hotel with a toddler

=Lee=B

I write this from our hotel room.  While we have travelled a fair bit it has typically been to stay with family and the last time we used a hotel our daughter was like 8 months old.  Now she is 17months and we got her asleep in her play pen.  But...what the heck do you all do after your kids are asleep?  At home we never really try to be quiet when she sleeps (we have company and host parties etc) but our house is big enough that she sleeps fine.  I don't know what all we could do in a hotel room with her asleep nearby.  Tonight we are just reading...but do we really read for the whole trip? (9 nights).  3 of the nights will be at a resort and we have a private balcony so plan to hang out there and do what ever so it's not an issue.  We'll likely try a movie on the laptop tomorrow night...she should sleep through the noise.

Just curious what everyone else does while traveling! 

 

 

pb_bride

We've only gone on trips twice with DS.  First trip we stayed at a suite hotel, so it is a 1BR with kitchenette.  DS slept in the PnP in the living room.  DH & I stayed in the bedroom and watched TV.

Second trip we rented an apartment so DS had his own room.

I've pretty much decided that either a suite hotel or an apartment will be the way to go for us from now on.  You can try to see if your hotel has suites and perhaps you can upgrade to one so at least you're not sitting in the dark from 8pm onwards?

baloneydisc

Our last trip was when DD was 23mo. We did not have a suite. After she went to sleep we read, watched tv/movies or played with our iPads.

JENandJEH

We also try to only stay where there are suites.  DS1 would never fall asleep when we were in the room (around 5 is when he started to do better with this) and DS2 has been the same, so far.  We had to share a room when we were moving back from Germany for 5 nights and DH and I would hide in the bathroom until DS1 fell asleep then use our headphones with the laptop to watch a movie in the dark.  

valeriegp

Agree with all the suite hotel recommendations. Even the ones that don't have a true two rooms will have some sort of divider between the living and sleeping areas. When we can't stay in one of those, we usually turn the TV on low as he is falling asleep so that the noise of turning it on doesn't wake him, or just read/play on iPads. But, we're readers, so a little time to read isn't a problem!

=Lee=B

Interesting responses so far!  Will definitely look into suites in the future I think.  Our current room is an executive room so has an office area with about 3feet between the big windows and the desk.  we've set her up over there so she is somewhat confined.  We do have her playpen rigged so we can cover the sides with blankets (this is rigged up from camping when we blocked her view in the tent).  We currently have our suitcases up on the desk so she can't see us if she stands. 

We also brought her white noise which cues her to sleep and helps drown out some noise. 

We thought about putting her in the bathroom to sleep so she was behind a door...but the bathroom is at the hotel room door and therefore shares the wall with the hall...not only can she hear the hall noise but everyone would hear her if she was to wake up screaming (she didn't last night but at home it's hit or miss if she sleeps through the night these days and when she does wake she wakes pissed and screaming!!).  The office area that she is in is far from the hall and therefore has less hotel noises...which she is at times weary of these days. 

The next 4 nights we can just swap out and go swimming or what ever in shifts.  I'm not too worried as this was a last minute trip since my husband had to travel for work and he decided to bring us along then we do a family resort trip at the end of the week.

We were planning a big resort trip for Feb and that's why I was wondering what others do...because I don't think I'd want to pay for a big 2 week trip to spend every night quiet in a hotel room!  Will definitely have to look into paying more for a second room so we can be enjoying our evenings!  All the more incentive for us to convince grandma she wants to come and to coordinate with my brother and SIL so we can all rent a big house and have grandma babysit all the kids in the evenings!!! 

=Lee=B

At home she sleeps 7:30pm until 8:30/9am.  Last night she slept 8:30pm-6:50am. We will likely push her bedtimes back a bit but she likes her sleep and I don't want to mess with it too much as she typically does a solid 3-4hr nap at home and I don't know that she'll nap that long here...she's napping now so we'll see!

We don't typically sleep until 10:30-11pm.  Definitely more than 1hr of quiet time after she goes to bed!! 

Jbunny100

We've traveled many times with DS in hotel rooms.  Suites are ideal, but not always available.  I have a white noise app on my phone that plays a rain storm similar to the one on his WN machine at home.  We put that on and then sit in bed and eat dinner and water TV.  The sound isn't blaring, but you can definitely hear it okay.  The hard part for me is when I put DS down for the night.  If he sees me then he pops up in his pack n play and will not fall asleep.  So DH and I end up hanging out in the bathroom until DS falls asleep.

MattysGirl81

Whenever possible we get a suite with a separate living room. We put the kids to sleep out there and then can hang out in the bedroom area and watch TV, etc. Suites are more expensive generally, but totally worth it. I would go crazy tiptoeing around a small hotel room staying quiet every night!

JulesDiane

Suite or adjoining rooms.

LSU628

Suites, hands down. If you can stay at one of the extended stay places (we used the Towne Suites and used my Marriott points), we were able to get adjoining rooms for my MIL and a suite for us so DS could sleep in the LR and DH and I hung out in the bedroom until he went to sleep. Once he's out we can move around the place, go the kitchen, have a glass of wine, shower, or plan the next day's adenda. Normally on vacation my kids are so tired that they crash pretty easily.
On the flip side, this summer I traveled to my aunt's house in Cape Cod and decided just to keep the kids in the downstairs bedroom with me. Biggest mistake ever! DH could see me, wouldn't sleep, woke up multiple times a night and wanted to party all night long. It was a disaster. He kept the whole house awake with his crying and noise. The extra money for the suite or adjoining room is totally worth my sleep and sanity. I was so tired and grouchy that I wasn't a fun momma on the trip. :-(