Hotel sleeping accomodations for 1yr old? (+ toys 'n stuff)

[g33kyg1rly]

So about a week after LO's birthday, DH and I are staffing an anime/sci-fi convention about 2 hrs away. (We are both senior staff.) We'll be arriving on Wed night, setting up Thurs, convention runs Fri-Sun, and heading home Mon afternoon. LO will be coming with us, along with my parents to help watch LO while we are working (which will be a lot of the time). LO will be staying in our room. We are paying for a separate hotel room for my parents since they are doing us the service of watching LO.

I'm starting to worry about the sleeping situation for LO. We have a pack-n-play we can bring, and while she should still mostly fit in it, it probably will be a little cramped considering she loves to roll all over the bed. I'll be calling the hotel to find out about their cribs, but I've already heard what they call cribs at this hotel chain (Marriott), is usually a Graco pack-n-play.  If that's the case, we might as well bring our own. She has never slept in our bed and I don't want to start that habit now. (Plus I'm 99.9% sure DH would never go for it.)

I also worry about keeping LO entertained. While my parents can take her around the convention and around town, I don't know how well she'll tolerate being cooped up in a stroller/carrier for much of the time for multiple days in a row. She LOVES crawling/climbing/cruising around. Even if she can walk by then, I doubt she'd be proficient enough to walk around outside the confines of the (likely cramped) hotel room. I've been thinking about getting a few compact toys to help keep her occupied, that we don't give to her until we arrive (so there will be at least SOME time before she gets bored with them ).

I know some folks will probably say we should just have my parents stay with LO at our house, but we haven't been away from LO overnight yet, and I just don't feel ready yet, especially for 5 nights. Silly as it is, I also think DH and I would also like her to get some exposure to this crazy thing we do.

I guess my questions are:
* Anyone have recent experience with cribs at Marriott? (Are they really just a PnP?)
* Anyone have experience with having a 1 year old who normally sleeps in a crib sleep in a PnP? If so, how did they do? (Or any suggestions for a different sleeping accommodation?)
* Any suggestions for small, easy-to-travel-with toys to keep a 1-year-old occupied?
* Anything else we should consider bringing that wouldn't be in the normal set of diapers, wipes, clothes, stroller, carrier, toys, etc.?

TIA

[fish8412]

We just stayed at a marriott for 2 nights but we brought our pack n play. LO didn't sleep well but we didn't expect her to. New environment and new sleeping arrangements (she sleeps in crib at home) cause most babies to not sleep well. If I were you I would stay at a hotel that has suites so you have more space. Like you said, babies do not like to be confined and you will have tons of baby stuff with you. We stayed at a residence inn so we had more room and our own kitchen. LOs pack n play was in the living room so we were able to actually move around/watch TV in our room without waking her up.

Here are a few toys that I highly recommend. I specifically bought these for our trip (also involved flying). LO still plays with them at home. I actually bought them at kohls but here they are on amazon.


www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Snap-Lock-Beads-Baby-Toy/dp/B000R34UME


www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Bright-Beginnings-Stacking-Action/dp/B00006IJE6

And I don't blame you for bringing LO with you!! I haven't left her overnight yet (and I'm not planning on it anytime soon). Have a fun trip!

[RandomName]

I can speak to sleeping in a pack n play. DD sleeps in a pack n play 4 nights a week and her crib the other 3. I have an apartment in the city where I work and when DD and I are there she is in a pack n play (so at home in my condo its the crib). She's a big roller at night but we have never had a problem with space. She's quite tall also she either has to curl up a bit to sleep in the narrow direction or she can stretch out in the long direction (not sure if that makes sense, our pack n play isn't square it's rectangle which now that I think about it I don't know if that's the norm or not??).

Also, my apartment is quite small. I have only a few toys here and it works well. She doesn't ever seem bored. She has an vtech walker toy, some stacking toys, and a puzzle. She mostly walks around with her vtech or cruises along my furniture. Dd loves to pull clothes off the couch and then put them back, so whenever she has a suitcase it's endless fun for her to pull her clothes out and then put some peices back - repeat. Your LO will probably do better than you think playing in the hotel room

Good luck on your trip!

[katka512]

We just got back from a trip where LO slept in a pnp. She's normally in a crib. She did well but did wake up once or twice a night, which normally doesn't happen.
I second getting a suite hotel room if possible. Your parents probably won't be able to do much after LO goes to sleep if they are in the same room.
We shared a room with LO the first night of our vacation and I hated it. None of us slept well because we heard all noises and movements.
I also bought those linking toys for the plane. LO loved them.

[ellabee]

We just got back from a wedding where we stayed at a hotel for 2 nights. My sister in law came up to babysit DD.

We got two separate rooms, but they had an internal door. That was really awesome for us because during the day we could open the door up and DD had more space to explore and at night, my sister in law could shut the door and take the baby monitor in the other room and not have to worry about being noisy and waking her up.

We brought our own travel crib and DD did surprisingly well. I expected her to add wake-ups, or be up super early, but she slept straight through and woke up happy.

I think it's a good idea to bring new toys that LO hasn't seen before. Our DD is always most interested in things that are either new, or aren't toys. She went to town on all of the complimentary shampoo/lotion bottles and coffee paraphernalia (supervised of course).

We also have one of those travel high chairs that we were able to hook onto the hotel desk. DD was happy as a clam eating lunch and dinner in the hotel room.

[nattybumppo]

We did a lot of travel with DD1 before she was 2 and I would say most of the time, it was a PnP. (Hyatt, I think, is good about having real cribs and one non-chain hotel we stayed at had a crib.) DD1 was used to sleeping in a crib at home and she usually did okay in the PnP. We tried to make the PnP and the sleep experience as much as like at home as possible. We brought what she had in her room/crib - seahorse, noise machine, nightlight, our own PnP/crib sheets, etc - and kept bedtime routine (and bedtime!) the same to help. Most of the time it was okay...DD1 was a good sleeper at home to begin with so that helped. But some nights had issues and a couple times I'd bring her into bed with me.....sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't. (DD1 was not really into co-sleeping.) If you think it will help and you are up for it, it might be worth trying. For five nights, it probably won't become a habit (or it will hopefully be easy to undo at home). (We just traveled to family's house with DD2 and had to bring her into bed, but had no issues when we got back.)

Are you getting a suite or connecting rooms? That was our biggest requirement when traveling. We found it really helpful to be able to put DD down in one room and we could hang out in the other.

Also, I know it totally depends on your LOs temperament, but even my very cranky DD2 had a great time when we traveled to visit family. She just likes being out and about and seeing new stuff. I think your LO will have a good time exploring the hotel room and maybe the hotel lobby (if you can find a safe place to let him explore). Will weather let you guys go outside? Or will your parents be taking him outside of the hotel - like to a park or something near by? I'd bring a couple toys - maybe a couple favorites and a couple new ones - but you can also improvise with things. (Example - I know you're not going by plane, but my LO LOVED playing with the plastic drink cup and peanut bags....new things that are exciting to babies!) Also, depending on how often your LO sees your parents, it may just be fun to have time with them! Hopefully your LO will just find the whole experience new and interesting.

And I wouldn't stress too much about what to bring - it sounds like you'll be in a decent sized city if you are at a marriott so it will be easy to get whatever you need if you forget something.

I hope you guys have fun!

[Deleted]

Remember with hotel cribs- they don't always have them available. Always bring a pnp in my opinion.

[g33kyg1rly]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback so far!

I had mentioned the idea of getting a suite to DH before, but he wasn't keen on the idea, since we were already paying for a room for my parents. I will mention it again, or trying to get a connecting room, for both sleep and space.

You are right that she may do better than I think with new stuff to see and explore. At the convention there will be tons of people in costumes, although since this is the hotel attached to the convention center, it will probably be way too crowded to let her loose in the lobby. I'm hoping the weather is good and not too cold so my parents can take her out and about (it will be the last weekend of March). We do have a ciao baby travel high chair and we love it.

Thanks for the toy suggestions as well.

[monster]

We are travelling right now. LO normally sleeps in a crib but is in a PNP and it is just fine. No issues.

Small toys- LO loves his B. Toys keys and his Fisher Price Cell phone. Both super small and keep him entertained. He also turns just about everything into a toy.

[jtizzay]

Never stayed at a Marriott. My Lo doesn't sleep well away from home and I co sleep. It happens. She's in her crib 100% of he time otherwise.

She will be super amused because it's a new place. You'll need less toys. We do stacking toys like cups. She loves them

[zandeela]

we make frequent trips to our ranch in the fall/winter. LO sleeps in a crib at home and the PNP the ranch. She never had any problem switching between the two. I would have a new toy for LO to play with at the hotel and a few other small toys that travel easy. The best toy for a day is an empty water or soda bottle with a few rocks in it. My LO loves to be in the stroller with lots of people around (conventions, rodeos, malls) she loves to people watch. we usually have her out and about in the mornings then try to stay in for the afternoon to let her blow off some steam.

Good luck

[ellabee]

Mar 3, 2015 9:47:00 GMT -5 zandeela said:

The best toy for a day is an empty water or soda bottle with a few rocks in it.  

HAHAH - brilliant. DD went through a phase where she loved empty and crumpled up water bottles. ::shrugs:: Whatever works right?