Tips for car travel with young toddler?

[nilatti]

In a few weeks, my 17-month-old son and I are going on a LONG car trip-- about 12 hours if I did it by myself, probably longer with him. We are staying with friends overnight halfway, and I've planned our route to stop at children's museums at the midpoint of each day's driving. I'm going to leave really early in the hopes that he sleeps through a lot of it...

But does anyone have any tips for entertaining a kid this age for a drive like that? I'll be by myself (DH isn't coming), and I'm kind of nervous. He's still rear-facing, which I totally hate (but I know it's the safest thing and I'm not switching it). It makes it hard to communicate with him, though. I don't think he can hear me very well, facing backward, in the back seat, with the wings of his carseat around his head. Sometimes when I give him toys, he tosses them over the side and then gets all mad because he can't reach them. I tried tying ribbons to his toys and his carseat last time we traveled, but he didn't get that he could just pull on the ribbons to get the toys back. He just got frustrated.

I'd love some ideas, if anyone has anything to share.

[nstewart]

My DS hates the car too!!  Thankfully, we don't have to use it or go on long trips very often.  But my in-laws do live 6 hours away, so we do take long trips occassionally.

Your ideas about stopping at the midway point is good.  With DS, I find though that 3 hours is too long between stops.  We stop every 1.5 hours or so, even if it is just for 15 minutes to get him out of his car seat, etc.  DS also gets motion sickness, so we give him Gravol before long trips (I know the bottle says it's for over 2 years of age, but my BIL is a pharmacist and told us it is by weight (confirmed by our DR.) and so you can just get the correct dose for weight from your doctor or pharmacist if this is an issue for you DS).  Also, make sure DS stays hydrated and make sure that he doesn't get hungry in the car as this can add to the risk of motion sickness. 

We are generally against any screen time (TV or computer) for DS, but we make the exception for long drives (because it makes for a better time for all involved!!).  We purchased a DVD player for the car that attaches to the head rest with straps so it works fine for rear-facing (you can get one for around $50).  DH and I have decided that it's worth it's weight in gold, as it keeps DS from getting upset in the car and oddly also seems to help reduce the motion sickness (maybe because he has something to focus on and isn't getting upset also?).  We have a two baby einstein DVDs that we alternate (again, I am not a fan of "baby einstein" etc. but they do keep him entertained) and oddly I have a documentary called "Cats of Rome" about a cat sanctuary and he loves that.  I guess because he loves cats.

Good luck!

[JulieInChicago]

I just completed a 5-hour straight-through with my 16 month old.  We are still rear-facing, too, but we have a mirror mounted on the back seat headrest so I can see him in my rearview mirror.

What worked for me:

- Wiggleworms CD's.  He loves "Wiggleworms Loves You" and "Songs for Wiggleworms," and I can play the "Peek a Boo" track on repeat for ~15 min and he keeps giggling at it.  We sang along a lot too, and did "Wheels on the Bus" and "If you're happy and you know it" often to keep him moving, even in the seat.

- The arm rest in the middle works like a tray table now.  I kept a sippy cup and snack cup there for him.  I kept the diaper bag with toys, snacks, etc in the passenger seat and would pass them back on the arm rest.  I usually don't let him snack in the car (what if he was choking??) but made an exception for this trip.

- My son is still a pacifier addict, so I kept 2-3 extras in the diaper bag that I could pass back to him.

Honestly, though, I prefer driving overnight with him, since he'll sleep through then.  The day is so much harder.  And at some point it's easier not to stop since he throws such a fit when he has to get back into the car seat.  But every babe is different!