how far you really can travel w/o draining everyone before you get there. At that age, 3 hours was our max!
- Look at a map and see where you can go within that time frame and start looking online.
- You want to find hotels that have indoor and outdoor pools so that your little one can play without being in direct heat; also call ahead about a crib (less to pack for you) and ask if they have a baby-proofing kit.
- Consider an all-inclusive resort style vacation that offers kid-friendly activities as well as good dining for mom and dad. Many also have on-site childcare if you want to have lunch or dinner on your own.

We did a weekend away with our 14 month old last summer and based on our experience I have a few things to keep in mind.
1-We got a suite that had a kitchen because breakfast didn't start until an hour after my son woke up and we like to cook. We did some meals out too, but eating out with my son is not relaxing. It was also nice to put him to bed and be able to hang out in our room for a few hours in the evening. We also chose a hotel with a washer and dryer, which I used once in the week that we were gone, but that might not be necessary for a weekend.
2-I definitely second the hotel with a pool idea, we spent a lot of time there.
3-Do your best to keep to his schedule, a baby without a nap makes a cranky family.
4-Pack lots of snacks when you go on outings (another great reason to have a room with a kitchen, because we had a full refrigerator to store lots of fruit, cheese, crackers, milk, etc). Sometimes things took us longer than we anticipated, but as long as he wasn't hungry we were good.
5-Outdoor activities worked very well for us. We also visited a children's museum, but in general my son just loved running around a lot. We did some easy hikes with a carrier, so that he could walk when he wanted or rest when he didn't.
6-I read an article before we went about adjusting expectations and it was so true. Keep in mind that you will not be able to sit on the beach and relax like you used to (at least we couldn't with our son). A relaxing family vacation is something that is fun for all of you, but we did not necessarily come home well-rested. It was a great time to reconnect with each other and remember why we are such a great family without all of the distractions of daily life.

I agree with Krista! Go someplace with water, either a beach or a water park or something like that. At the very least make sure you stay in a hotel with a pool. If you look you can find some hotels have water parks inside them. Also anything with things to climb, crawl through, slide down, etc. would be a big hit I'm sure! Perhaps look into places that have a good children's museum, they are usually geared to kids that age. Zoos are also good b/c he can run, walk and be pushed in the stroller plus I'm sure he'd love to see the animals.

The places that come to mind that seem somewhat close to you are Omaha and Kansas City...although I'm a little biased towards KC cuz that's where we live! I agree though that here we are 6 hours away from you and that is probably too far for just a weekend getaway, but I'm not sure how far Omaha is from you??

As far as booking a room, consider getting a suite, but if it's just a weekend I'm sure you could get by with just one big room! ;) We like the suites just b/c we can put the kids to bed and then still have the TV on and talk and read and whatever. We don't generally want to go to bed at 8 o'clock when we're on vacation! :) Also make sure the hotel has a dining area that is open for at least 2 meals b/c it's so much easier to go there and eat when you're on a schedule. If they have free breakfast that is of course much better too and there are usually tons of baby friendly eats like waffles, cereal and yogurt. Plus, you can take stuff up to the room with you for snacks.

Ask the hotel their policy on you bringing in a pack-and-play or something similar for him to sleep in, or if they have cribs available to rent (and how much). Also ask about childproofing the room (hotel rooms are NOT especially safe for a mobile little one, you may need to plan on bringing outlet covers, etc).
Make sure that you don't overschedule your day. He's going to be happier if naps and meals still occur at about the same time as usual. And too much stimulation from too many new things to see/do can also make it hard for him to settle down. But in the end, being with you is the most important thing of it all :)