A.P.
Try to schedule your travel time around his sleep schedule. Travel when he usually naps/sleeps. Play soothing music on the radio. Give him a bottle of milk. Feed him. Entertain him w/ Baby Einstein videos on a DVD player. Sit in the backseat w/ him. Have a car toy for him to look at or play with. When kids are facing backwards... there is nothing to look at and it is boring. Take pit stops and get out of the car regularly. And if nothing else works... take him out of the car seat and hold him. I know that's taboo and it's not recommended safety wise... but, I've done it before out of desperation. It worked wonders. But don't expect your child to sleep the whole time on a 16 hour road trip. Not unless you are planning to pull an all nighter and drive straight through. If that is the case... drive at night. I don't know that that is a safe option, though. Bring children's music along that the whole family can sing to. Laurie Berkner, Dan Zanes, and Raffi are tolerable ones. Read books. Point things out that he can see outside the window as you drive by. Good luck. I don't envy you.