Please help! Need vacation sleep tips for a 17 mo. old

[mistaroo]

Hello everyone!

I am looking for suggestions as to how to get my 17 mo old to sleep in the room. I think I read a tip on here to use a sheet or something to make a small partition in the room? Sound familiar to anyone? Do you have other ideas?

My 17 mo old sleeps in his crib in his own room at home and I think he'll have a hard time going to sleep at night with everyone around. When my 3 yr old was the same age, it was a nightmare getting him to fall and stay asleep on vacation. He ended up wanting to sleep in his stroller all week and it was a rough trip. I am terrified my 17 mo old will do the same. He is a great sleeper at home- I just put him to bed awake and get him in the morning- and if he wakes up at night he just plays a little bit until he falls asleep again. I don't see that happenening in a hotel room with all of us in eyesight though.

Any tips?? I'd love any advice you care to share. We leave within 24 hours so I am nervous and excited all at once. Thanks.

 

[stacy6552]

Well, if it wasnt so close to your trip, I'd say stay in a home away from home resort with a bedroom door.

I dont think a sheet would do much for a child who wants his own room.

My best advice is to wear him out. Keep him going til he's out cold.

 

[Minnie824]

My DD is 19mos and we just returned from Disney. She is a great sleeper (very unlike her older sister was). Same thing as you, put her to bed in her room awake, say goodnight, and see her in the am where she wakes up happy, not crying. DD did fine on the trip. Our first night was at pop, we put the playpen between the beds, she cried a little then went to sleep. This was after a 20 hr drive. Then at beach club, we put the playpen in the corner...took the extra blanket and put it in the bottom as a mattress. I really think this helped a lot. It made it so comfy for her. Oh, and we gave her an extra pillow, but I have had a pillow in her bed at home for a few months too. One thing I wasn't prepared for was how much she walked...she walked to the bus, around the parks, back home at night..she really wore herself out, but kept her happy and she held my hand good. By the time we got back to the room, she was either laying on the floor with her blankie, or standing by the playpen saying 'go sleepy'. If your child has a blankie or teddy, leave them in the room, give them to him at bedtime, and make the bed comfy. And, you may want to let him walk a bit before bed. Have a great trip!

 

[nicolem]

We're in the same situation - we leave on Sunday morning with OUR 17 mo old DS, and I've had the same worry. Another thing I wonder about is what DH and I will do each evening after we put DS to sleep. We're staying in a studio at OKW, so we don't have the option of putting him in another room. How do you guys plan to handle that? Are you just planning to be in the parks each night till it's bed time for all of you? Do you think he'll be so tired that he won't notice if you watch TV or leave a light on to read? We're planning to be back to the room by 8 or so on some evenings, and I don't think I'm going to be ready to go to bed that early, even after a day in the parks.

 

[Minnie824]

We made it to the parks til around 8:30-9pm...we were out to 10 one night and that was pushing it. One thing DH & I did during nap time and at night....we took turns doing some shopping around the resort, and one day we took turns walking to Epcot to ride Soarin. Other than that, we left the light by the bathroom on, and the tv on...the girls had no problem sleeping with the noise or the light...it usually needed to be a little darker at naptime for them to fall asleep, but at night it didn't matter. I was not ready to go to bed early either...even with pushing the double stroller around, all the walking and no nap. I think I have extra Disney energy cuz at home I'd be worn out.

 

[justhat]

We usually stay out till our daughter's bedtime (she's 21 months now, but was 19 months on our last trip) and then change her into her PJs wherever we are (restaurant, park, DTD, etc.). Then we put her back in the stroller, let her fall asleep, walk around a bit, do some shopping, etc. then head back to the resort. We're usually back in the room 1.5 hours after she goes to sleep or sooner. At home she goes to bed around 7:30, in WDW it was more like 8 and we'd be in the room by 9:30. Then we just put her into the bed sleeping and she stays asleep. Of course, this won't work if your kid can't sleep in the stroller or would wake up on the bus or on the transfer to the bed, but in our case it worked great. We didn't have to worry about keeping the room super dark or quiet and since she was already asleep when we got back we could put the tv on without worrying about keeping her up. In our case, no way would my daughter go to sleep in the hotel room unless it were completely void of activity. If there were anything going on (like my husband and I not going to sleep with her) she'd force herself to stay up and then be miserably tired the next day.

 

[PLUTO2]

Hello, we just returned from a 2 week trip to Disney including the cruise with an almost 14 month old. One of the things I did was brought my own crib sheets which I washed ahead of time so it had the same scent as home. We also brought his music toy that we put on when he goes to bed. He is not always the easiest to put to bed at home so I was really worried but he had no problem falling asleep on the trip or since we have been back home.

 

[mistaroo]

Thank you for all the replies! I've taken some great tips away from this. With any luck, my kids will stay asleep all night.

nicolem- we are staying in just one room this time as well. I think we will probably be out in the parks past the boys' bedtimes. My kids go to bed between 7:00-7:30 so most likely we will be out later than that. If they refuse to nap (a very distinct possibility) it may be rough because my 17 mo old, and to a lesser extent my 3 yr old, gets very grouchy if he doesn't nap. The tv won't bother them once they fall asleep; the problem is making them stop resisting sleep in order to be up with us. We'll hang out on the balcony and relax before going to bed later in the evening. We just go with the flow and if it means an early night hanging out back in the room, that is ok because it sure beats running around with our cranky babies That is part of the reason we chose a resort with a view (poly) for this trip. Looking at Cinderella's castle from your room makes up a little for having to cut the evenings short. Have a great trip!

 

[tbelfonti]

We took our youngest on her first trip when she was 8 months old. Both girls are used to a CD of music that we play when they go to bed ("night time music") so we brought along a portable CD player and speakers. We were staying at CR Tower so we'd put the girls to bed, pop in the CD and then hang out on the balcony watching the castle change colors. Once they were out (they are out pretty quick) we were able to watch TV, etc.

 

[diznygirl]

We put the crib in the closet. It's not as bad as it sounds! We pop the clost doors off the middle ends, and that opens up the closet so we can slide the pack n play inside. It sticks out. Then close the closet doors around that - it's not totally enclosed - and it makes a nice little baby nook.