Are we crazy

As we are getting closer and closer to our mid September vacation to MD.. I was wondering if we were completely insane to plan this trip with two one year olds for a five hour drive..

What do you guys think? and what have your experiences with vacations and driving with infants been?

TIA!

Re: Are we crazy

I don't have two, but I have done a 10 hr drive with a 1yr old and a 5 hr drive a few times when he was younger.

For the 5 hr drive, I would plan on doing most of the driving when they nap or sleep for the night.

So, when we go to Vermont, we would leave at 6PM, DS would be awake for maybe an hour and then fall asleep for the rest of the car ride. His usual bedtime was 7/7:30

On the way home, we would leave at 8AM, give him snacks, etc. and he would fall asleep for his nap between 10-12 and then we would have another hour of wake time.

For the 10 hr drive, DS was 15 months and 15 lbs so he was forward facing in the car.

We had a portable DVD player and he was entertained for about 7 hrs with that.

Re: Are we crazy

Well, I didn't go with one year olds, but one 5 month old. We went on a trip to Ocean City in August. DS did great! He slept almost the whole time there and back. We left early in the morning (5am). We got ourselves ready, packed the car and got him up last. I kept him in his P.J.s and all I did was change his diaper and feed him a bottle. We made sure we drove as long as we could without stopping, since DS usually wakes up when we stop the car. After about 3-4 hours we stopped to have breakfast and I feed him a bottle and changed his diaper. He slept the rest of the way, except the last 30 minutes.
On the way home, we left again at 5am and did exactly the same thing.

Bring lots of toys if you need to jump into the back and entertain them.

I really think the only way to get down there is to leave early in the morning, or overnight.
How are they in the car? DS loves the car, so I figured we would be okay.

Message edited 9/1/2009 11:39:47 AM.

Re: Are we crazy

You can do it!

I just did a 6 hour trip with a 13 month old -I was expecting the worst, but he was GREAT!

I sat in the back next to him, armed with snacks, toys and ready to sing when necessary.... he slept for 1.5 hours of the trip, and we stopped once for a 20 minute stretch/diaper change..... I did have to engage him every so often with the toys and snacks, but he was really pretty good.

Just prepare the best you can with distractions, and go for it!

Re: Are we crazy

We did 6 h ours when DS was 7 months and 7 hours when he was 14 months.

DS is not much of a car sleeper so each time I only got 1 hour of sleep out of him. I brought a small tub filled with toys, so new ones had never seen. A bag of snacks and a portable DVD player with lots of baby einstein, wiggles, and elmo.

The first time we took the ferry from Orient Point to break it up a little and that was nice to get out and stretch for an hour or so. THe second time I think we only made 1 stop.

Both times were MUCH better than I anticipated!

Re: Are we crazy

Re: Are we crazy

We drove 7 hours with my DD when she was about that age. We left at 8PM, expecting her to fall asleep soon after. We got to our vacation spot at 2AM but it was worth it for the peace and quiet (and I slept most of the way ).

Re: Are we crazy

We just did a 13 hour drive with a 16 month old (and a dog). It was not as bad as I expected. We just went into it with an open mind and threw out the whole "We've got to make good time" mentality. When we stopped for gas/to eat-she did not want to get back in the car, so she would get upset then, but she calmed down quickly.

Granted, keeping 2 kids happy may be harder than one, but hopefully your little ones will sleep. I brought along books and stickers for DD to play with.

Good luck!

Re: Are we crazy

No, you're not crazy at all. We did it when Lucas was only about 7 months old and pretty much every year since (we go to Vermont every summer - which is a 5 hour drive).

We just take frequent breaks and make sure we're stocked up on food, drinks, diapers, etc. Actually, going when the twins are a year old is probably a great time because there's a better chance that they'll nap in the car. DS fights his naps now with all his might (he's 31 months)!

Oh, and we brought our 45-pound super hyper dog too!

You guys will be fine. Have fun!

Re: Are we crazy

I think you will be fine. My DC are 10 months and 22 months and this summer we did a 14 hour trip to NC and and a 5.5 hour trip to Maine. It was perfectly fine and we do not even have a DVD player. On our way to NC we stopped twice. On our way to Maine we stopped once, and on the way home we stopped twice. Just make sure you bring toys for the car, snacks, and drinks.