Traveling with a Young Toddler

[soozy87]

How do you do it? We are going on vacation in a couple of weeks with our 1.5 year old. How do you get them to sleep in a hotel room? Do you just go to bed early? Give me your tricks and tips!

[hocus2]

The one time we stayed in a hotel with a young child we got a suit. Our daughter slept in the main room in a portable crib and we had the bedroom to ourselves. I know some folks get rooms with balconies and they just outside talking/drinking/reading until they go to bed.

[countthestars]

We usually get a two room suite if possible so we can stay up. If that's not possible, we pretend we're sleeping in the dark room until DD is asleep and then watch a movie or something with headphones on the ipad.

[rbp]

Is a condo/house (VRBO or similar) an option? Or do you have to stay in a hotel?

We just rented a condo at the beach. M actually slept in our walk-in closet because our friends were in the other bedroom. He slept great! (He's only 9mo though; not sure if 18mo is a tougher age.) It was a great setup because we hung out with the friends, drank, and played games after the kids went to sleep.

[Deleted]

She sleeps in bed with us.

We just put her on the bed, and when she falls asleep, she is out.

We watch TV, even with the lights on, and she doesn't wake up.

[soozy87]

May 28, 2015 12:52:29 GMT -5 rbp said:

Is a condo/house (VRBO or similar) an option? Or do you have to stay in a hotel?

We just rented a condo at the beach. M actually slept in our walk-in closet because our friends were in the other bedroom. He slept great! (He's only 9mo though; not sure if 18mo is a tougher age.) It was a great setup because we hung out with the friends, drank, and played games after the kids went to sleep.

We will be at hotels. We are taking driving and will be in a different city every night.

[drloretta]

We've always had to co-sleep

[Deleted]

Sleep tight little man!

[magpie]

We try to VRBO or AirBnb places with a separate living room/bedroom. Last trip we took, about a month ago, that wasn't an option, so we put her down in the kitchenette or our hotel suite. It worked okay...not great, but not terrible.

[mpc]

We would bring the packnplay and the baby monitor. Even if it meant we were just hanging out in the lobby of the hampton inn after he went to bed. I will say that my son is not used to sleeping in the same room as us, and if/when he woke up in the middle of the night I had a hard time getting him back to sleep. Most nights he ended up in bed with us.

[dcn]

Ideally we stay in a rental apt or house.

In a hotel at that age we put the pnp in a closet if possible.

Otherwise, we go to bed earlyish, and DH and I hang out in the bathroom with wine lol, or just read.

We are taking a 2 week road trip and staying in hotels and I think we are just all going to go to bed at the same time most nights. I am pretty sure DS will have zero schedule after a few days anyway so we will just roll with it.

[noodleskooze]

We had to upgrade to a suite. He will not sleep if we are in the same room. We've tried multiple times, and it was a complete disaster. We won't be vacationing as a family for a long time, it seems

[meltoine]

I put him in a pack and play next to the window, then pull the curtain around the pack and play so he can't see me. I move it once he's asleep because air flow and stuff.

I don't think we've ever stayed in a hotel room with H and the kids, so I usually just reading or watching something on my iPad with headphones.

[babyrn]

We typically put the pack n play in the bathroom. And always make sure to bring the white noise machine and her nightlight!

[VillainV]

We order a lot of room service. Traveling is basically "survival mode" for us and we do stuff we don't typically do if it makes life easier. make sure to bring a small selection of toys and books, including maybe a few new things or toys you haven't used in a while (its like they're new again!).