Need Advice on Road Trip and Hotel Stay with a 12 Month Old

Is this your first trip travelling together w/all the children? If so you may just sit them down before the trip & just say, "listen I realize this will be a long trip but we'd really appreciate it if you would help w/the baby when asked" & just explain, if they're not ones who like to help w/baby (some kids are not) just explain that you will be busy sometimes & can really use their help to make the trip go smoothly like keeping the baby pre-occupied. If they are kids who don't mind helping then that's great, just remind them that you may need their help pre-occupying their baby brother. When we were kids & had to travel, our mom bought us those magnetic games like 'magnetic checkers' that the pieces are magnets & stick to the 'game board' which is also magnitized. If they don't like that, perhaps listening to MP3 players or person music headsets/players, portable dvd players, just something to make the drive not seem as long. You can also play dvds that your baby might like too although he is young, they still like to be entertained. Hope this helps, good luck & have a great trip.

call ahead and see if the places you are staying have a porta crib. I have a fisher price booster seat with a tray that staps onto a chair, I LOVE IT!! I used it at home and took it with us when we traveled. I have an extra one here somewhere you are welcome to (if I can find it). In the car, a new video for a baby is good, I have baby einsteins you can have as well. Some new toys that the baby has never played with. Get creative, you don't have to go wild. I flew to germany with an infant and a toddler and the plane became the toy as we could not carry on too much. You do want to stop frequently to let the baby move around. Being strapped into a car seat has to stink for long periods of time. And last but not least, new snacks-healthy ones. What about that net thing that looks like a pacifier and you put fruit or vegs in it and the baby can suck and chew on it safely? Might be a little messy but interesting!!

We just did a 7 hour drive and agreed to buy a DVD player for the next time. My little guy just got tired of sitting in his seat. I would hand him toys and play with him but he wanted out.

Run your son until he is tired. He will then sleep in the car longer. We would leave later but he would sleep longer.

As for the hotel - bring dishwashing soap and your bottle brush. It will make a huge difference. Are you eating out a lot or in the hotel? The travel highchair is nice but takes up a lot of room -- we only used it once.

Bring more diapers, wipes and bottle than you think you will need.

FYI -- new environment kids tend not to stay on schedule. Don't be surprised if your little one doesn't go to be at 6 or wakes up odd times. Go with the flow.

Have fun.

How fun! We just went to Padre w/ our 15 month old & it was great! For the car ride we stopped in Corpus for an hour to eat. That way she was able to get out of the car and stretch for a good amount of time (not just the rest stops/gas stations). If you're willing to take your time, you can stop at the Corpus or Kingsville libraries (or park, etc.) so you can play & read a bit before getting back on the road (and wear your son out so maybe he'll nap well after lunch).

With all the people in the car, hopefully they can help 'distract' your child from the long ride. Vary activities like reading books, playing peek-a-boo, singing songs, finger plays, playing w/ toys (the toys that make noise are especially helpful in the car although annoying at times). My baby doesn't like TV much so the DVD didn't help us but we strapped a mirror to the back seat so she could entertain herself for a while that way. Also, the leap frog barn (where they mixup the animals front & back sides) kept her busy. We found that she made it the first 3 hours fine...the last 3 1/2 were a little harder, more stops were needed. We had a back pack of her favorite toys & books which helped in the car & at the condo!

We didn't have a high chair and it worked out ok. Feeding time was sort of like a mini-rodeo but it worked out, just have lots of napkins/washclothes on hand, ha ha. We took her play pen and that worked great! Especially because you can't control the child-safety in hotel rooms. If you take one bottle with you & your bottle cleaner you won't have to carry as many bottles. I recall hearing that a lot of the rental offices and hotels have baby gear for rent...you may call ahead and check (our office had high chairs & such for a fee). Good luck and hope you have a safe trip!!

For long trips - car or plane, we used a portable DVD player and let our daughter watch Baby Einstein or Caillou videos. We also brought new toys and books for her to read. I traveled a lot (mostly by plane with layovers) with my daughter her first year (just the two of us) and the portable DVD player was a lifesaver! I got the extended battery (6 hours). The player is still a requirement for any trip over 2 hours. We've had it for over 3 years. We used a laptop computer a couple of times, but it requires more attention than the dvd player.

I have brought my pack and play before and used the hotel crib. My daughter would rarely sleep in her pack and play, so I didn't always take ours. I did use the hotel crib once and was please to see that it was clean, but I know that isn't always the case. If you take your regular stroller (that has the tray) it can double as a high chair in the hotel room. I always used a big diaper bag on trips (I had the large backpack diaper bag) and included at least 2 outfits. Since I usually flew, I only brought a few extra diapers and wipes and bought more when we arrived at our destination. I usually tried to bring a few of our daughter's favorite toys, especially bath toys.

The main thing is to try to have fun and take things in stride. Enjoy your trip!