am I crazy? (driving 12 hours with an almost 1 year old)

[laurajetter]

As a last minute decision, DH and I decided to go on vacation in August with my parents to Nova Scotia, Peggy's Cove, Bay of Fundy, and something called the Buskers Festival. All the plans have already been made and then they mentioned they had an extra bedroom in the huge beach house they are renting and asked if we wanted to go. Heck yeah!

The thing I am worried about is how hard will it be to travel with a baby for hours on end? Jacob will be a couple weeks shy of his first birthday during the trip. The drive up on the first day with no stops would be about 10 hours. We figure with bathroom breaks and food stops it will be closer to 12 hours total. The next day we are taking a 5 hour Cat Ferry to get to Nova Scotia followed by 4 more hours of driving. At least on the ferry we can stretch our legs and move around, so I guess the first day of traveling will be the worst.

I know it's not going to be a piece of cake, but how doable is it? Any words of advice? Am I totally nuts?

Laura

 

[diznygirl]

We have driven 6 hours - broken up into 3 hour spurts - with young children. It's doable. We would leave early in the morn and DS got his morning nap in the car, and then was entertained for an hour until lunch. Then we would walk around and stretch our legs and let him play before starting the next leg. He would then take his afternoon nap and wake up just before we were arriving.

It's actually a little harder now that he is older and doesn't sleep as much!

Good luck!

 

[dizagain]

Well...we did it all the time! Family for us were always at least 9 hours away if not more. It's not fun...I'd plan on sitting with him in the back sometimes for entertainment. It was hard when the girls would cry and cry which did happen sometimes, but we just kept going as long as we could. Hopefully he'll sleep alot for you! Good luck - I wouldn't pass up the trip either!

 

[skuttle]

We drove to WDW in December with our 2 1/2 year old son. It's 10 hours driving time for us and we took around 11-12 hours. The night before, we let DS stay up as late as he wanted. Then we woke up at 4am and were on the road for 4:30am. He slept off and on the entire trip there. Not once did we have to pull out his DVD player. We stopped once at the Florida welcome center and once for lunch where everyone got out of the car.

On the way home, we had to do a little more entertaining since DS wasn't as sleepy, but he still did great! The DVD player was great on the way home!

 

[Beth76]

Honestly? It will be very difficult, most likely. We just drove 11 hours (including stops) to TX and my younger son was 16 months. He's not able to be entertained by movies or books. And even though he's not really a screamer, it was pretty unpleasant. We had to do a lot of "tuning out" and just ignore his whines. And my parents were with us, so my mom was sitting him the whole time. I can't even give you any ideas of things to keep him occupied, because nothing really did. Fortunately, he is a thumb sucker so that kept him quiet some of the time. But, mostly he was just not happy. I think once the kids hit an age where they can watch movies, it's a lot easier. My 4-1/2 year old had no problems.

Good luck with your decision. It sounds like it could be a great trip if only getting there was easier.

 

[golfgal]

It really depends on the child. Our kids were car sleepers so we would get a lot of nap time out of them in the car. When they were little we usually left very early in the morning. Dh is a very early riser so we would leave at 4 am or so. The kids and I would sleep for about the first 3-4 hours of the trip. We would stop for breakfast and continue on the way until lunch. After lunch the kids would take a 3 hour nap (in the car, never at home) so we didn't have to do too much entertaining.

I would suggest a lap desk for his car seat (like a breakfast in bed type tray). A pen and a pad of paper will entertain a lot of little kids for a long time. Books that have those buttons to push worked great for our kids too. Magna Doodles are good as well. A DVD player might be a good idea and lots of Disney movies.

Look on the McDonalds website and they have a listing of where all the playlands are in North America. Plan your stops by that so he can get out an play for a while. We also try to find some really small towns along the way because we can usually find a park or someplace with minimal extra driving.

 

[aprilgail2]

It certainly is doable..I am single so long car trips are usually just me and my daughter...at 2 we drove 24 hours to Florida together...we also drove 10 hours to Canada when she was 3....

 

[Disney1fan2002]

We drove to VA (13 hours) when my dd was 11 months old. She did fine! My kids are great travellers. (knock on wood)

You won't know until you do it. Good luck, and enjoy the trip!

 

[pixiemomma]

Yes, it is doable. We have done it many times. (At least 4 while I was still nursing.) Your guy will probably sleep for a good bit of the trip.

 

[MamaLema]

We drove to WDW (24 hours) with kids: 12 months, 5, and 7.

It's do-able as I'm still alive to tell the tale

Things that entertained DS were stickers - he would peel them and stick them on my face, toddler music, small magnetic board with cheap magnets, finger puppets

 

[bananiem]

It's very do-able. I agree that it depends somewhat on the temperament of the child, but there are lots of things you can do to keep them entertained. Our oldest would sleep a lot in the car, so then when we got to our destination we'd be tired, but she'd be ready to go! That was the worst part.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No you are not crazy (did lots of trips with kids). In fact now that I look back...I did more when they were young. Now I have a high schooler, you can't just pick up and go. It stinks.

I am jealous!!! Nova Scotia is where I want to go!!! Go to their site and get them to mail the vacation guide thing. It is HUGE and cool!!!

 

[bananiem]

Actually, my theory is that since the kids did do so many long trips when they were younger, it's not a big deal. They're used to it and take it in stride. It's like they learned early that getting buckled in meant a long ride, and then they were pleasantly surprised when they discovered we were only going to the grocery store! They're 11 1/2 and 10 (in 4 days!) and when we go on trips they pack their own "entertainment bags" and away we go!

 

[va32h]

Almost-1 is a hard age, because your child will have enough mobility to know that he is stuck in a car seat, but is not old enough to be entertained for long by movies or any of the traditional car activities.

My advice would be to arrange the long drive so that it occurred mostly at night (have the driver take a loooong nap that afternoon), when your son would be asleep anyway.

Other than that, it depends on your child. My oldest daughter enjoyed having frequent breaks where she could run and stretch her legs. With my son, it was such an ordeal getting him back in the carseat after a break, we only stopped if we had to.

My kids also did better (when they were that age) if I did not sit next to them. I think they couldn't understand why on earth I was just sitting there, watching them be miserable and not picking them up already!

 

[TEENEE]

When we travel we try to drive at night. My dh and I take turns driving in two hour shifts. Driving all night is not for everyone.

When my kids were small we would pack a lunch. After sitting in the car for hours the kids need time to run. We would stop at at rest stop, have a picnic lunch and let the kids run around for awhile. Then they were ready to get back in their car and go again. That was so much easier then trying to get them to sit still in a restaurant for meals.

Pay attention to the toys that your son will play with for long periods of time and pack those. Maybe even have a couple new toys to surprise him with.

Have a great trip.

 

[laurajetter]

No you are not crazy (did lots of trips with kids). In fact now that I look back...I did more when they were young. Now I have a high schooler, you can't just pick up and go. It stinks.

I am jealous!!! Nova Scotia is where I want to go!!! Go to their site and get them to mail the vacation guide thing. It is HUGE and cool!!!

Thanks for the Nova Scotia tip!!

 

[aprilgail2]

I also found the portable vcr/dvd player to be great for my 2 year old....it wouldn't be great for a 1 year old but for an older kid its great...though I have to tell you she watched this one veggie tale video over and over and over the whole trip..after 24 hours I was hearing veggie tales in my sleep!

 

[laurajetter]

Thank you all for your input and suggestions... I am feeling more confident that we can do this!

Some of the tips are great but due to the fact that we are sort of tagging along on my parents' trip (they also are bringing my 17yo sister, her boyfriend, and a couple my parents are friends with) and plans have already been set before they even invited us, we can't really make modifications such as traveling at night or having picnic lunches (they love going to restaurants). However, those are awesome tips, and I will definitely remember them for future trips that DH and I are in charge of planning! I appreciate everyone taking to time to share their advice.

Thanks everyone, and if anyone else still has additional suggestions for easing the travel with a young one, feel free to add them!

 

[Longsx3]

As a last minute decision, DH and I decided to go on vacation in August with my parents to Nova Scotia, Peggy's Cove, Bay of Fundy, and something called the Buskers Festival. All the plans have already been made and then they mentioned they had an extra bedroom in the huge beach house they are renting and asked if we wanted to go. Heck yeah!

The thing I am worried about is how hard will it be to travel with a baby for hours on end? Jacob will be a couple weeks shy of his first birthday during the trip. The drive up on the first day with no stops would be about 10 hours. We figure with bathroom breaks and food stops it will be closer to 12 hours total. The next day we are taking a 5 hour Cat Ferry to get to Nova Scotia followed by 4 more hours of driving. At least on the ferry we can stretch our legs and move around, so I guess the first day of traveling will be the worst.

I know it's not going to be a piece of cake, but how doable is it? Any words of advice? Am I totally nuts?

Laura

I think it will be do able...at least it was for DD at that age. We took her on several long car trips and never had any problems. We always had plenty to keep her entertained...music, books & toys but not a DVD player. By 4 she could do 6 hours w/o a potty break.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

It is possible to do it. We drove to WDW from MA with three kids, ages 3, 2 and 1. We had a DVD in the car, however we hardle used it. The first morning, we left early around 8, the kids ate donuts in the car. My sister and I planned that every hour we would have the kids open a grab bag with something inexpensive from the dollar store. Nothing extravegant, just somehting that would hold their attention. We checked with AAA and found where all the rest stops were and found out where all the Mc Donald's were with a play area. We stopped every 3 hours for the bathroom and stopped at a playland for an hour or so to stretch our legs and let the kids play for a bit. We had kids CD's and sang songs. They fell asleep around 9 at night and woke at about 6 in the AM. We made up alot of time at night because we didn't have to make bathroom stops. We arrived at WDW by 8AM. We only played 1 movie and that was when they woke up in the AM. We have drived to WDW for 3 years in a row and it really isn't a problem. Get your baby used to longer drives if you can.