Keeping a 1 yr. old happy driving 10 hours!?

[mom2jcc]

Actually, keeping two of them happy....we have twins

Planning to get some dvds such as Little Einsteins, Baby Einsteins and new ones they haven't seen, bringing unlimited snacks, will pick up some new little toys. If you have any good tips, please share

Our babies will be 13 months old for the trip.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I think the longest we did when our twins were that young was maybe 8 hours (we did 17 when they were two! ) anywho, driving at night when they sleep some helps. Even just 4 or 5 sleeping hours and then a fairly long stop somewhere that they can get out and move around a little.

Good luck!

 

[kaysmommie]

We just drove 10 hours to Disney this past September with DS2 and DD6. We took some new DVD's as well as a few favorites. I would suggest stickers and a magna doodle and color magic markers but with 1 Yr. olds that won't work. I think some new toys are a great idea. How about lots of yummy snacks and a few breaks to stretch their legs. I would plan on traveling during thier nap time or some of the sleep time, that helps alot. Just take your time even if it means stopping more than you want to. MY DH was worse than the kids because he can't understand how hard it is for a 2 YO to sit that long in a carseat. It wasn't bad at all though.

 

[Plantlady]

It's been awhile since any of mine were one, but we travel every summer, driving to all ends of the earth.

We do the new toys. One per day. We still do that.

 

[meeskamouska]

We traveled alot when DD was younger....she was a content child and so the occassional special snack and the ability to unwrap a new trinket every few hours helped on long trips!!! Go to the dollar store and wrap up cups filled with bead necklaces, dinosaurs, ponies, and squishy balls. Those are some suggestions!! THey are at the "let's play fetch" stage so getting those linking chains to attach thier favotire loveys to might keep you from constantly picking things up off the floorboard.

 

[tiggger1]

we drove to virginia when Emma was 18 months. It was about an 12 trip ( due to traffic and stuff) We left around 8 in the morning. Emma took a nap about an hour into the trip and slept for a 3 hours. After she woke, we had lunch around 1. She then played with her toys for an hour. then she watched her dvds. That was till about 4 ish.. until then we didnt even take her out of the car seat. We stopped at a rest stop and changed her diaper and let her run around. the next 3 hours were harder because she didnt want to get back in and when we stopped for dinner at 6 pm she was a pill. We got to hubby's uncle's house around 8.. hubby and I were wiped but she was wired!


this past april we drove to Disney from MA. It took us 2 1/2 days.. Emma ( just short of 3) was great. We had our camper, so we stopped a bunch. She had her dvd player and a ton of toys. we stopped ever couple of hours for gas and emma got out of her seat to go potty. she napped and played and when we finally got to the first campground she was out like a light, thank god. The next day was easier because we got to our camp ground before dark and emma got to run around for a few hours before bed. By the third day she was bored ( I was also) but we had camper issues so we didnt get to the Fort until 3 ish. Lucky it was a late night at magic kingdom, so emma got to go that first night!

 

[1of6]

We always start extra early. We leave around 4 am. The kids fall back to sleep since it is dark. We stop for breakfast (DH & I usually bring a bagel and coffee with) around 8 and change the kids out of their pjs. It is so nice to be almost to the halfway point at breakfast.

Friends of ours would give the kids a bath at night and then throw them in the car. They would drive all night.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

One thought is to leave very early in the morning (like 4 am), so your twins will hopefully sleep for a few hours. Then you can stop for breakfast, and after breakfast it will be like just getting in the car for them. We tried this once with mixed success. DD4 was probably about 2 and slept fine, but DD7 (5 at the time) stayed awake and wanted to watch TV! We said no DVD - it had to be dark and she had to be quiet. She did finally doze off, but it didn't work exactly as planned. With smaller children who won't know to be so excited, you probably wouldn't have that problem. DD7 just couldn't contain herself!

We have thought about driving at night, but I am worried the kids will arrive rested and we will be exhausted. Not a good combination!

Some people have mentioned blowing bubbles in the car to occupy babies. It seems messy to me, but whatever works!