Advice for Traveling with Toddler

Hi R.-
Yay, vacation! My suggestions for sleeping are get your daughter a cot or build her a comfy spot on the floor or invest in an air mattress then she can sleep right next to mom and dad on the floor. My son loves to go "camping". Wink, wink. I always put my son to bed at his regular time when sharing a room and turn off the TV until he's asleep, then turn it on or read. If your daughter is a light sleeper I would put her bed as far away from your and hubby's activities. I agree with the pillow on a chair for dinner, unless she's still wobbly, then maybe something like phone books or boxes which give more stability. Also, maybe MIL can find a cheapie booster for the visit at a second hand store? As for bath time, maybe grandma and grandpa can do the bath and there will be no screaming? I don't have an answer, you can't not bathe her. At the hotel, the swimming pool and hot tub, if they have them, make great makeshift bathtubs, no soap obviously, but if you can get her good and rinsed, "It'll do.
Have a great couple of trips.
S.

My Daughter also screams when water touches her face/ears and nothing helped before finding these! Tilting her head back just made it worse because she would overreact and start flipping around like a fish out of water. I cannot tell you how much we love the person that invented these bath visors! We got them at Babies'r'us for a few bucks and two came in a pack but now I don't see them on their website but they're all over the internet. We have only used them in the bath with a removeable shower nozzle, she would not let me stick her head under a faucet ever.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00284ALBE/ref=pd_lpo_k2...

As for a booster, we bought this travel one at Babies'r'us (but ours is pink) and it's great! If we attempted to sit my Daughter down for dinner without the booster she would get up and walk away and trail food through the house with her, so it works out great!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3811067

Hope you have fun on your trip!

For sleeping at In-Laws:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kids-Special-Edition-Garden-Hou...
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1326...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mickey-Mouse-Clubhouse-Flip-Ope...
*Have her sleep in your room, with you in these.
*These are what my kids LOVED sleeping in & what we used, if in a hotel or anywhere or with Grandma. Very cozy and comfy. My kids at their ages, still fit in it and play with it. Very portable, very fun, very useful and grows with the child. I can even fit in the tent/hut with my kids.
*and by the way, these tent/hut/fold out kids sofa... makes "traveling" and sleeping in "strange" new places, so much less intimidating or scary. My kids, could hardly wait to sleep in these!

For mealtimes: no, a high chair/booster is not necessary. Hotels/restaurants will have one if needed. At at the in-laws... just have her sit on the regular table/dining chair on a pillow. Less to lug around that way. Just use whatever the in-laws have. NO need for special equipment just for mealtime.

For bath time: she will scream anyway, anywhere. So that can't be avoided. But perhaps bring some bath toys from home. Warn your in-laws before bath time, that she tends to scream and tell them with a smile like all kids do that. And yes, many do do that. Its not so unusual.

For sleeping in hotel: if you can, get a joining room.. .that way, you/Hubby can still stay up, even if she is sleeping. If not, if you are ALL in a single room.. .get 2 queen beds... or your child can sleep on the fold-out kids sofa I mentioned above. That is what my son did. My daughter meanwhile slept in 1 queen bed, and we in the other. But yes, "I" was the one, that stayed with my son, in the room, since he sleeps earlier at the age he was at the time. And then, my Hubby and daughter, went out in the evening. It was fine. I didn't mind, and actually it was relaxing for me... and I ordered room service! So fun! Just because your child is sleeping at 7:30, does not mean "you" have to go to bed too... just stay up, keep the lights low (I would just keep on the bathroom light thereby it was a real indirect light not the light IN the room by the bed)... and you can watch TV, or read or just relax.

keep it simple. It will not be exactly just as you do at home...
BUT.. one thing is... TRY your best to keep to your daughter's SAME nap and bedtimes. Otherwise, if is it willy-nilly and/or she skips naps or does not nap and her bedtime is footloose... then ONCE you get back home... you will have a darned time, getting her BACK into her regular home routines/nap times/bed times.

All the best,
Susan

Honestly I would throw your normal sleep schedule for your child completely out the window when you are travelling. My kids have always gone to bed between 730 and 8pm. But when we travel we forget about the normal nap and bedtime schedule. The kids are just too excited, tired, etc. to follow such a strict schedule. My youngest just turned 2 when we drove 3.5 days from San Diego to S. Dakota. We just kept her up until we went to bed (usually around 9 or 10pm). She would nap in the car. During the week that we were actually in S. Dakota, we rented a 2 bedroom cabin and would put the kids to bed around 9pm. Hubby slept with our then 4 yo son in one room and I slept with our daughter in the other room. We just brought a bedrail for my daughters side of the bed. And when the kids were tired, we would take them back to the cabin for a rest regardless of what time it was.

For your hotel stay, most hotels will have pack n plays on site. You just have to request it. I would bring your own sheets and blankets for the pack n' play. You can wrap a couple of flat sheets around the pack n play mat (that's what the hotel staff does anyways). We've used hotel pack n plays a few times with each kid.

For your stay with your in laws, could you borrow a friend or relatives pack n play? Or maybe your inlaws have friends that might have one you could borrow? I know my parents always had a few baby items at their house for when we brought the kids over (spare car seat, stroller, blankets, clothes, baby food, diapers, wipes, etc.)

As for the highchair/booster. If you no longer use the tray on her high chair, she could probably just sit in a regular table chair. She might have to sit on her knees. I don't think we've ever brought a travel highchair/booster for either of my kids when we travelled. We either took turns holding them while the other fed them, or asked the grandparents/relatives to help hold/feed them, or used the highchairs/boosters offered at most restaurants. Or you can just sit on the floor and feed her or use a low coffee table.

Some hotels have pack n plays that you can borrow- just call and ask. You probably want to bring your own sheet for it though! Otherwise, we bought an inflatable sleeping bag for my daughter. It folds up nicely for travel, but then you pump it up so that it's a nice comfy bed. If your toddler would stay in there, I'd go with that. But if you want to keep her confined, try asking for a pack n play. Have fun!!!

If you are staying in a hotel, try to stay in a Suite Hotel that has a separate bedroom so you can put your daughter to sleep and you and your husband can stay up later. Many hotels have cribs or pack n plays that they can give you to use for the night. You can call around and see which hotels provide this. If you have to stay in one room, put your daughter to sleep then see if you can put on a light to watch TV or read. Staying with grandparents is easier. Just take her favorite blanket or toys to have with her. You may want to sleep in the same room with her too if you think she'll be scared.

As far as the bath, we bought at Blow up bath tub at Babies R Us. It looks like a little pool. It's great for traveling because you can put it in a bigger tub and the baby won't have to get all wet from the big tub. We also bought a portable travel booster to use for meals (although many restaurants have them too). It straps right to a regular seat and it's easy to store since it closes into a little case.

Hope this helps! Have a fun trip!

We've been in hotels twice with our kids and it really isn't so bad. I recommend getting two double beds rather than a King Size bed if you have more than one kid. If it's just you, your husband and the baby...King works. This last time, we got the crib from the hotel and put my son in it when he went to bed. I followed his normal bedtime for him and then we stayed up and watched TV and went to bed when we wanted to. You have to keep things a little quieter than normal, but it works. He woke up in the middle of the night each night, like he does at home, and then came into the bed with me. My husband was in the other double with our other son. I put pillows on the other side of the bed to make sure he wouldn't roll out. I wouldn't worry about the scary part, she'll likely find it a great adventure as long as you also approach it that way.

As for the booster seat. Use the restaurants when you are out...and at your in-laws, get the Fisher Price booster seat. I think it's like $25 and we LOVE it. I've used it for both kids and it just lives in our car. Whenever we're at friends or family for dinner or a meal, we just pull it out and use it. Easy to clean, lightweight.

Have fun...travelling with kids requires a little more planning, but really it's a lot of fun to see new things through their eyes and be together as a family.

Enjoy!
-M

Some of the answers depend on your child. For my first, we always brought our buckle-in booster-with-a-tray just so we could have some time where he wasn't jumping on furniture, grabbing breakables off the table, running out the front door -- you get the picture : ) With my daughter, she only spends a few minutes eating, and she's not quite so "active," so it wouldn't be worth hauling.

Bathtime - would just an inch or two of water in the tub, plus one of those big visors made just for this purpose work? One Step Ahead has them.

Good luck and have "fun"!!

Most hotels have pack 'n' plays, just ask. For in-law's, have MIL check local thrift stores or try www.babysaway.com to rent what you need.

Target sells a great travel booster seat for around $25. It looks like a bag (similar to medium diaper bag size) that opens up to reveal a seat. The one my neice has for her kids has several heights. They fill with air similar to a camping mattress (no blowing, just open valve and air flows in). We've also used the two hotel chairs (with arms) pushed together to make a bed. Before our trip we took our 2 1/2 year old to Target and picked out a slumber party type sleeping bag which lasted through her younger sleep-over days.
Have a great trip!

(I assume you are traveling by car and so have a lot of room to pack gear.)

I remember staying at a hotel when my son was 1-1/2, my husband and I hung out in the bathroom so that my son could have a completely dark room to fall asleep. Can't remember if it worked.

Guest bedroom - we stayed at a friend's for a week. With their permission, I pushed the bed to the corner of the room, and brought along a toddler aerobed (air mattress) and put it on the floor right next to the bed. I put both my 1 y.o. and 3 y.o. on it, and sat on the floor next to them while they fell asleep.

Booster seats - I have a kaboodle (from amazon) which works great if the chair and table are right, but if they are not, then it won't work. I also have the fisher-price travel booster, which comes with the tray that can be used or not. In a pinch a big thick phone book might be enough.

Bathing (assuming bathtub, not shower stall) - I brought along a 5-10 gallon (I'm not sure of quantity) plastic bucket and a non-slip bath mat. Then I used a small container - plastic jar, big gulp cup, whatever - to pour water on the kids, then soaped and rinsed the same way. For the water-sensitive, you might ask her to cover her eyes/face with a wash cloth, but of course it won't be 100%.

When traveling, you have to wing it. Try to keep to a modified routine but know that most likely it won't work. When traveling I disregard bedtimes. I still keep to the bedtime routine - calm atmosphere, telling my kids that it's dark outside, people are going to sleep, etc - but wait till I see definite signs of sleepiness. The trick is the catch the right moment that they will fall asleep when they hit the bed, but not get overtired and start an adrenaline kick.

I also try to arrive during the day. That way I can take the kids on a "tour" of where we are staying, checking out every nook and cranny ("oh look, here's the light switch!" "Here's where we'll be sleeping!") and point out similarities differences to our home.

I don't try to keep afternoon naps. Instead I try to time long drives after lunch, so they will sleep in the car. They might wake up cranky, so I expect a "decompression period" afterwards.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

A booster seat is worth the $20 at Target when you are at your In-laws. It will help the child eat safely and let you also enjoy your meal at the same time. You can leave it with them for your next visit and they can usually use them until they are around 5. I would not worry about it for your hotel trip as the hotel restaurant or other restaurants you will be eating at with have high chairs.

When we travel we don't go to bed at the same time as the child. We put him to bed at his normal time and we do our own thing. If we are sharing a room, we usually have 5-10 min of dark/quite time after we put him down so he can get used to environment and fall asleep, then we watch tv or do whatever we want with limited light on. Or if the room has multiple rooms, we put him in the bedroom and hang out in the living room.

Rent or have a pack-n-play/crib handy in both the hotel or in-laws. You never know what kind of dangers they may find and you don't want them sleeping with you. Have your in-laws ask their friends if they can borrow one.

For bath time, you may want to let your in-laws bath your lo. If you don't stress about the new surroundings, you child may not (worht a try). Being in a new place and having someone new give the bath may let her open her horizons and they can alway teach you a thing or two. If that does not work, make them really quick (2 min) baths/showers.

Good luck.