Hotel for a Week with a 2 Year Old

Updated on March 07, 2010
L.P. asks from Los Angeles, CA
10 answers

Hi Mamas! We will be staying in a hotel for a week with our 2 1/2 year old. She's been sleeping in a bed for over a month, no problems. I am wondering tips and techniques for how to put her down earlier (8:30-9:00pm) and not also have to go to bed at that time! It's a hotel room with 2 queen beds. In the past, I have put her in the closet (if the pack and play fits) but we don't have that option this time because the closet is too small. Any ideas? THANK YOU!

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J.R.

answers from San Diego on

I'd try to find accommodations with more than one room. You don't say where you're going, but I've found that a lot of times it's cheaper to stay at a timeshare that people rent out on eBay or find houses/apartments through VRBO.com. And the added bonus is that most of those places also have a kitchen, which I've found to be very convenient when traveling with toddlers.

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J.C.

answers from San Diego on

Our daughter would never go to sleep with anyone or anything around.....lucky for us someone had a great suggestion. A fun tent! We have one that pops up in one piece and it is a Thomas train, we also have a princess cheapo from Target. We make a big deal out of "her SPECIAL tent" and she gets so excited to sleep in it. We just put it in some corner, and have a roll up mat, and all her sleeping friends and blanket. We take it every where. Even when we go to my grandfathers in Palm Springs where she has her own bedroom with twin beds, she still sleeps in the tent on the floor of that room.
Here is an idea. You can also sometimes find them at Marshall's and other places. When we went out of state, we didn't want to lug it so we borrowed a real 2 person camping tent there.

http://www.target.com/Disney-Princess-Bed-Tent/dp/B001B12...

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K.B.

answers from Houston on

I guess it depends on what you plan to do during that time but as long as it's nothing too loud I would think once she's asleep she would sleep through. You might have to dim the lights and keep things quiet for a little while for her to get to sleep but once she is asleep in the bed I would think having the lights on dim and the TV on or talking would not wake her up. We were in a hotel for 3 weeks waiting for our house to be ready with a 3 yr old and a 1 year old and I don't remember having any problems with doing things once they were asleep.

Good luck,
K.

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J.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

If you still have the pack in play I would use that. What we did with our daughter last summer when she was 15 months old was rearrange furniture in the hotel room and pinned a sheet to two sides of the room to create a "room" for her. I got that idea from a book. Good luck. :-)

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D.M.

answers from Denver on

That's tough. Is it possible to find a hotel with a "suite" (not expensive) but some do offer a separate room w/ french doors etc.... so you can get some privacy and not wake her. OR adjoining rooms (if cost isn't an issue)...OR maybe you could invest in a little "tent" so at least it would block the light (and some noise). She might even think it's fun! Good luck.

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L.T.

answers from Los Angeles on

Can you try skipping nap a couple of the days and putting her to bed earlier? We stayed in a hotel with our daughter for a week at that age, and some of the days she skipped nap and was in bed asleep by 7. Since she still needs a nap most days we had to do the routine where we put her to bed at her normal time, sat in the dark and waited for her to fall asleep, then watch tv for a little bit until our bedtime. The only problem was that with a smaller hotel room the tv woke her occasionally and we ended up going to bed way too early! It was MUCH easier when we could stick a pack and play in a corner!

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J.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Get a suite...the last time we stayed in a one room hotel was when my now 5-1/2 year old daughter was one year old. Never again. My husband wanted to watch the news and my daughter was just standing there in the crib, watching us watching t.v. We had to just turn it off so she'd go to sleep. Now we always stay in either timeshares or suite hotels. We've now got one-year-old twins as well, and will be staying in a 2-bedroom timeshare for a week next month. NO way would I stay in a simple hotel room again unless I wanted to go to bed at 8 p.m....which I don't. (Suites don't cost that much: Embassy, Marriott, and others all have suite hotels and they are very affordable. Mainly they are sanity savers, plus they often have a full or partial kitchen. Great to have.)

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K.P.

answers from New York on

We ran into a similar challenge this summer and found that if we turned off all the lights in the room and sat just outside the door with the door cracked until he was really "asleep", we could come back in the room, turn on a dim light and watch tv without waking him!

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C.M.

answers from Austin on

When I travel alone with my 2 preschoolers I lay down with them until they are asleep on one bed. Then I can turn on the light on the other side of the room to read or turn the tv on really low. I wouldn't get upset or frustrated if it takes longer than at home. That is totally normal. One thing I HIGHLY recommend: find a hotel with a pool. Wear her out before dinner/bathtime. She will probably fall asleep easier if she's really tired.
Have fun!

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

what i do with my daughter is continue with her regular bed time routine and lights out untill she is good and out. then i turn the farthest light on or the bathroom light and turn the tv with a low volume. if she wakes just explain that its still night time and how sleepy you are. even if you have to lay with her. usually i sleep with my daughter and my husband sleeps alone.

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