Hey everyone. Sorry I've been gone for a while. I have a new topic.
Traveling! With the great weather and the summer time here I thought I would open a discussion on traveling with kids.
Routine: I'm a "try to stay on the routine even when traveling" kind of person. With in reason, I like to keep approximate nap and bed times. Same for you? Or do you just "fly by the seat of your pants?"
Car travel: I like to do most of our travel starting in the early am to get to our destination in the early pm, play and then go to bed. My last travel however we started at 11am and got to our destination around 11pm. It seemed to work ok, we just through the kids in a bed and went to sleep ourselves. I think the middle of the trip was the hardest, b/c that was useually play time. I think I only like this way if I was to be going home not to a new place.
Along with car travel, I'm a huge fan of the portable DVD player. Our rule is that its never on if the trip is under an hour. For our long drives, it seems to do well. I did learn though, that I shouldn't let my oldest hold it b/c it made him car sick! AHH! However, putting it between the 2 front seats allows both boys to watch. My youngest isn't really into it yet, but he watches some times.
I love some of the toys/activities we bring too; an aquadoodle is always fun, of course crayons and coloring books. Lots of fun cardboard books.
I would love to know what you use on your long car rides!!
Flying: I have flown LOTS with my boys. Now that we have 2 its not happening so much. when we did, during take off and landing I would nurse/bottle feed my baby. When he got older I would make him take sips of some water. This helps to alleviate pressure in their ears.
I would totally love to learn more of your trip tips, we're going to Cali in a few weeks!
Happy Travels!!
With Monte, we've always tried to start the trip around his nap time; in the hopes that he'll sleep most of the way. It's worked ok, better when he was younger. We've also learned to take more stops because he is prone to car sickness, especially when eating in the car. So no straight through for us. But its kind of nice because we see what is along the way to stop and see and then the travel becomes a road trip.
ReplyDeleteKyle's preferred method of travel is flying. And Monte has done really well on the plane. Just bring lots of books, wooden puzzles, and own snacks and drink for take off and landing. It also helps to have an empty seat to sit in and play, though that is dependent on the flight and age of the kid (and if you are willing to pay for a seat or have to pay for it).