...making sleep updates, that is. I'm really sick of it! I'm ready to be done with this phase.
But....she did sleep all night last night! The first time in a week, I think. She's still taking the tiniest bit of benadryl, plus a little Motrin and her antibiotic. She's coughing and stuffy sometimes, but her mood remains unchanged.
I'm getting more and more nervous about our vacation. We leave a week from tomorrow. Driving a little over half way the first day--supposed to be about 5 or 6 hours, I think, but with who knows how many stops, it could take waaaaaaaaaaaaay more than that. She's never even been a good car rider in the 2 1/2 hours it takes to get to Grandma's house. What are we thinking???? And then almost just as far the next day to arrive in Nags Head, NC on Sunday. Someone please tell me ways to entertain a 2 year old for that long in a car. We have a DVD player, but my sister in law advised us to only use that when it gets really bad, or else it won't work for long. I started putting some toys away a month or so ago that she could play with in the car so she hasn't seen them for awhile, and will hopefully be glad to see them in the car and they will keep her attention for long periods of time. I also have a few new things. Any idea for cool car activities for 2 year olds? I also read that books on tape work even for little kids, so I reserved a bunch at the library (Curious George, Clifford, etc). We'll see if she likes that. The entire vehicle will be filled with entertainment for our daughter!
Then there's the sleeping issue. She'll be sleeping in a pack and play. She usually does okay in one at Grandma's, but that was before this whole debacle. Our hotel has a loft bedroom and the regular downstairs bedroom, so we'll sort of be in separate rooms. But who knows if she'll be waking up multiple times a night, and you can't exactly let her cry it out in a hotel with people trying to sleep next door. So any headway we make in the next week with that will go down the drain while we're gone. Ugh. I ask again, what were we thinking???? Is a fun vacation possible under these conditions? Oh, I hope so.
Well, enough worrying for today. Seriously, if you have any traveling insight with a two year old, I'd love to hear it.
As for the DVD player, I think it depends on how she usually watches it at home. For Katy, we start it right away and we won't hear a peep from her for up to 2 hours (but she's always glued to her "videos" at home when they're on), and by that time we're ready to stop and take a break. Last year we looked for rest areas with areas to run around and play or McDonald's with a play area and just took breaks when we needed to. And the new toys and books are good ideas, too. I bet she'll be ok with all the prep you are doing. Does she nap in the car at all? Katy doesn't, so that's a challenge, too. Good luck - just think what Lynn said - a vacation with the kids is a "trip." Still fun, just not as relaxing.
ReplyDeleteOur DVD player worked miracles for our kids! And they will watch hour after hour of it, so I wouldn't hesitate to use it at the start. I think it helps that it's a treat - they know on regular days they only get one video a day, so getting to watch lots is still exciting. I used to feel a little bad about turning their brains to mush, but it's so much better than hours of screaming and fussing that I got over it. :) Hope it works for you, too! Take breaks every hour or two for her to run around, and don't worry - it will be ok!
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