Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

DH's parents live in SC. There are no direct flights to Columbia anymore, so DH wants to drive. It's a 13 hour drive.

DH wants us to leave at her bedtime and do an all night drive. I think thats crazy because once we get to SC we will both be exhausted, she'll be completely off the whole time cuz she'll be out of her routine and nowhere near her own crib which is what she needs to sleep.

What did you do? Any tips? TIA!

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

I have done 14+ hours with DS. We left at his nap time and then stopped every 3-4 hours for about an hour. It really was not bad at all. I actually prefer driving with DS then flying.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

DH and I were considering taking a trip to NC or SC this summer and are planning on driving all night. It's not the most comfortable way for DS to sleep, but it's better than stopping every few hours and having him cooped up when he will surely want to be active and run around and play.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We drove to florida from NY with DS when he was 5 months old...Not a toddler, but..... We left at 5am. He had a bottle and fell asleep for 3 hours...The trip made him more tired and he STTN for the whole time we were away...We stopped every 3 or so hours to stretch and change diapers....IMO it went very well. At 5 months he was well into a bedtime routine and it didn't mess him up at all. We are going again in October when he is 2...

We were originally going to leave at night, but my friend tried that and it backfired. Their DD was a basket case because it was so uncomfortable to sleep that long in the car seat...She cried hysterically for hours...They ended up stopping in VA and got a hotel room and started over in the AM... But every kid is different...

Message edited 1/8/2011 12:38:32 PM.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

I just did that trip for Christmas. My parents are in Aiken. DS is 27 months. IDK if I could drive over night....I'd be worried that the rest stops might be sketchy then.

We left after work on Thursday, around 3pm. Drove to Wincester, VA to stop for the night. (We took 81 to 77 to 20, rather than 95) Then finished the drive the next day.

We brought:
DVD player
new toy (for DS it was LeapTop)
Snacks snacks snacks, especially mini oreos
books
mini crayons and coloring books

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

Sarah, my ILs used to live in Aiken, now they live in Batesburg. Hoping they will be moving up north soon! I would much rather do what you did, stay at a hotel to break up the trip. We won't be able to leave until 6pm though.

New toy is a good idea! hmmm...did you stay in the back with him to entertain him? Riley's usually awesome on drives, but we are never in the car for more than 2 hours at a time. Most of the time she's asleep anyway because I time it with naps or bedtime.

Thanks ladies!

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We drove from nc to ny. We left at like 12 in the afternoon, drove until ds bedtime. Got a room innorth virginia( the worst longest state ever). Got up and finished the ride to ny.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

In November we drove 18 hours from CT to Madison, WI to meet my friends new daughter. DH and I had all 3 kids with us- they were 2.5, 18 months, and 7 weeks at the time.
We left CT at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon, stopped overnight at a Holiday Inn on the PA/Ohio border at around 9 PM. Up at 5 AM on sat and drove through, got to my friends house at 6 PM her time, 7 PM our time. The kids were great, napped in the car, we bought things to keep the 2 older ones busy and the baby was an angel. The only downfall was that there are no reststops in PA on 80 west. So we had to get off alot and drive through towns to find a place to stop for lunch or coffee, or for a bathroom. Other than that though it went wonderful and we are planning another trip for August.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We are thinking of doing the drive down to Myrtle Beach this year. We also want to attempt to drive all night, but if we get tired, we will definitely pull over and get a hotel.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

First of all, when did you change your name?

Secondly, we drove to Richmond, VA over 7 hours. DS was fine. We left as soon as he woke up in the morning because he isn't a big car sleeper. So we brought toys and snacks and he was great. We stopped for meals. I say go for it!

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We just did a 25 hour drive down to Florida. DD is 19 months old. We left at her bedtime.
The drive down went really well. The drive back was complete torture. I think it's just hit or miss how she'll handle it.
Good luck!!

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We drove straight thru to Fla in Oct when the triplets were 14 months olds and they did great... Bring some toys and books and if you have a DVD player bring that my kids love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so they watched that.... We left right after lunch and stopped for dinner...they slept fine in their carseats and really had no issues with anyone being cranky.....coming home was a differnt story I guess they knew they were going to be in the car for at least 18 hrs and didnt like that.....

Good luck

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

we drove to Charleston at 12 months (12 hours). We decided not to do the overnight thing because I knew we would all be tired. DS did really great and I didn't even have a DVD player back then because I really wasn't into tv.

My suggestion would be toys, dvds, books and snacks!!!

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We drove back and forth to Charleston, SC over the past two years with the kids. We just made sure to stop for breaks (we would find mcdonald's with a playground so they can burn some energy for a few minutes).

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We drive to Disney every year. We leave at 5pm - the kids are awake until about 9 and then fall asleep for the night. When they wake up in the morning, we are usually in Florida, or very far into Georgia. DH and I do 5-6 hour shifts and we sleep when the other person is driving. We are never tired the next day and usually go to the parks and just head in early for bed. If you are only going to SC, you could leave around 10 and be there at a decent time in the morning.

ETA: MY dc's are 5, almost 4 and 10 months, but we've been doing this every year since Genevieve was 1!

Message edited 1/8/2011 8:39:50 PM.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

we've done 10 hours to Ohio twice. It worked ok. We didn't do the overnight b/c then we'd be exhausted.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We did 15 hours to SC when DS was 20 months old. We left at 7pm so he would sleep most of the night. He did OK. He did wake up when we stopped for gas/snacks and was a little cranky but he did MUCH better than I thought. However, I don't think I would ever do it during the day when they are awake, regardless of how many games and DVDs I have.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

We drove up to Toronto, around the thousand islands, and back down, with alex and yael just a few months ago.

Two keys: do the bulk of the driving around naptimes, and early evening into bedtime. As a rule, we never drove past 10pm because it was just too exhausting for us. Second key is a DVD player.

As long as you make a few stops, it should be ok. We didn't have any meltdowns at all during the 6 day trip!

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

we have driven to fl several times. I think the best plan is to leave at 4am to beat the morning traffic and move, move move. I mean when our kids wake up we hand them a bag of cheerios and only stop when its time to get gas. We buy and easy breakfast and allow them to eat in the car cause it keeps them busy for a while, then we wait until they just can'tstand it anymore then we turn on the movies. IN the mean time we leave a box of little goodies that can be easel reached. We have snacks, bottles of water, coloring books, and books to read and anything else manageable in the car. No that my son is old enough he pretty much handles these things, but I used to just hand things back to them as needed. We often by a few new things to look at too. Then we let them have an insane amount of tv on the trip too. and of course the lollipos for emergencies. Our car is a mess when we arrive, but we just do a quick clean up with the kids. It takes us about 16 hours to disney and 22 to boynton fl. Once when we slept over night and only drove during the day it took us 26 hours of driving time to disney. It was a nightmare, we sat in so much traffic. YOu do not want to do that.

We drive at least once per year. This year we are making two trips.

Message edited 1/8/2011 10:09:16 PM.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

I drove from LI to Raleigh, NC a couple of times a year (pre-baby). I've almost always left at 7pm and driven straight through, once I left at 1am. I prefer to drive at night because you beat the traffic, but I'm not sure how kids would do sleeping in the convertible carseat for that long If it were me I would probably pack the car the day before and one of you go to bed really early, then get up around 2am and drive straight through. You shouldn't be too tired and DD would probably go right back to sleep once you're on the road.

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

When I do the drive solo with kids, I never want to make it an overnight, ever. Seems like more work.

I am in Charlotte, I put kids in car at 3 AM..that way I was able to get some sleep too....by the time the sun is up and they wake I am almost 4 or 5 hours into trip.
I take them out, feed them, change them, run around a gas station...back in the car for 3. Rest area, feed, run around...back in the car.

Arrive at like 4 ish in NY

Re: Has anyone gone on a really really long (and I mean really) roadtrip with their toddler?

we drove from NY to South Carolina last summer, we'll do it again this summer. We left right before nap time in the morning. We stopped a few times, once you hit the more southern states the rest stops are nicer and have grass to sit on and stuff. We let Joey out to stretch his legs, play, eat. He actually did fine. Books, new toys, dvd player . .

We didn't want to drive through the night b/c we felt it just wasn't safe on 95 at 1am with tired truck drivers. Not that 95 is ever the safest road!


ETA- We did stop in NC on the way down (& I'm glad we did b/c part of 95 was CLOSED in VA and it was a nightmare) but drove straight through on the way home

Message edited 1/9/2011 10:15:09 AM.