Hey everyone! Today is the first day of my guest posts for the move.Today I have the lovely Natalie from over at From Corporate to Domestic taking over!. You are going to LOVE her!
I am super excited to be a guest at Tiffany's blog. We just found each other in blog world recently, and I've enjoyed getting to know her and read about her absolutely *ADORABLE* little girl! So as Tiffany moves into her new house I am here to entertain you :) And since she has a 15 hour drive to her new house--I thought it would be a great time to share one my long car ride experiences with my little boy Nolan.
My husband and I had our first son in October of 2010, so our vacations and traveling took a backseat as we muddled through this new world of parenthood. On July 4th weekend of 2011, we decided we would venture out with our little one for our first vacation. My in-laws were also going so it was going to be nice to have some extra hands. We drove in two separate cars, and I am sure they were glad we did.
We were going to be staying in a cabin in the mountains to enjoy nature, go on some hikes, and enjoy the 4th of July festivities. However, Nolan had other plans.
On our 3 hour or so drive there, I realized that Nolan was not in the best of moods. He did sleep some of the trip which is helpful, however for the rest of the trip to our cabin I had to sit in the back to entertain and to feed him snacks. Entertaining a 8 month old for over 2 hours is let's just say very exhausting. We finally reached our destination, and I found that Nolan's mood was not improving. He was super sensitive and cranky. I finally realized when I kept seeing his mouth open due to non-stop crying that I could blame two white teeth for my troubles. That's right---the devil I like to call teething. Not only was he teething, he was also constipated. A double dose of trouble! We tried very hard to enjoy our vacation, but after a day hike in the mountains with incessant crying (in my husband's ear because he was wearing the hiking pack) I realized that this trip was not going to be relaxing whatsoever.
We made the best of it and tried to be understanding that he was not feeling well. We tried to make sure he napped, but even then he still was not his chipper self. On the ride home, he practically cried all the way home which I don't know about you---but when you hear your child crying and you can't help them feel better---you feel pretty helpless and stressed. We stopped several times on the way home, and I finally sung him to sleep for the last hour of the drive.
Now since then I am happy to report that Nolan has been on a 6 hour drive without crying! I hope Tiffany has this luck when she is traveling this week.
Here are my tips with traveling with a baby/toddler in the car:
-Make sure not to have expectations of how the drive or how the vacation is going to go. These kids always have a different agenda!
-Make sure to plan stops. I used to be a traveler that made few stops. Now being a mom, we plan for stops before the meltdown starts.
-Try to travel near nap time. We have had a lot of success with Nolan falling asleep after we have been on the road for about 30 minutes.
-Bring snacks. I would have Puffs or Goldfish in Nolan's snack catcher. This helped him pass some of the time and my sanity!
-Bring a new toy and their favorite toy. They will be impressed with the new one for awhile, but don't ever forget the oldie but goodie!
-To help them sleep in the car, bring their cuddly toy or blanket or whatever you use around sleep time. It helps trigger the sleepy mood.
Thanks again Tiffany for having me over, and I hope you're having a smooth ride and move! :)
See guys! I told you that you would love her! She is so sweet to post on here for me while I am away. Make sure you go over to her blog and follow her so that you can get to know Natalie and her ADORABLE family a little bit better!
Come back tomorrow for another guest blogger!
great tips and so spot on!
ReplyDeleteWe used to drive 17 hours for our family vacation!! At first, it took 3 days and 3 hotel stays - both ways. Ka-ching! big time. but as my 3 got used to the drive, it reduced to 2 hotel stays, than 1 and last time - my husband and I just loaded them in the van at their bedtime and started driving. We took turns driving/sleeping the whole trip...and the kids actually slept through the night in the van! It only took one day and not hotels! we were definitely tired but it wasn't so bad: grandpa and Nana were waiting to take over! :)
Wow that's impressive girl! I hope you did get relieved by the grandparents once you arrived :)
DeleteTiffany thanks so much for having on your lovely blog! Hope your move goes smoothly!
ReplyDeleteI once drove alone with little man over 12 hours. He was little and still sleeping most of the day though so it wasn't terrible. Travel with plastic though because no one wants to have to wake a baby up to go inside to pay for gas. We also travel at night if possible.
ReplyDeleteWow you are brave! I know I think when they are youngest it is the easiest b/c they sleep more...but once they become more aware it's a whole new ballgame!
DeleteGreat advice Nat! Traveling with little ones can be SO stressful. I flew with mine when she was about 9months old, and just about lost it. Not bc she was acting crazy, but bc traveling alone with a 9month old is insanity. I think bringing a husband along is a huge recommendation. Haha.
ReplyDeleteI haven't flown yet...and now that he is almost 18 months I am scared!
DeleteNatalie is great! When my oldest was little we would regularly take a 6 hour drive to go visit grandparents. We would usually leave close to bed time and travel late into the night- couldn't imagine doing that now though as I would be way too sleepy
ReplyDeleteI haven't traveled at night yet but now that he's older we might have to do that!
DeleteAwww! Sweet boy was teething. :( I remember trveling to Florida from Texas in the car with my 4 y/o and a 4 month old. That's 15 hours! We survived somehow. I think your tips were perfect!
ReplyDeleteI'll be coming back to you for tips on traveling with a 4 year old :)
DeleteYay!! Natalie's here!
ReplyDeleteI hate that feeling when they are crying in the car and you can't do anything about it. At least when they get older it's a little easier. You can at least try to understand what's going on a little bit better. Poor Nolan on that teething trip!
It would be nice to get some sort of heads up -- like , baby will be teething this month or that month so you can plan stress free trips. Well, less stress perhaps!