Where did your toddler sleep?

[Irishgrl]

We our planning a trip for January. Our son will just have turned 3 and last January when we went he was climbing out of the pack in play the whole time. At home he still in a crib but, we are going to start him in a bed this summer but, I'm not sure he will be ready to sleep by himself yet. Does any one have any suggestion on where he should sleep other than letting him sleep with us.

 

[MommytoCaitlyn]

Our DD was put into a toddler bed before she was 2 years old, and now at 3.5 she's been in a twin sized bed for 6 months. When we sleep at hotels she either sleeps in her own bed or we ask for a roll away. Your child may be so exhausted from the parks that he'll sleep anywhere!

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Each of our kids were weaned out of their crib and into a big kid twin bed before their first Disney trip at the age of 2 1/2. Whether you have a room with bunk beds (still my fav with the kids) or a queen, bed rails are avail. If a child keeps climbing out of their crib or pack n play, it means they are ready to move on (even if mom is not ).

This strategy worked great for us both times. Good Luck!!!!!

 

[Irishgrl]

Each of our kids were weaned out of their crib and into a big kid twin bed before their first Disney trip at the age of 2 1/2. Whether you have a room with bunk beds (still my fav with the kids) or a queen, bed rails are avail. If a child keeps climbing out of their crib or pack n play, it means they are ready to move on (even if mom is not ).

This strategy worked great for us both times. Good Luck!!!!!

Thanks I didn't know about the rails that may work. He doesn't climb out of his crib at home but, he did climb out the pack in play at the resort. Hopefully he will use to the bed by the time we go but, nice to know about the rails.

 

[KELLY]

In bed with her sister with bed rail on one side.

 

[bamberc]

We brought a twin size air mattress last year for our stay at AKL. My daughter was 3 and just starting to sleep in her toddler bed at home, but definitely too big for pack n play. It worked very well, she was so tired she hardly moved the whole night! During the day, I would "undress" the mattress and slide it between the wall and one the beds to give us more room. It worked great!

 

[brookmey]

We always drive, so we bring sleeping bags and extra blankets. When the kids were younger and I worried about them falling out of the bed, I used the sleeping bags and extra blankets to make a bed on the floor for them. It worked out really well for us.

 

[hoosll]

We carried a blow-up mattress sleeping bag for DGS 2 (he turns 3 at end of June) and ended up getting a Pack-n-Play from the hotel. The hotels also have bed rails and stools available. We got bedrails for DGS 4 as the beds were really high. The stool was necessary so the kids could reach the sink or climb onto the bed.

 

[twinboysmom]

Our boys slept in pnp's during our April visit and will do so again during our June visit. They honestly are too big for them and fully capable of climbing out but they are on the immature side and not ready for a bed with rails or to sleep on a blow up bed. Because they will climb out of the pnp if they see us we let them lay in bed with us and when they fell asleep moved them to the pnp (we do not do this at home with their cribs). We are renting two full size cribs for our September visit from ABBF because we will be staying a week. Our April and our June visit were/are only a few days. There are numerous offsite companies that rent full size cribs and perhaps you might consider this option. These companies also rent toddler beds too so that might work as well. I have read nothing but great reviews on the family board about ABBF.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Funny as I remember it........all those years ago.........run my kids around WDW all day.........we put them to bed and they were out for the night!

AKK

 

[mgpan]

But, we actually carry our son's crib mattress down with us and he sleeps on it on the floor. Very comfortable and he's used to it so he sleeps better, and no worries about falling out while sleeping and he can get up if he needs to. We do use a zippered cover to keep it clean and put the sheets over that. If you drive in a larger size SUV type vehicle (and don't carry the rest of the house with you or EVERYTHING on the packing lists you see) it will usually fit. I also agree with the air mattress idea.

 

[ResortFan]

We used the pack and play and then he just started sleeping with us. I do know that Disney offers rails to use.

 

[Twinkle Lights]

I would never have guessed that Disney has stools and bedrails available for use!! I wish I had known that before! We are leaving tomorrow and I had an inflatable bed rail sent to the hotel, as well as already have a folding stepstool packed in my luggage. And here I thought I was so smart. Oh well!!!

 

[Minnesota!]

My kids have never used a crib or pack and play (at home or away). From day 1 they were in bed. So at hotels, same thing. No bed rails, either. I would just put her in the other bed and if you think she might fall out, prop a pillow on either side of her.

 

[Abby Wednesday]

My son was a month shy of 3 when we went, and he was completely fine in the bed. He used a toddler bed with rails at home at the time and it convinced us that we needed to get him a real bed.

 

[Elmo888]

Have you looked into renting baby equipment? I found this web site on the DISboards family discussion board - abbf.com. They have full sized cribs for rent as well as toddler beds.

My youngest DD was 3 on our second trip, and I wasn't sure that she would sleep in the pack n play. She was still in a crib at home but didn't exactly fit in the pack n play. She was perfectly happy in the pack n play (pushed the ottoman next to it so she could get in by herself!). So, I didn't rent anything, but I took the phone number just in case.

My other suggestion is one of those travel tent beds. That seems like a great plan for kids that climb out of cribs and pack n plays. I also like the idea that it kind of shelters them from the light and activity in the room, which would be helpful if you aren't in a 1 bedroom/living area (like 1 bedroom DVC or the family suites). I didn't see this until after our trips, but it would have helped when we were in one room!
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog...source=none&utm_medium=none&utm_campaign=none

Enjoy!

 

[Susieo]

We used the Disney supplied pack and play but brought an additional pack and play mattress in our suitcase to make it more comfortable for him. In addition, our son was a climber and we were afraid he would climb out and open the door to the room, or the sliding glass door or get into mischief while we were sleeping, so we also brought a crib tent that we had been using at home. They are not inexpensive, but we used it at home for quite awhile with him until we felt he was mature enough to be in a "big boy" bed. You can get them at Babies R Us, and they break down quite easily and will fit right into a suitcase. The mattress can also be purchased at BRU for about $25.00 and fits well into the suitcase, it actually acts as cushioning for your clothes or more delicate souvenirs when you're going home.

Go with your gut on this one, you know your child and family dynamic best...the last thing you want is to be stressed out about sleeping arrangements.....! Good luck!