[KR258]

We're driving to see my in laws and will be staying with them for a week and driving home. We plan on taking a cooler in the car to hold sandwiches, milk, and other drinks...and of course clothes and diapers and wipes....but I want opinions about what is important to make this trip as happy and fun (& peaceful & not scary) for our daughter as possible. So if you've attempted such a thing with one her age please give any useful advice you can! Thanks!

[LeanyBean]

How long is the trip? When we go on a road trip it's 1100 miles one way and we go non-stop. DH and I switch off every few hours. With meal stops and potty breaks we are in the vehicle for around 20-24 hours straight depending on weather and traffic.
Some child (and car) friendly snacks are always good. Individual servings of things like chips or crackers or fruit snacks or even chopped or sliced fresh fruit.
Pull off to a rest area to eat a meal of sandwiches or whatever you carry in the cooler. This will allow you all to rest, relax and rejuvenate.
Lots of water. Buy bottled water and freeze about half of them for the cooler; refridgerate the other half. Then you won't need ice to keep your cold goodies cold. Plus you won't dehydrate yourself soaking so much soda.
Make sure everything packed in the cooler is in a water and air tight container, even if it is a ziploc bag. If you are taking toiletries with you this works well with the liquids also. Just throw your shampoo bottles in a big ziploc bag to prevent leaking onto your other items.
Mix your own CDs (or tapes, depending on what the vehicle has). Making one for the kid(s) will make them feel involved in the road trip process.
If you have a built in DVD player or a portable on, most definitely bring it along with the kid(s) fave movies. It will make the ride feel a lot smoother.
Always allow more than plenty of time to prepare and to get to your destination.
Most of all, enjoy the journey.

[KR258]

our destination is 17 hours away and we've never done this sort of long trip as a family before...so it should be interesting. I like the idea of using frozen water bottles to keep things cool! I'm thinking about bringing toliet paper also actually lol because I remember being a kid and going on trips and sometimes the bathrooms didn't have any!!! So gross!!!! We don't have a DVD player but I was thinking about maybe leaving at her bedtime and hoping she'll sleep for some of the trip and hope to get as much of it as possible out of the way at night because there should be less traffic that way...what do you think of driving at night?

[wanna be a young mother]

Ohhh this is a great question! I was going to ask the same thing! We are going to Texas (live in Chicago)in July. It's about a 15-18hr trip and I have no idea how to keep Nevy busy! So yes anyone with tips please post !

[LeanyBean]

We normally leave as soon as possible after dawn and just keep trucking on. Being well rested before leaving is a good thing. Less time spent driving while you are tired from the day with Katelyn that way. Driving on the overnight is usually a bit easier but you'll see very few cars and a lot more tractor trailers. I usually drive the midnight to 4 shift.
Our usual trip is from North Central Iowa to Central Pennsylvania and back. A quick trip is 15-16 hours of drive time bringing to 18 hours en route. Most of the time we end up right about 18 hours drive time.
This year we have 4 kids and a dog on our trip. First trip for the dog and the baby will still be breastfed so I'll probably be a lot more tired at the end which is o.k. because we'll be either at my parents or at my FIL's.

[LeanyBean]

We don't have a DVD player either. Our boys are really good on long trips. They don't get restless often and at least once during the trip we swap car seats around so they get a different perspective.

[KR258]

That's a good idea! I'm sure that as simple as that is she'd be just thrilled to be on the side she's never on!

[LovingJesusinAZ]

Our son (19 months) isn't very good on road trips so we travel at night as often as possible. DH's parents live about 3 hours away and mine are 1.5hrs so it's not a huge deal to us, but I'm a huge believer in travelling during nap/bedtime.

When DS was 10 weeks old we went on a big road trip through CA to introduce him to friends and family. The longest day of driving was 9 hours. Fortunately, since he was sooooo little, he slept most of the time. I know he wouldn't do nearly as well these days!

Tomorrow DS and I are going to a quick overnight trip to see my mom since two of my aunts, two of my cousins, and my grandma are visiting. My sister and nephew are also up there. Unfortunately we can't stay long because DS has swim lessons Wednesday and we still have to pay, even if he's not there!

[purelegance]

i was thinking she might sleep most the time. my sister lives in boston [area], whenever somebody goes up there (or she comes down here) it's normally a night drive. it's only 7 hours (only! haha) so they'll leave around 1am. that way, they hit very little traffic. i think it's a 10 hour drive if it was during the day (not really sure).

[ASheppa0821]

Well, from my experience, pack a laptop, or a portable DVD player with some DVDs. Also, some fun music, books, and snacks. Usually, the key for us has been taking breaks. As long as Emma can get out and stretch her legs every 2-3 hours, she's good to go, even if it's only for 5 minutes. Keep her tummy statisfied, her legs stretched, and fun toys, and you should be good to go! Also, make sure you pack medicine where it's easy to grab... If you end up with a teething child, or something where you need meds, you don't want to be digging in luggage to find it. I have found that things like that happen on long trips...the timing just always works out that way... Go figure!