we just completed our second road trip with otto and again he was an absolute dream. i don’t know if it’s our trips and tricks for the car, his g tube or him just being an awesome dude that made it go so easy but just in case it was our tricks and tips i felt compelled to share.
before the thought of going on a long drive even crept in to our minds we had otto on a loosely established sleep schedule. the kid falls asleep like clockwork between 8 and 9pm and wakes up around 6am taking another nap from 9:30ish – 12ish and 2pmish – 3pmish. regardless he takes a nice long morning nap and a short and sweet afternoon nap.
this is what we based our travel times around. we have driven to Charleston south Carolina and Nashville-Alabama-Nashville all within the past two months. here was our travel times for both
Charleston
Depart MI 4am drove straight through with 4 stops arriving around 9pm.
Depart Charleston 5pm drove four hours stayed in hotel around Gatlinburg TN. Left TN around 5am arrive home 2pm
Nashville/Alabama
Depart MI 5am arrive to Nashville 2pm
Depart Nashville 10am arrive to Alabama 6pm
Depart Alabama 6am arrive to Nashville 3pm
Depart Nashville 6am arrive home 6pm
mind you we took random stops (restaurants, antique stores, etc…) but we waited until Otto was NOT sleeping. If we was awake we would stop, stretch, change, etc. If he was asleep we pushed as far as we could.
I honestly don’t know how many more times we would have had to stop to eat if Otto were eating orally but sometimes you’re allowed to take advantage of a shitty situation. so whatever G-tube.
and i know it’s controversial but you know what? it works for our family. ipad attached to the back seat. there were hours where otto would keep himself occupied with his toys but once in a while they would lose their luster and we would have to get out the mickey mouse club house and most times, ten minutes in he would be out asleep. I’m not the biggest fan of plopping kiddos in front of the tv but I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world if you need a moment to yourself or if you need to push through one more state line. you know what i’m saying?
what are some of your kiddo road trip tricks? i found that the biggest thing that made ours successful was breaking it up into sections. stopping in Nashville both ways on our way to Alabama was not only fun but made the ride so much more enjoyable and short. When we pushed through with no big rest stops on our way down to Charleston it was a bit rough on all of us (granted we made it) but Otto seemed much happier with a little bit longer leisurely breaks. OH and stop at Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks bathrooms. clean and have changing tables in every location. Nothing was worst than stopping somewhere with no changing table and having otto bare buns on the tailgate of the truck. tell me your tricks!
You are a natural at traveling with a little one! Take advantage of his good nature now before he is walking