I have a dilemma..may have to cancel trip

[Camping Griswalds]

We were just away in a hotel this weekend for 2 nights. My DD 16 months was a nightmare! We were all in one room, plus a full sized crib for her. She DID NOT SLEEP!!! This is a baby who slept 8 hours through the night at one week of age. Really this just made our whole experience awful. The only way she finally slept was about 3:30 am on Fri night by sleeping in my bed. We have never done this with our kids when they were this young! Mostly not because we are opposed to it, but we have always had these great sleepers, who slept in their own cribs, because when they slept in our room, every time they stretched or tooted I was fully awake. I did much better if they were in the next room. Any way she just screamed. jWe were all so frustrated, and exhausted. My DH, and 2 DS and myself were all awake, nothing seemed to work. Even once she finally fell asleep in my bed ( DS 13 then went onto floor, and DS 9 slept with DH) she screamed out several times and seemed frantic until she could touch me. Nothing helped, not a bottle, not nursing. I was hoping it was just a one night thing, but she repeated this on Sat night too. I don't know if it's cause she was in a strange place, or strange crib, or maybe because we were all in her room, and she heard us snore, or semi-woke up and then saw us there...I was at my wits end!!! jDuring the day she was her usual self, so I know she's not sick or anything, and it wasn't like when kids have those night terrors...it was crazy!!! Then today we get home, and she goes to sleep in her own bed with no problems. What do you think? There is no way we can spend 11 nights in Disney like that! We've already told the boys we may have to cancel the trip. I am anxious, I really want to go, and know all of us would love it, but if the nights are like that, there is just NO WAY I can face that again!! We have the first 6 nights booked in 2 rooms at POP, and the last 5 at AKL in one room. Do you have any advice? Should we just put her in her own room on vacation? How crazy is that? Do we cancel the AKL and just add the 5 nights there onto 2 rooms at POP? Or do we just accept that maybe she isn't ready to travel for whatever reason, and not go? My husband is ready to NOT go! My boys don't want to go if she's gonna be like that either! I just am so sad. We need to make a decision soon, 'cause the deposit needs to be paid off by 12/13, and then I have to figure out what our options are in regards to our flights. This is just such a mess, and I am such a wreck!! HELP!!

 

[thelionqueen]

We had a similar experience a couple of years ago, and I can tell you what I would do, just IMHO.
I would definitely go! You don't know how she is going to react. Maybe she will not react at all. Maybe she will be so beat she'll sleep like a rock, maybe it was a different smell in the room you were in. There are a million reasons she may have acted that way, but you will never know if you don't go.

If you do not go, you will be missing out on a fabulous vacation (not to mention $$) and you will never know what the problem was.

Believe me I KNOW how awful it is when a child is restless, especially to the extent your daughter was, but you cannot have everyone suffer for it!

I think that the length of time you are going is actually the best thing! Maybe she will be restless 1 or 2 nights (maybe not) and she will get used to it.

Honestly, it's a hard call, I would definitely go if it were me and hope for the best. Remember, it is Disney, how miserable could it be??

Good luck!!

 

[jodifla]

Sorry you had such a rough trip. When is your Disney trip?? And, it sounds like there are five of you, right?

It does sound like you need two adjoining rooms. Maybe you could add more nights at Pop. Since the main thing is putting her to sleep, you could put her down, then put your DSs in the room when she was already asleep.

A 1 bedroom room at DVC would work great also. I'd check the rent trade board there too. The beauty of that it is a lot more restful and feels like home.

We're DVC members, and we traveled a lot with DS. Most nights he was really good, because he's a pretty great sleeper, but we did have a couple of nights he kept us up all night.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Our trip starts Jan 27th. The first night she went to sleep okay for about one hour. Then the nightmare began. The second night, the boys left and slept in our cousins room, because they didn't want to sleep with SIS again. (There were 18 of us at a hotel for the Army/Navy game)

We have thought of taking a sleep machine to help drown out the noise. We have also talked about canceling the AKL portion so she could have her own room if needed. When morning came today I was ready to cancel everything. Now I'm heart sick about what to do. DS 9 was very sad when we told him we may have to cancel. i don't want him mad at his sis, but I don't want her miserable. I like the advice to "just go..you never know" but gosh 11 nights is a long time to be miserable. I hope lots of people respond to this!!

I'm gonna e-mail my TA and see what she thinks.

 

[justhat]

Hmm, well my daughter did almost this exact thing when we went to Disney in April, but then again she has never been a good sleeper. Not sure if this will help you but here's what we found out. She needed to be in the hotel room, in bed, at a decent time (I mean really close to her regular bedtime of 7pm). We thought she'd be okay sleeping in the stroller till we were ready to go back to the room, but apparently she didn't sleep as well as she's used to in the stroller so she was over tired then waking up screaming during the night. In her case though, they were definitely night terrors. She too was fine all day and never acted tired or grouchy. Me OTOH.... I was exhausted. And this is someone who is used to a kid waking up several times a night, and used to sleeping with my kid in a double bed. But that trip really drained me. We were there 11 nights also and it was rough. BTW she was 13-14 months at the time (turned 14 months while we were there).

BUT, and this is a big but, we went back to Disney at the end of September (she just turned 19 months) and it was entirely different. We knew at this point that she needed to be in bed by a certain time and I think that helped us, but maybe she just outgrew the sleep terrors. Who knows. All I know is that she slept just as well there as she did at home (which still wasn't great, but had nothing to do with the trip. She's 21 months now and still wakes up once or twice a night and has to sleep on the floor next to my bed.). So my advice, after a very long 11 nights (and actually 7 nights in SC and GA before we went to Disney, so 2.5 weeks of bad, bad sleep) would be to go cause like I said, my daughter was different the 2nd time around so yours will probably be too. She'll be older then which I think will help, and really, if it's so bad, you can just put her in the other room and you won't hear her. If you're okay with letting her cry that is, which I know isn't for everyone.

Oh, and we had been to Disney with my daughter at 3,4,6, and 9 months and though the 1st 3 trips were okay, the 9 month trip was bad for sleep too. She woke up crying a LOT. But we were only there I think 3 or maybe 4 nights so I guess I sorta forgot about that when we went back at 13 months. We're also going back in 3 weeks and I already know she'll have to be in bed early so we'll be going with her schedule but I think we'll be fine.

 

[Sandcass]

I can't imagine canceling because of this..... as much as it would kill me, I'd rather find somebody to keep the baby at home so that the rest of the family can have their vacation. (Grandma?)

But hopefully that doesn't have to happen either. I think I would just try to make her bed time as close to home as possible. Same blankets, pillows, and same bedtime routine as home. And if you're thinking of using a noise machine on vacation start using it NOW at home so that's what she's used to when you go.

GOOD LUCK ~ Keep us updated on your decison!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I know a family that co-sleeeps for sanity on trips...and we do the same (though now they get their own bed).

I wouldn't cancel for this and just have her sleep in your bed. It is a temporary phase until she begins to like going to hotels as my girls do.

 

[Parkerpooh]

We had a similar experience last time when ds was 20 mths. I know this will sound awful but we moved the pack n play in the king sized handicapped bathroom and he slept great!! Our ds cannot sleep in the same room as us at all. This trip we have rented a villa so he can have his own room! This is the only reason we're staying offsite as we much prefer staying onsite. Hope this helps and good luck with your decision! Jen

 

[Mom to Jordan]

I would not cancel as that is unfair to the boys. I would as others have said, try to keep her on her normal routine. I would have one parent take the boys out while the other puts her to bed. Do the same things in the same order as home. EX bath, snack teeth, story & bed. I would put her in the room alone and then PRAY she stays asleep. If not,, let one parent deal with the other stays with the boys and let them get some sleep then swith off as necessary. I am tempted to say to stay at the POP the whole time though I would hate for you to all miss staying there. NO much more advice but lots of good luck.

Jordans' mom

 

[Del]

This happened to my oldest when she was 11 mo old....didn't eat, drink or sleep when we were in a hotel. I was a wreck . WE ended up just going home at the time.

However.....next time......I packed her bumper pads from her crib, her crib sheets and brought them and fixed the hotel crib up just like home....GUESS WHAT!!!! She slept. They are creatures of habit and they know when they aren't home. Hope this helpful and good luck. I've been there.


Del

 

[poohfriend]

I feel for you! My 2 year old is crazy some nights -- but will sleep like a charm in my bed when we're away. But we've traveled a lot and he expects that little treat.

We area family of five. We decided to do part of our vacation at Ft. Wilderness cabins. There are bunk beds, a double bed, and a murphy bed. We will ask for bed rails if they have them. Our two DD will sleep in bunk beds. Baby boy (2) will be put to sleep in the double. Then after mom and dad have had some alone time in the other room (with a kitchen!) we will move baby to the murphy bed with mom. Dad will take over the double bed. The reason we'll move baby is because Dad has the have the white noise machine we will put in the kids room.

If a cabin is available, you should be able to make out for even less money than you've already dolled out for the trip. At the beginning of January we're paying about 240 night. It's already paid for so I don't remember the exact amount. We got a AAA discount. (Worth the $45 cost of the AAA membership).

Unlike Allstars, you will not have two bathrooms. But the kitchen and the seating area might make up for it! The Campgrounds are further away from the parks. But with 11 nights, I'm not sure I'd care. They also have a campfire with chip and dale. There are also lots of recreation opportutnities not availalbe at value resorts.

The part I'd be sad about was missing the AKL. But perhaps a visit there and a dinner at BOMA would give you a taste of it!

I would try to do the same thing for all 11 nights. Then you can develop a nice routine. I suspect that this short trip (last weekend) may actually work to your advantage. Your DD now knows that you will return home. She will get her bed back.

Work on that routine a few weeks before your trip. I'm sure you have a routine at home... modify it so that it will work wherever you're staying (or at least be as close to what she considers to be the pre-bed rituals as possible).

We'll also be away from home 11 nights. (part of it on a cruise). The part I worry about most is going from here to here and upsetting the routine so much. Children adore routine even on vacation.

By the way, I'm faily certain your DD will be more excited about seeing than the football game. Maybe her delight will translate to joy while she sleeps.

ALSO, I don't know the exact cancellation policy, but if you have a package, get busy. You don't want to lose money over this. I would not cancel your trip. I truly believe DD will get adjusted and will love the world!!

 

[Lulu's Mom]

When we stay at hotels our DD does the same thing, and she usually sleeps 10-12 hours a night (she is 16 months now). To help her sleep, she sleeps with me and my DH sleeps in the other bed.

I think the key is making them feel comfortable in a new environment. You could take some time out to let her play around in the hotel room to familiarize her self with it.

I definatley would not cancel, you never know what she is going to be like.

 

[Jynohn]

I know exactly what you're going through because we're in the midst of an extended stay in a hotel while our home is being finished. Sharing a room with my 5 year old is a nightmare because she just doesn't sleep. We don't have to deal with crying, etc. but she just wants to stay up and talk all night. We have to turn off the tv and all lights at 8PM and just hope that she'll finally
fall asleep so we can turn the tv back on at the absolute lowest volume, otherwise we'd be up with her all night (and she would be a witch in the morning!)

I agree with the poster who suggested renting a one or two bedroom from DVC. We bought into DVC because it became too stressful sharing a room with our daughter on vacation and it's one of the best decisions we ever made. I understand that buying DVC may not be an option right now, but renting from a member is very easy and could be a solution to your problem. I would feel bad for your sons if you had to cancel, I could see where they might resent their sister a little (even though she is only a baby and it's not her fault, your boys might not see it that way).

Good luck, and I hope you're able to work out the situation!

 

[Now Mom of 3]

I have never been in this exact situation but I do have one piece of advice. If you go with the 2 rooms and you and your husband switch off being in charge of the little one, I would bring some ear plugs. If you are anything like me I would not be able to sleep through her wimpers and crying even when it was my turn to get a sound night sleep. I sleep too lightly I guess. Earplugs work wonders though. Good luck!

 

[CHEBJO]

Looks like everyone has already offered all the suggestions that I would have said. I think taking all crib bedding from home is a must. We have always done this with our little ones and when in a DVC villa we usually put the pack-n-play in the closet. Another possibility, take ear plugs. DH works where they are readily available and we once put them in our 3yr DD ears so that our crying 1yr DS wouldn't bother her. It was hysterical, after we got them in her ears she sighed and smiled and was asleep soon after. May help you, your husband and DS's tolerate the crying better. And hey like others have said she act entirely different this trip!!

 

[ktbugsmom]

When my daughter was 2.5, the same thing happened. She is used to her own room, so sleeping in the same room with us at Disney was a nightmare. The first trip - we were at OKW and there was a very large bathroom. We put her pack and play in htere and left the fan on. Worked great. The next trip - about 3 months later, we were at the BWV. Bathroom not as big, so we just put her on the pull out. It was HORRIBLE. She would cry and scream and look for me if there was any little noise (there were only 3 of us - me, DH and DD). The only thing that worked was for me to slept in bed with her... kind of a drag and it meant we had to go to bed early too... But, we still had a wonderful time and if we had just planned it that way and not fought the bed time issues, we all would have been much happier.

I say go and enjoy. The two rooms might be the best bet - or a 1 bedroom DVC unit or the Wilderness Cabins. Just some options.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Everyone has been so helpful and kind. We are much calmer today, as of course we all got sleep last night!! All 3 of our kids were in bed by 8 pm and the DD slept her usual 11 hours. I don't think the boys have been in bed before 9 in years, especially the 13 yo.

Any way, I think while we are still in the "should we go or should we stay" phase, we are leaning more towards going now. I think we may just extend the POP stay and stick the princess in her own room with a sleep machine. Of course I can always just sleep with her again too. I think if I volunteer to be the one to sleep with her and give the boys and DH the other room, it may just work out. Maybe because we had such a terrible weekend with her, it really made us better pre-pared and more open minded about the trip. No way I'll admit to those nights being a good thing, but maybe they were a lesson learned. Of course I still get nauseous thinking about 11 nights of lessons!!!!!! That is what keeps me second guessing this trip!

Thanks so much for everyones friendly advice. It has been great to know that others went through this too! And that some of you still had a good time, and were willing to risk more trips. BRAVE SOULS!!!

 

[bunny]

I would try to rent points for a 1 bedroom villa at OKW. We stayed at Pop Century this last September and then spent one night at OKW. There is no comparision. If you go to the DVC Rent/Trade board, you will see a calculator for the number of points required. You might find that it will cost the same as your current hotel accomodations. The 1 bedroom villa is huge. If the baby will sleep in a Pack N Play you can fit one either in the laundry room or in the bathroom. If not you could think about renting a full size crib from a rental company in Orlando. I don't know if I would go either. WDW is exhausting.

 

[lmk]

This happened to us and eventhough our daughter wasn't acting ill, she actually had ear infections in both ears on top of teething. So, you may want to get her checked by her doctor just in case there is something medical. Often kids will ignore these things during the day and become symptomatic at night when there isn't as much distraction.

 

[annie1995]

My son did this one time on a vacation, I actually called his doctor from our hotel, she suggested I give him benedryl. It worked like a charm. It was just enough to relax him and take the edge off. To tell you the truth, we probably would not have survived the trip if that suggestion didn't work. We were not sure if it was all the excitement, being overtired, or just being in a different place to sleep. One point of advise too is POP tends to be louder in different buildings till pretty late at night. This last September, I ended up taking benedryl cause all of the noise was keeping me awake, this time the kids were out like lights. All I know is it worked, I am not big about giving meds for trivial stuff, but It would sure beat cancelling the trip. Anyway, good luck with what ever you decide!