[TXTennis]

DD has been home for almost 1.5 yrs and we are taking our first vacation. We are staying at a hotel and it'll be the first time since being home DD is not sleeping in her crib. I'm a little stressed over it - so any hints you have with driving 5 hours with at 2 yr old I'd be happy to hear.

Thanks

[alreadylove2005]

We've taken Maya on a few driving vacations and stayed in hotels and our RV. Music helps tremendously in the car - for long and short trips. We play Laurie Burkner's "Watcha Gonna Do About That" CD. My cousin gave it to us because it's music that won't make adults crazy. We have some others with kids music that Maya can sing along with.

We also take her blankets and use regular crib sheets in the pack n play. All her "friends" from the crib come too - she has about ten stuffed animals that sleep with her.

We've found pretty much that as long as we're there, she doesn't worry about not being home. And we try not to worry about what we accomplish, or if we're on time, or how much we see, but just enjoy the "journey" not just the destination.

[jules17]

We travel every month or every other month with our children. They are now 19 months old and 24 months old.

Hmmm...let me see...tips.

1. The Boy Scout creed is your friend - Be Prepared. Have all of your supplies at the ready - snacks, new toys, wipes, etc. (I know that is so obvious!) Pack a bag for her so you can get to her things easily.

2. Get to your destination and have PLENTY of time for her to get used to the "new space" before you try to put her down. If we get to our destination and run off for dinner, etc. and then try to come back and "have bedtime," our boys aren't having it.

3. Keep her routine as similar as possible. Bring the same shampoo, read the same books, etc. The less change, the better (for us, anyway).

4. Don't sweat it if she wants no part of the new crib. We go with the flow and if that means them sleeping with us, fine.

5. Try to eat as nutritionally as possible (constipation can be an issue.)

6. Talk about the upcoming trip A LOT before.

7. Car ride - we use our DVD player some, but also plan to have several pit stops and let her run around. Time the bulk of the trip during naptime, if possible.

8. Improvise - on our way from Chicago, I kept the boys entertained for almost an hour by blowing bubbles with my gum. My jaw hurt so bad, but hey, they were happy.

9. HAVE FUN!!!

[adoptnky]

Here are just some thoughts from the few trips we have taken with Alex.

1. Get some new toys/books. I usually buy at least two new things. (One for the trip there, and one for the trip back) A new toy/book usually gives you some time.

2. Portable DVD player - it's a MUST!!! Alex loves watching his videos in the car.

3. Snacks, snacks and snacks. We always pack lots to munch on and a cooler for the cold stuff. This is good both for the car and for when you reach your destination. It was nice to be able to give Alex fruit/snacks when he wanted them without having to go out and find food.

4. Be prepared to stop - and a lot. You may get lucky, but make sure you add time to your trip.

5. If you can time your diving for naptime, it will help. For example, it's about a 6 hour drive to my parents house. We usually leave after work, drive for about a hour and a half, stop for dinner, get Alex in his pj's, let him watch one of his videos and then he's ready for bed. He then sleeps the rest of the way.

6. Has your DD slept in a pack n play at all? We usually take ours with us and Alex has done fine. If not, you may want to see about taking naps in the pnp before your trip so that she gets used to it.

7. If you have room, bring lots of toys from home. Alex always like having things that were familiar to him on our trips.

8. BE FLEXIBLE!!! You may have great plans for your vacation (where you are going to eat, and do, and at what time). Those plans may go out the window if your daughter has any sleep issues. It can be stressful for the little ones to have their routine changed. Just be prepared to throw the plans out the window.

Have a GREAT trip!!

Kim

[sak9645]

Most hotels have cribs that they will put in your room at no charge. If you bring a favorite blanket and bear, and perhaps one of your own crib sheets, you may be surprised at how easily your child adjusts. My daughter was great in hotel cribs.

But if your child likes something more "familiar", and if she is fairly small, consider bringing a pack'n'play, since you will be traveling by car. Get your child used to the pack'n'play for naptime and tell her that she can use it when you go on vacation.

Sharon

[Leebert2]

Definitely try to drive either early in the a.m. (when they fall right back to sleep in the car) or time it so there will be naptime during the drive. That helps a lot! Fun music they like is helpful too. I agree about being flexible with the sleeping. Try the pack and play, if not sleeping is with you. Take your time throughout the trip. You will enjoy it more that way. Have fun!

[BobMiami]

In the four plus years my son has been home, we have gone so many places, both abroad and in the US as well as the Carribbean. Aside from the trip home from Guatemala, when I learned the meaning of projectile vomiting, we haven't had any problems.

I have a couple of rules.

If we are flying, no rich foods before or during the flights. Just the basic stuff which he is used to.

Get to the airports early-- its easy to kill time with books or lunch or something.

When driving, I always double the amount of time it should take. DVD's are nice, but games of counting cows or finding the prettiest barn are more fun. I stop whenever. (Remember, I've doubled the time estimate.) I do pack a cooler full of sandwiches and water and stuff, but we stop often and frequently. If a one day trip takes two days, oh well.

Even now, when we arrive at our destination, my son can sleep with me when he wants. I know he is in a strange place (so am I). We don't follow our normal routine, but unless I am working (and he is well attended to), we do everything together.

And I simply refuse to rush.

This has worked well for the two of us. We are not by any means efficient travelers, but we eventually get to where we want to go and enjoy our time together and return home fairly unstressed.
Bob

[ej-momtobe]

One thing to think about ...that I wish we had thought about before we travelled with DS. Make his sleeping environment at the destination as close to the sleeping environment at home as possible. This may mean letting her get used to sleeping in your bed sometimes, so she can sleep in your bed on vacation, or a pack-n-play as someone else suggested, but get her adjusted to the pack and play at home. We have had BIG sleep problems when travelling and that affects everyone's vacation fun. Looking back, doing a few of these things to make DS's sleeping environment 'on the road' more like home might have helped us. For us, just having a crib at the destination did not work.

Have fun!

[ana-mom]

2 things I have found helpful.....

Watch what your child eats the day before the trip to prevent 'blowouts' in the car

Have an extra set of clothing within easy reach - just in case

[akasohappy]

We take DD's pillow, blanket, favorite stuffed animals with us. We usually take her pack n play, but since she has done so well I actually just requested a crib the last two times we took a trip. Both times we were "short sheeted". We got a porta crib one time and pack n play the other. (The makeshift fitted sheets really stressed me out.)
Besides the sheet issues travel has went well.
We do have a DVD player in the car.
I take books, toys and snacks.
We took a 10+ hour trip to Florida back in the fall and you wouldn't even know the kids were in the car.
We left really early (4a.m.) and the baby ended up taking 3 naps. The 3rd one was short, but still.
We stop often also.
I think our biggest sleep thing is that Kate is a pretty good sleeper with a fairly consistent routine and she has her blanket and pillow.
I don't know what we would do without those.
She gets rocked to sleep at nap and bedtime (she is not always asleep when I lay her down, but the rocking is a part of her bed time routine) and that kind of threw me. We had to play it by ear.
I kind of walked around bouncing her and whispering/singing to her and other times she has laid down in the bed with us.
Have fun!

[carolynpep73]

I had the same questions for my DD (2.8 years old). We had never been on a vacation since she had been home either. I took a short trip a few weeks ago to do a "test drive" and there were just a few challenges. My biggest challenge was getting her to sleep. My DD has never slept with me before and she thought it was playtime. She refuses a Pack and Play so I just layed with her until she fell asleep. We're going away again in July so I hope that she sticks with the pattern of "few problems". I like the suggestions given and will definitely take some of the advice on the board. Happy Travels!