Traveling on a Long Trip with an 9 Month Old

I went on an 8 hour trip a few months ago when my son was under a year old, and he was perfect! I didn't even have the portable dvd player on that trip. We made the usual pee stops and food stops, and I would let him move around then. As long as he was well-fed and had a toy to play with every once in awhile, he was fine. But I would definitely suggest bringing a portable dvd player. Those are life savers.

I think the real test comes when they start talking, and they won't stop for the entire trip. haha

The best advice I ever received for traveling was this: If flying take more than the standard 1 diaper per hour, it never fails the baby will get the runs. (10 hour flight with a 4 month old when through 24 diapers.)

If you bottle feed have your bottles ready and chilledin a insulated cooler. I had a plug in bottle warmer for the car that worked wonderful.

I made a few trips to Houston, Texas with my 9 month old. I pretty much stayed in the back with her - she slept most of the way, but when she was awake - I make sure I had her favorite toys to play with. We read lots of books and played "peek-a-boo". I also brought along some of her favorite songs on a CD for her to listen to. I did learn the hard way, not to let her drink a lot while we were driving (it gave her bad tummy aches and she cried for about and hour until I figured out what was wrong!). So we stop over hour and half to two hours to have a drink if we need to, and get her out of the car seat and walk around a bit.

Since were going to visit family - I did learn that after a 10 hour car ride, it took her about a day to recover where she would let people hold her.

But other than a little gas every now and then - taveling with her when she was little was great. Now that she is two - I would dare attempt a trip longer than two hours without a movie for to watch or books for her to read! She is way to restless now!!!

get a stroller that he can also sleep in and invest in some dimatap. it works great during the trip to help him rest. enjoy yourself. i loved traveling when mine were young now we take the grandkids. mt

When we visit family it is a five hour drive for us and with two small children that can be a bit of a challenge. The first thing we learned was that a timetable wouldn't work. We often had to stop and change diapers, feed them, or just let them get out of their car seats for a few minutes. After talking with others, it was suggested that we travel in the evening, after supper, when the children would naturally sleep. This worked quite well. After eating, we dressed them in their p.j.s and loaded them in the car. They were awake for the normal amount of time after supper (maybe a little longer), but then went to sleep without any fussing. When we arrived at our destination they each woke for a little bit, but it wasn't difficult to get them back to sleep. If you can't travel at night, perhaps you can travel during your son's regular nap time during the day. I would think it would work well. I can't offer any information about flying with children this age as we haven't flown as a family. Hopefully someone else can give you that perspective. Hope this helps and that you have a great vacation.

Hi, I cant speak for others but all 3 of my children loved to go on trips from the time they were really young. Just try to make stops about every 2 hours and let everyone stretch and reposition. Just be sure to get in lots of hugs and snuggling when you stop. Hope this helps! P.

The best advice I can give is to make frequent stops! We traveled 12 hours in the car with a 6-mo old, and instead of driving through fast food restaurants, we stopped at places like O'Charley's and ate real meals. It added time to the trip but it gave the baby a break from his car seat. The other thing we did was to spend time in the backseat with our son while the other parent drove.

If you can leave over night and take turns driving with your husband. Your son will most likely sleep the whole night. My husband and I took a 21 hour trip when our son was nearly 9 months old...it was a breeze since we started driving around his bedtime.

My husband and I have taken several trips to VA. At that time we only had three children but we ALWAYS leave at night. This way your kids sleep for most of the trip. I don't like driving at night but my husband does. We usually leave around 6pm and I drive then switch later in the evening. Good Luck!!!

We have made several 10 hour car trips to see family with our 2 year old. The first was when he was 5 weeks old. He did fine. We usually leave during the night so most of the ride will be while he is sleeping. We usually use a DVD player in the back with him during the trips. We also flew to Canada when he was 15 months old and he did great then. His doctor even told us before our flight to Canada that our son would handle the trip better than us, and he was right. Good Luck!

My daughter is almost 2 and I struggle as well. She hates hotel room and can not sleep in them.

1. Bring Lysol - hotels are nasty!
2. Bring his blankets so he has the smell of home.
3. If you are driving, leave later at night so he can nap on the drive.
4. Don't plan too many activities so he can get downtime.
5. wash yours and his hands often to keep from catching germs.

:) Have fun! He will do great. They travel better before they start walking. Buy him a new toy so he has something exciting to explore in the car.

If driving - plan on taking a lot of extra time to get to your destination. You'll need to make lots of stops to make sure your child can burn off some energy! If you can, travel during the night. It's always easier if baby sleeps through the trip. Also, take lots of snacks, your little one's "tried and true" toys, and sing-along music. I also bring along a portable dvd player and my sons favorite Baby Einstein movies. It really helps calm him down and keep him busy when nothing else will. Another thing that really worked for me was to buy a handful of new toys before the trip (You don't have to spend a bunch of money... dollar store toys work fine). My son always seems to be more interested in things he's never seen before.

I ended up taking several long trips with my daughter about that time, and she amazed me and slept the whole way. I stopped about every 90-120 minutes and woke her up to eat and move around. We'd walk and stretch and play for at least 10 minutes and then be on our way again. When she wasn't sleeping she was looking out the windows and babbling. One trip, however, she screamed for about 2 hours. No reason other than it got my attention. I tried everything I could think of to get her to quit, and finally ended up ignoring the outbursts(I even stopped a few times to make sure everything was okay). Once I started ignoring the outbursts, she quit! Be sure to take along music that your child likes and a pacifier clip (if you use a pacifier).
I'd also recommend stopping early enough that your child can run around and work out the pent up energy and ending the day with a good long warm bath.
Hope you have a great time!