Driving with a 12 month old?

[Dallas_Lady]

We are considering driving from Dallas to Atlanta (to visit my family) and then from Atlanta to WDW. Our daughter will be turning a year old during this trip. Is this a crazy idea? Have you ever driven this far with a child of this age?

 

[wdw71]

We drove from KY to MB with a 14 month old and my best advice is a portable DVD or in car entertainment system. We stopped often to let her run around a bit but in the car the DVD kept her occupied the entire 12 hour trip. It was a great.

 

[trulygoofy]

We have taken many 16 hour drives with our kids at that age. Actually it isn't bad because they sleep a lot, don't ask "are we there yet" or ask to make a rest stop every few miles. I did put a water proof lap pad in the car seat in case of leaks. I always cut holes in it to put the car seat straps through.

 

[bluejaygirl]

Just remember to stop often.. kids in carseats really cant shift their weight around.. imagine being strapped in that snugly and not being able to change position.

My DD was miserable on long rides at that age. But she isnt an 'easygoing' kiddo to begin with. We only did it a couple times..we aslo tried leaving at 3 AM knowing she would sleep a bit more.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I am really going back and forth about this. DH really wants to drive so we can combine a family visit with our Disney trip. But I am so unsure about driving with the baby. We used to take road trips all the time and really enjoy them, but DD may not be ready.

 

[kerrynic78]

You are all very brave people!!

We have a 7 month old and a drive to the corner can be a challenge! I am hoping that by 12 months we could consider this but right now it is out of the question!

 

[adoptionmomma4]

We have driven to many places with DD. We drove to WDW from Ohio when she was 7 months old. She was pretty good on the trip. We did have the DVD player which gave her something to look at. We took 2 days to make the drive and stopped a lot. She was never in her seat more than 2 hours at a time, even if we just stopped to walk for a few minutes. We are going again this September and she will be 2 years and 7 months. I think she will have a much harder time this trip, but we will be doing the same thing taking it slow with frequent stops. It does drag out the drive, but makes it much easier on the little one HTH

 

[SaraMc]

We just got back from Driving from Ontario to Manitioba through the states with DS ( 11 months) its a 20 hour drive. We stopped every 2-3 hours and took him out of his seat, let him crawl around and change him ect. He doesnt watch tv so we didnt do the DVD player, however next time when he's older that might be good for him and the passenger.. Rural North Dakota can get a tad bit boring.

What I did was I took away his favourite toys about 2 weeks before we left and packed them to come with us. As we drove along we pulled out his old favourites and it was like he had brand new toys, he was so happy to see his old fav's. I also had lots of snacks ready for him ( cherrio's ect) and I had 2 sippy cups of water always on the go, because well, he would drop one and no one could reach it ect.

We have a sedan so we put him in the middle seat in the back so it was easier for him to see us then the back of a chair ( he's forward facing now) which was good. He did sleep a lot but really was good, we kept him on his schedule of meals and he kept his regular naps up. But we also stopped at a hotel on our way too. Once we got into the room, I let him go nuts, he crawled everywhere and was SO happy not to be in the car seat. We also made sure that he had a bath at night too, just to get the last bit of energy out.

The one thing that annoyed DH and I was we would sometimes stop at resturants ( arby's and Wendy's ) to eat and change him and us too. They didnt have change stations! So annoying..

 

[disbugsmomma]

We drove from Michigan to WDW when dd was 11 months old. We had a portable dvd player and I also sat in the back with her. That way I was able to give her bottles and toys while we were on the road. We stopped whenever we were hungry or had to use the bathroom and got her out then. I would not recommend stopping every 2 hours unless you need to. The less you have to get dc out of their seat the better, because at that age they usually do not want to get back in the seat, especially if they have already been in it for 9 or 10 hours. HTH

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I never thought of using a portable DVD player with a child so young. She doesn't really watch TV at home, but I suppose it's worth a shot. if nothing else it will give her something to look at. My laptop plays DVDs, and I was planning to bring it anyway.

 

[pigletof4]

We just drove from NW PA to WDW in late Feb. With three kids one being a 7months. We left late in the afternoon and drove straight through, but stopped every couple of hours to change and feed her. We are thinking of doing this again the 1st week in March, but we are thinking of driving half and stopping for the night. We will see how that goes.

 

[jcc0621]

We drove DS for his first trip to WDW when he was 11 months old. We left at night (bedtime). We put him in his pj's and he slept most of the way there. We stopped in SC at a reast stop and gave him a little bit of food and a bottle and let him play in his bouncy seat for a little while. We got back on the car, he fell back to sleep and slept until it was time for breakfast (In Georgia somewhere) It wasn't bad at all

 

[trulygoofy]

That way I was able to give her bottles and toys while we were on the road. We stopped whenever we were hungry or had to use the bathroom and got her out then. I would not recommend stopping every 2 hours unless you need to. The less you have to get dc out of their seat the better, because at that age they usually do not want to get back in the seat, especially if they have already been in it for 9 or 10 hours. HTH

I agree. We stop only when we need to and it has always worked for all of our kids. We have also drove through the night and the kids will sleep most of the way. DH prefers this, but I just can't stay awake to help him drive. I prefer to drive during the day.

It really is not bad driving that far with a 1 YO. Driving with a 2 YO is much harder IMHO!

 

[hcmommy]

Dallas-Hey it's me, ! Good to see you here!

 

[aestapa]

We used the Baby Einstein series with our kids. (our oldest has a language delay, and these helped his vocabulary amazingly!!)

But, for the consideration of your trip, we have made the trip from Atlanta to Dis with an infant and will be taking a 3 1/2 year old and a 16 mo old in September. We plan in a couple of extra hours for stops to stretch and enjoy. The DVDs are great. Just wait to start them.

Also, we leave ATL at about 4:30 AM. We hit Valdosta by mid morning, and you feel like you are already there. The kids sleep in the dark, so that takes care of half your trip.

Best of luck!

 

[mericletwins]

I never thought of using a portable DVD player with a child so young. She doesn't really watch TV at home, but I suppose it's worth a shot. if nothing else it will give her something to look at. My laptop plays DVDs, and I was planning to bring it anyway.

Maybe try the Baby Einstein videos. Although I don't understand why, babies eem to be fascinated with them. My kids at that age loved the Barney videos that were the concerts. All singing and dancing kept them riveted, but they wouldn't watch the ones that were the shows with all the talking and what not.

 

[MissouriPrincess]

Just wanted to say Cracker Barrels have nice changing areas (usually) and you don't have to eat there since the restrooms are located in the "general store" area.

 

[AmyBWV99]

We've driven our DS 2 years twice once at 11 months & again at 20 months and it was infinatly less stressful than flying. He's a good flier it's the security, ruined strollers, etc that makes me run for the Xanax. Our drive is appox 19 hours we break into 1 long day and 1-4 hour day. My DH andi know all the Baby Eienstiens by heart now, he's now moved on to Higglytown Heros so our drive in October will be littered with those I'm sure. He doesn't watch them non-stop but worked as an awesome diversion when he got antsy. We'd make 2 45 minute stops the long day for meals and burning off energy. They make really neat travel trays for carseats so they can play and have snacks we got ours at One Step Ahead.com

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Edited

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We drove DS for his first trip to WDW when he was 11 months old. We left at night (bedtime). We put him in his pj's and he slept most of the way there. We stopped in SC at a reast stop and gave him a little bit of food and a bottle and let him play in his bouncy seat for a little while. We got back on the car, he fell back to sleep and slept until it was time for breakfast (In Georgia somewhere) It wasn't bad at all

I am debating doing this as well, but I am wondering how tough this will be one DH and I, who will be driving. When will we sleep?