Vacationers!

bigbootyjudi · July 2013

We're going on our first "family" vacation in a week and a half. It was just planned yesterday, but anyways...

I'm nervous about how G is going to do. Anything I can do to make the whole new environment thing a little less shocking to him? He's a pretty scheduled kid. I'm getting anxious just thinking about how he's going to sleep, eat, etc.

We booked a king sized mini-suite, so it has a little section of the room that has a half of a wall up where there's a couch. I'm going to bring the PNP and he'll (hopefully) sleep there. But, what do SO and I do? I mean, he's going to be in the same room, so he'll be able to hear us. We're not going to bed at 7pm along with him, so do we just lay quietly in bed until 12am when we fall asleep? Lol. Do I bring his high chair for snacks/meals in the room? Should I bring one of those float things for the pool? Get beach shoes for him for the lake?

The drive there is about 2.5 hours and we're going to leave at his naptime, so I'm not worried about that aspect of it. Also, I'm buying an Ergo off of a girl for $40 today because he only lasts about 30 minutes in the stroller, so that's taken care of.

Any other tips?

ETA: Oh and would you stop? SO thinks it's "mean" to leave him in the car seat for 2.5 hours. I think he'll sleep for at least 1.5 like he usually does and I don't see the big deal.

cedenton · July 2013

2.5 hours isn't bad at all. Honestly if you time it around his nap, he'll probably just end up taking a longer nap.

I don't know what to say about the sleeping situation. Did they not have any real suites with completely separate rooms? That would be the ideal situation and if I could afford it I'd go with a hotel that had that option.

If you have a small high chair, like the space saver you could bring it or you could just eat on the floor on a towel. YES to the floaty!! We love ours. Not sure about beach shoes. Is he walking?

bigbootyjudi · July 2013

cedenton:
2.5 hours isn't bad at all. Honestly if you time it around his nap, he'll probably just end up taking a longer nap.
I don't know what to say about the sleeping situation. Did they not have any real suites with completely separate rooms? That would be the ideal situation and if I could afford it I'd go with a hotel that had that option.
If you have a small high chair, like the space saver you could bring it or you could just eat on the floor on a towel. YES to the floaty!! We love ours. Not sure about beach shoes. Is he walking?

No, they hardly had any open rooms. It's a small town and we're booking on short notice.

We have the space saver. He's not walking, but he'll want to stand.

BluepointToasted · July 2013

In the future, instead of booking a hotel room, check out a website like VRBO. We usually rent an apartment, condo or house wherever we go, and it is so much more comfortable, and almost always cheaper than a hotel room. We did a hotel back in April, but only three nights. It was kinda a nightmare, but this was before he was a good sleeper.

luckily, my kid is a little flexible, and we actually would stay out until 10:00 or 11:00. He was still taking a third nap, so we would walk around in the evening and he would fall asleep for a bit and get a second wind. He napped mostly in the stroller for the whole trip; he slept better there than in the hotel room. I got him to nap in the carrier a few times, but that can be hard on you.

Jillwithani · July 2013

We are doing the same thing this weekend at our family house. We got a float thing for the water and are bringing the PNP. I think I'm going to pick up some sandals today that can get wet not knowing how hot the surfaces nearby will get. I think the ergo is a great idea. We are bringing a bucket of his favorite toys so he feels at home as well as usual blanket for night time. I'd bring a bottle of wine to drink and watch tv on low with while LO is sleeping. It'll be like parents night in? Does your room have a balcony?

twoitalians · July 2013

Oh god, we are leaving tomorrow for vacation and I worry about this. Aside from the 3 hour plane ride and then a 2 hour car ride, I'll have a 2 hour train ride next week. DS doesn't just fall asleep on his own anymore when we are out and about... too much to get excited about and look at. Hopefully he will sleep ok for half the vacation. We are staying at my aunt's and will have a separate bedroom and a pnp for him. I worry about when we go to Chicago cu we will be in a hotel then. We won't have a high chair for him, too much of a hassle to bring or borrow one and he is fine sitting in our laps to eat anyway. I think this all is goin to be a learning experience and I hope that DS surprises me and is super well adjusted and behaving for the majority of the trip. Maybe G will surprise you and do better than you expect.

Cbarajas08 · July 2013

I strongly recommend him not sleeping in bed with you. DD slept with us and when we came home, she refused to sleep in her crib. Is G a light sleeper? DD isn't so I was able to watch TV. As far as meals, I either sat DD in my lap or put her in her stroller to eat. She was content eating in the stroller. I did buy a floaty for the pool but DD wasnt a fan. She didn't like being confined. She preferred to be held or "walk" in the baby pool. I also bought DD water socks. I am glad I did. They were convenient. I would also make sure to have a hat for G. We also took the Baby Ganics bug spray as there were a ton of bugs where we went. Everybody came home with tons of bug bites except DD. Oh, and having the Ergo was amazing!! Hope you have fun. You deserve a vacation.

piphigirl · July 2013

This is why we don't take Charlotte to hotels. At home, she sleeps in her own room, dark, with white noise. We only take her places where we can create that environment (i.e. if we are renting a cottage or staying with friends.)

Can you bring dark quilts to darken the hotel windows or create a partition between two areas of the room? If you create a partition and run a white noise machine, you guys could eat dinner and watch TV, probably. Another thing I have done in the past is put quilts directly over the PNP and the white noise machine right below it. This works, too!

I definitely remember reading a blog where the family wrote about traveling with room darkening curtains and thumb tacks for darkening the room and creating partitions. I just can't find it now!

Definitely get some pool toys/floats. No lake advice here because we are trying to figure that out. I would say that outdoors or in the hotel room, you can just spread a towel/blanket and have him eat on that. If you want to buy a small high chair, there is a semi-crappy Summer brand portable booster on sale at Meijer right now for $18.99. We bought one for the cottage and it's working just fine.

CLeigh03 · July 2013

2.5 in a car seat at nap time is NOT mean.

And ugh, yes on the room situation - we just went through that. Granted we had a house so we didn't have to sit in a quiet room at 7 but even just trying to get ready at night later when B was 'sleeping' - it's rough! Just expect it to be a bit rocky for the first few days - they need to adjust to the new environment.

We've been on 4 trips and 3 out of the 4 really have gone smoothly...and B is a SUPER scheduled kid. You guys will be just fine!

And oh YES on the floaty thing! The high chair may be a bit much to pack....

daniellelovesjacob · July 2013

We shared a room with Griffin when we went to Myrtle Beach a week ago and he slept in the pack n play. He actually stayed up a little later being in a differen enviorment which was nice. It was hard trying to come to bed 2 horus later and not wake him up but you will adjust.

Buona Fortuna · July 2013

2.5 hours is definitely not mean. I've left DS in the carseat for 5 hours- he was awake the whole time and didn't fuss until we had about 30 minutes left. I kept a bag of toys in the front seat and would hand him a new one if he got tired of the one he had.

DS is like clockwork on his schedules at home. Naps at 10-12 and 2-4. Sleep by 8:30 and awake at 6:45am. When we travel he's done perfectly fine getting off his schedule a little. He's slept fine in the pack n play because I had his blanket in there so it "smelled like home".

Getting back in to the swing of things at home only took a day or 2 then it was clock work again.

Don't worry and have a great time!

sdlaura · July 2013

BluepointToasted:
In the future, instead of booking a hotel room, check out a website like VRBO. We usually rent an apartment, condo or house wherever we go, and it is so much more comfortable, and almost always cheaper than a hotel room. We did a hotel back in April, but only three nights. It was kinda a nightmare, but this was before he was a good sleeper.
luckily, my kid is a little flexible, and we actually would stay out until 10:00 or 11:00. He was still taking a third nap, so we would walk around in the evening and he would fall asleep for a bit and get a second wind. He napped mostly in the stroller for the whole trip; he slept better there than in the hotel room. I got him to nap in the carrier a few times, but that can be hard on you.

This is what we do - book a small house or 2-bedroom condo through vrbo.com. That way DD has her own room, and we can hang out in the living room after she goes to bed. We're pretty strict on her bedtime since she's such a good sleeper, so we just do most of our activities during the day and make dinner/get takeout and watch movies in the evenings.

rp-chicago-mom · July 2013

If you get those floatie things, DO NOT use them in the lake. Don't. Just don't. Ok? My mom was a reporter and used to have to report about drownings at the beaches on that section of the lake and they are one of the most dangerous things you can do. A wave comes when he isn't wearing floatoes and he's anchored to the ground and does not float away. He has floaties and a wave comes and lifts him up and he CAN float away even when you're right there. Sorry. I get a little fired up about beach safety. And if there's a red flag, don't drive around until you find an unguarded beach so you can go in the water. Lake Michigan is no joke even though it's not the ocean and at the southern tip, those currents have a long time to build.

As for the sleeping question, what about putting the pnp in your bedroom so you can have the sitting area? We did it the other way too and that worked. We had sex, read, played cards and scrabble after bedtime. one hotel had a walk in closet and we used that for the PnP.

Mrs. Rohde · July 2013

I've never done this but a friend of mine was able to fit the pnp in the bathroom! I don't know what they did if they has to pee but it worked for them. Good luck!

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