One huge difference between traveling as a single parent and traveling as a single person is the schedule. Granted, when I traveled before, I was also young, and didn’t need as much sleep to keep me going; this however is different, and it’s more than that.
First and foremost, when we are home, I don’t think about feeding Jonathan, I just do it. There is always food on hand, and always something I can whip up in a heart beat. It is part of our routine, so it’s just second nature to me. While we were in Colorado, I actually had to think about when I was going to bring him to get food, where I was going to bring him to get food, and what I was going to feed him. When I was on vacation before, it was just I ate when I was hungry, because I didn’t have someone else to think about and consider.
We usually based his meal times around Tiffany’s break times. For example, he would eat before we went to her hospital room in the morning, then we’d be there till around noon when they would get her dressed and into her wheel chair. That’s when we would go get him something for lunch. She usually had therapy right after that, so that’s when I would bring him for a walk to wear off some of his energy. Then she could go to the recreation room after that, or watch movies in her room, and we would do that with her. She would usually get ready and go back to bed around 6, so that is when I would bring Jonathan back to get supper. He loves his Tiffy very much, and would stay with her all day if I let him, but he understands she needs privacy at these times, so it was ok to leave her to go eat at these times.
If you can get into a routine like this on any vacation it would be a good idea. Find some good reasons to have down times, or good reasons to eat at certain times, they are less likely to be upset about having to have these times. Depending on where you go, it shouldn’t be too hard. Find events or things to get them really excited about, then tell them, “We have to go eat now, so we can go do this tonight. If we don’t eat now, then we’ll have to eat while this is happening, and we’ll miss it.”
Setting Expectaions about your trip is always a good idea. Whether i’s a vacation, a family trip, or a quick visit. Find out more here.
You may also want to read Scheduling Playtime While Traveling and Scheduling Sleep While Traveling.