how do you handle early bedtimes on vacation?

[shaynaatl]

We are headed to Charleston SC this weekend for a short getaway. We’ve taken previous vacations where grandparents were able to babysit while DH and I went out at night, but this will be our first trip where it’s just the 3 of us.

DD is 19 months old and goes to bed around 8-8:30 pm (and wakes up at 7 am). Our hotel room is just a single room so she will be sleeping in our room. We are kind of at a loss of what to do when she goes to bed. I’m not even sure if we’ll be able to watch TV due to the bright light. What do you do in this type of situation?

Our plans for the trip are just to eat good food and walk around the city (supposed to be mid 70s and sunny).

[motzie]

Drink wine in the bathroom?

The few times we've done this I've rearranged the hotel room so the pnp was in a corner with a big chair or something in front. Once DD was asleep we'd be safe to watch a movie on the TV or iPad, depending on the set up.

[hocus2]

I've only shared a hotel once with my kid. She stayed up late and passed in bed with us the first night. The next night she slept on a crib mattress on the floor and I think we watched TV. I'd bring books or a tablet so you can read or watch TV in bed.

[huskymom]

Probably not helpful but we've only done suite style rooms for this reason. I think the one time our room turned out to not be a real suite at Sesame place DH and I just played on our phones and went to bed early. Could you put the PNP in the bathroom? Though it makes using the bathroom a little more difficult...

I'd probably get some drinks, some headphones/splitter, and watch a movie together on a tablet.

[Deleted]

dd has been able to sleep slightly later on vacay than normal (10 vs 9 pm). She wakes later accordingly also. By the time she falls asleep, I'm pretty exhausted too so we just all have an early bedtime.

[mrssandro]

Usually my kid exhausts herself on vacation and falls dead asleep. We usually go with suite/condo styles though so we don't all have to be in the same room.

[CloudBee]

Can you pull up room photos online? We've been able to fit a crib and pack and plays into hotel bathrooms before.

We stayed in a 1 bedroom apartment in the Bahamas last year. DS would go to bed in the bedroom, then we would wheel him to the living room and close the door when we were ready for bed. But for naps, we would actually put him to bed in the bathroom so we had free reign of the bedroom / main living quarters. It worked really well.

Someone on here also mentioned at one point that if the hotel has an ironing board you can drape a sheet over it and create a divider that way.

Have you checked to see if there are any Residence Inns, Hampton Inns, or Embassy Suites in the area you are visiting? They are often comparable in price to regular hotels and have a bedroom with a door, and then a lounge area with TV / couch, sometimes fridge and microwave. It's even worth spending a little extra because you can really enjoy your evenings after the kiddo goes to bed.

ETA: Embassy Suites has a location in Charleston. A 2 room suite (bedroom with closing door) is $199 per night. Check other similar hotels listed above. You may be able to find something cheaper than that. SO worth the extra money - but again, sometimes you don't even spend more for this setup. secure3.hilton.com/en_US/es/reservation/book.htm?execution=e1s1

[jeaniebueller]

Usually I just keep them up as late as possible and just deal with it.

[sillygoosegirl]

We hung out in the bathroom for a while, taking our showers and sometimes washing some laundry, then one of us went out for takeout. By then she was well enough asleep that we could have a little light and quiet conversation on the other side of the room without waking her. And then we went to bed early too.

Some nights we had an AirBnB with multiple rooms. That was definitely nicer.

[Deleted]

We didn't and still try not to do hotel rooms with kids. If we have to we get a suite with a separate sitting area.

The few times we did it we either kept them up and then all went to bed at the same time. It we out the baby to bed and then stayed quiet until they fell asleep and then turned the TV on very low. Either way kind of sucks. Which is why we don't do it.

[anna7602]

I can't remember the last time I turned on a hotel TV set? Usually, DH and I download a movie on the iPad and watch it with a pair of headphones plugged in if we want to stay up. But mostly, we've pushed back DD's bedtime in the past and more recently, DS's bedtime, and then just all gone to sleep at the same time.

DD is 7 and we've traveled a ton and never had to get a suite when we stay in hotels. The only hotel vacation we've taken with DS so far (14 months old), we've also been able to all stay in one room (with a separate bed for DD and a PNP for DS).

[luckyno7]

My guess is your kid will be so tired you'll still be able to watch TV after she goes to sleep.

[jeaniebueller]

also, am I the only one who is usually so exhausted after a day of "vacation" with my two kids, that I happily go to bed when they do?

[anna7602]

Oct 12, 2015 9:58:36 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

also, am I the only one who is usually so exhausted after a day of "vacation" with my two kids, that I happily go to bed when they do?

Not the only one!

[GotWine]

We just got home from a weekend where we stayed in a hotel with that set up. Dd is 3 and was so tired after being out and about all day that she slept fine. She went to bed later than usual since we were so busy so she just crashed when we finally put her down.

We watched hgtv with the Volume low and played cards and drank wine until we went to bed. We just waited until she was asleep before we turned it on.

Ds is 9 months old and is pretty accustomed to sleeping through anything so he was fine in the PnP in the corner of the room.

I think the excitement of the day just catches up with them at the end of the day and they sleep harder than they do at home.

[jsillyfun]

Put kid to bed then watch Netflix in computer with headphones and drink.

[halfpint]

We do try to get suites or rent houses/condos for this reason, but otherwise he's usually up a bit later on vacation. We went to Chicago when he was about 18 months, and just put the PnP as far around the corner of the room as we could, then we curled up in bed with some wine and watched a movie on the tablet. Honestly not that much different than what we do at home, just swap bed for couch and tablet for TV

[ECB]

ANy chance you have a balcony?

[magpie]

We try to book places with a little separation (airbnb apartments are great for this!) so that we can stay up chatting over wine or cocktails after she goes to sleep. If you have a balcony, maybe you could hang out on that?

The last trip we had was so fantastic--we had a suite with a totally separate bedroom and H had a (very trustworthy/responsible) former student who lived in the town we visited, so we had her come babysit after bedtime. She came over and did homework in the living room and DD never woke up, so we had two nights of going out on the town and the babysitter never even saw our kid!

[mellimel19]

We kept DD up a bit later than usual, but she's pretty easygoing, so that wasn't a problem. Our hotel room had a nice balcony, so after we put her to bed, we'd hang out on the balcony and enjoy a few drinks.

[stackingtens]

We've done a few things... in a small room with no sitting space, we've put the pack and play in the closet if it fit (door open) or in the bathroom (and did all our bedtime stuff before putting the kid down). Then we were usually able to watch tv/read/eat in the room.

In one case, we had a small sofa area so we moved the sofa away from the wall and put the back and play behind it, so DS couldn't see us. Then we jacked up his white noise machine and he crashed in the dark corner we'd created.

Nothing's ideal, unfortunately. :-(

[steamboat185]

We only book hotel rooms that have a little bit of a separation between sitting and sleeping areas. We put DD in the darkest section of the room and either pretend to sleep or sit in the sitting area if there is a partition. Once she falls asleep we can watch TV quietly, play a board game, or read. DD usually goes to bed a little later on vacation, but we do try to keep her schedule fairly consistent.

[SJ]

This is something we struggle with. We love to go out and explore and drink, and DH has had an especially hard time adjusting to travel with DD.

I think we do a great job though. We use AirBNB or similar things to get apartments or at least spaces with a designated room for DD. That way we can put her down and still hang out. When we were in Montreal, a few times after she went to bed, DH would go out and grab a drink and I would stay in and read. It was totally fine, but we obviously prefer to go out together. We are definitely torn between wanting to travel with her and recognizing how much easier it is to leave her behind

[shaynaatl]

Thanks for the replies all. We have a connection at the Holiday Inn Riverview hotel and staying there for free. So not much we can do about the room situation.

I'm work on finding some movies to download on the iPad.

[monsterz]

We try to book places that have suites or a separate sitting area as the first time we were all in 1 room it was horrible. We also typically get a babysitter for 1 night when we are away so we can stay up a little later and enjoy adult activities.

[VillainV]

C goes to bed at 6:00-6:30, so I get you on this.

We usually put him to bed, then hang out in the room. We turn the TV and lights off until he falls asleep, but then we can turn stuff back on. We usually order room service and watch TV or a movie. Honestly, we go to bed pretty early on vacation (like 9ish) because we like the extra sleep.

[rbp]

Does your hotel room have a balcony? If so, drinking on the balcony. We've only spent one night with M in a single hotel rooms (other nights we had a suite), and we sat on the balcony drinking after putting him to bed in the room. 

[luv2rn4fun]

C was 9 months old when we went on vacation. We had a suite just for this reason. Put him to sleep in the room and then transferred him to the living area when I dream fed. DH and I hung out watching TV, talking, and drinking beer. It was awesome! And C really surprised us with how well he slept! Much better than at home...bedtime was a very non-issue whereas it's typically a fight at home (takes him awhile to fall asleep at home whereas he was out very fast in the hotel). Good luck! I'm sure it will go much better than you think!

[origami]

We just read/watch movies with earphones on our tablets.