Surviving a Road Trip with Little Kids

We have spent the last week in North Carolina, in an area just outside of Asheville (more on the area and things to do some other time). We left our house on the Friday right after Christmas and we will head back this Saturday. The entire trip is just about 12 hours one way, and we decided to drive for various reasons.

I was actually a little nervous about driving because Chloe doesn't always do so well in the car. As a matter of fact, we had a contingency plan - if she was a disaster on the way up, I would fly back with her on Saturday and Eddie and Caleb would drive down.  But she actually did really well on the way up, so we'll all be driving back together again. 

Caleb is a great traveler. Last winter we did a road trip and went up to South Carolina, stopping at a couple places along the way, and he was awesome. I wasn't worried about him at all. But there are things I do to make sure it goes more smoothly and that he is kept busy. 

1. Snacks. Lots of them. I take everyone's favorite snacks, lots of them, and then some. For the kids I also took some shredded chicken that I had made the day before we left. It was perfect to feed them in the hotel when we stopped overnight. 
2. Be prepared to stop pretty frequently. Chloe did well on the trip as long as she was full and had a clean diaper. She actually ended up sleeping for some pretty good stretches. But when she did wake up, we needed to stop. We basically did three hour stretches of driving. 
3. Entertainment. If you have screen time rules, now is the time to ignore them - or at least turn a blind eye to them. I download 5 or 6 of Caleb's favorite movies on an iPad, we have a headrest mount so it's on the headrest of the seat on front of him, and Bluetooth headphones so we can listen to music and not have to hear whatever he is watching. He also received this really awesome travel lap desk from my brother, so he was able to play with Legos, color, and have his snacks on there. I also always bring blankets since we are like polar bears and like it cold - the kids can get uncomfortable being that cold so this way they can tolerate it better. 
4. Plan around their schedules. My kids are both much happier humans in the morning than they are in the evenings. They are much easier to please in the mornings and are much more likely to go with the flow at that time. By the afternoons, they need more attention and need to move around some, so we left early and planned to be in Savannah, where we stopped overnight, before 4:30 or so. This way they could get some movement in and get some energy out before bedtime. 
5. Be flexible. As much as you plan, things will always come up. Chloe was really good, but at one point she started pooping (and she has a really hard time with that) - so we had to pull over on the side of I-95 so she could finish. You could have spills, tummy aches, potty emergencies, any number of things for which you would need to stop. Being flexible will help you not lose your mind when you have to stop yet again.  

There you have it! It's not impossible to road trip with little kids - just takes some planning, preparation, and flexibility! 

Hopefully you feel more prepared for your next road trip! 

xoxo, 

​Jenise