Sleeping in PacknPlay?

[Princess Dot]

I am getting a bit worried and was looking for some input. We are going on an extended 3week trip that will include 1 week at WDW.

My 15 month old has only taken an occaisional nap in her PnP, Last year when we travelled she was between 4 and 8 months and although she was sleeping through the night at home in her crib, she would wake at least once a night when sleeping in her PnP at a hotel. To me there is nothing worse than trying to keep a baby quiet, get her back to sleep while tripping around a dark hotel room trying not to wake up your other kids, your DH as well as your neighbors! LOL!

I am having nightmares worrying that this is going to repeat itself again this summer. I have thought about renting a full size crib while at WDW, but that does not help me with the other parts of our trip which will be some time visiting with family at their home, other times at hotels while we are driving. So it seems the PnP will be the best option so we can just fold it up and move on.

Whew! This is long! But I guess I was looking for some input from others who have children around this age (15 months) on how they sleep in the PnP. Any suggestions on how to make it more comfortable? More "home-like"? I have been planning on have her try and sleep in it a home as we get closer to the trip.

My older kids never had any trouble sleeping in the PnP when we traveled. So I don't know why I am worried. I think its the crazy time I had last year with her getting up at night in hotels that has me on edge.

I look forward to reading your suggestions! Thanks!

 

[kj&zb'smom]

I find the pnp 'mattress' to be lacking so with our dd we bought a real mattress to go on top - it is thinner than a reg mattress but MUCH thicker and comfortable than the pnp one so it should help your child to be more comfortable. Iit is the same size as the pnp and you can get a mattress pad (the cushy kind) to put on as well as nice sheets rather that the rought sheets that come with the pnp. I bought the mattress I think at babies r us a few years ago, but any baby store should have one - I think they are the mattresses for port a cribs. And these are small enough that you can wrap it around your pnp (since you are driving it won't take up too much room)

Hope that helps.

 

[baloo722]

our kids always slepth through the night in PnP. they will be exhausted from the park anyway.

 

[momof2sons]

Does she sleep in her own room at night? It might be noise factor that wakes her up. You may want to put the pac-n-play in your bedroom at night to get her use to the different sounds she may hear. My youngest DS is 5 now but when we traveled with him in his pac-n-play the noise of him moving and us snoring (lol) woke him for the first couple of nights. Then he slept through the night with no problems. We learned to put him in his pac-n-play in our room 1 wk before we left on a trip. This seemed to help.

 

[bartleby1]

My kids are great sleepers at home (sleep in their own bed, never get up in the middle of the night, etc), but neither would sleep through the night in the pack n play. If they were really tired, I usually could get through the first half of the night using the pack n play, but they would wake up screaming and scared and that would be the end of the pack n play. We usually just took them in our bed for the rest of the night so that we could all get some sleep. I think it is just waking up and not knowing where they are that freaks them out. I know that sometimes even I will wake up disoriented when I'm in a motel so I suppose it is the same for the little ones.

I don't have any suggestions to make the pack n play more "home like" other than maybe setting it up next to your bed at home and letting her sleep there for a few nights. I never did that because I was afraid of them liking sleeping in our room too much and then not wanting to go back to their crib in their own room, but it might work for you.

Good luck! We are going in a few weeks and will be facing the same problem with our 13 month old. I am bringing the pack n play but I'm fairly certain he will end up in our bed with me

 

[RKC]

HI!!
My suggestion would be to bring some of the things from her bed at home , i.e. blankie, stuffed animals, music thingie( I have one of those Fischer Price Peaceful Aquariums). And then , if you can, wedge the PnP as close to your side of the bed as possible. That would elliminate the stumblling(sp?) around in the dark. Otherwise, relax and have a GOOD time.

 

[BevS97]

we used to use the pack n play, but once she was past about 6 months or so, we didn't have much success with it - to be honest, we just gave up and had her in bed with us, it was easier all round and we all had a better nights sleep.

Bev

 

[antnee]

my girlfriends son sleeps in the pack and play all the time with no problems

 

[Baloo]

Erich always slept very well in a pnp.I'd take a few of his things from his crib so he had familiar things around him.His blankie,Buford, his big stuffed bear and a musical cow.I had pnp right next to the the bed so I could just sit up and see what was wrong.

Try not to worry too much Princess Dot.If she starts fussing just put her in bed with you and hopefully that will quiet her down.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I agree with RKC -- bring a few things from her crib at home. We brought my son's blanket, "snuggle blankie", and the sheet from his crib. He was soooo exhausted from the days at the park, he seemed to settle into the Pack 'n Play pretty easily. (He was 15 months old at the time.)

(This may not be appropriate for you, but, I also decided to hold off weaning him from the bottle until after our trip to Disney. He settled down easily with a bottle the one time (out of five nights) he woke up at 3 a.m.)

As for stumbling around in the dark, I brought a mini flashlight and a nightlight, but didn't need either one. There seemed to be enough light trickling in through the window, from the lighting outside our room, for me to see what I was doing.

Good luck!!

 

[MomE@Home]

We used a pack n play for our DD when she was 18 mo. old on our trip in April 2002. The only place we had a problem with it was when we stayed a few days at my SIL's house on the way to FL. It was way too noisy there for her and us for that matter to get much sleep.
We did as others suggested-brought along her blankies,a few stuffed animals and her board books to make it more like home and we used the pack n play sheets over a padded mattress pad ( just a pad not the fitted kind).

 

[Princess Dot]

Thanks for the tips guys!

I was going nuts not being able to access the boards these past couple of days. I don't hardly ever post a question, but as soon as I do, I can't get on the boards! LOL!

I like the idea (kjnzb'smom) about putting another mattress inside. That would make me feel like she was getting better support and comfort while she sleeps. I think that it is the length of our trip that has me worried. Usually we are away for 5-7 days at the most. I just think 3 weeks in a PnP seems like too much.

I do plan on bringing her blankie and toys and her Fisher Price Aquarium (which she falls asleep to most nights). I was trying to figure out if I can hang it on the PnP like it hangs on the crib. (Not sure I can without making holes in the netting.) I also have a flannel sheet that my mom made for the PnP for more comfort.


Momof2sons, I think you're right about the noise factor because she does sleep in her own room WITH the door closed. Also our PnP that we use for travel seems to make a scratchy sound when she moves (I think its the nylon material its made out of). We have another type of PnP from babytrend that does not seem to be as "noisy". I think I'll probably take that one.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it!) she does not like to sleep in our bed. She really is just right at home in her crib. The only trick is to either give her a bottle (yes fox and hound I am thinking about holding off on weaning her off the bottle until after our trip!) or to walk around with her (hence the "stumbling in the dark" experience from last year!).

I thought about buying a port a crib to travel with , but after thinking about it I decided that I am THINKING about this way too much! I'm sure she will be fine, we'll have a great trip etc. I have to remember that she is older than last year. But I will do some practice sleeping just for my piece of mind!


Thanks again everyone for all the advice! I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[dijid]

I have a 22mo DS who has never done well sleeping in the pnp. Pretty much only liked his crib. We did get somewhat better results by padding the pnp (put the blankets underneath the "mattress" so as to not create a suffocation hazard), but he still didn't seem to like it. You know what has worked best - a sleeping bag on the floor. He still won't sleep perfectly in it, but it's the best we've got. I've seriously been considering one of those travel beds from one step ahead, but I think he just will never sleep well when he's away from home. Hopefully it is something they'll outgrow, but I doubt it. I still don't sleep that great in a hotel room. If nothing else, you have my sympathies as I know what you go through trying to keep everyone from losing sleep.

 

[Princess Dot]

Thanks dijid for the sympathy! I am going to look at the port a crib mattress and maybe that will help. Also, I think that maybe the fact that our trip is so long it may be to our advantage, maybe she will get used to the PnP after time.

My older two always did great in the pnp. My youngest actually preferred it to the bed by the time she was almost 3! I guess every child is different though even in one family.

I have looked at those travel beds from one step ahead too. They look comfy, especially for an older toddler/child. That may be an option for us now that we are a family of 5. All the hotel beds are "taken"!

 

[Gillian]

My son naps on the pack & play at Grandma's so he's used to it. I think he's about at the weight limit though! But if I don't use a sheet & a familiar blanket, he's not happy.

I think those inflatable toddler beds look great! I'm thinking of getting one for us, because we like to travel a lot, and DS will need to give up his pack n play for his new little sister.

Good luck!