When my parents and niece visited recently, we spent three days in San Diego and stayed at a hotel. It was the first time my daughter slept away from home since she transitioned to a toddler bed six months ago. At the hotel, my parents and niece shared one room. My husband, daughter, and I shared another.
I was really nervous about the scenario. I was worried my daughter would not stay in bed or go to sleep. Also, I didn’t want to go sleep at the same time as her. One Thanksgiving, when she was eight months old, we tried co-sleeping in the same bed at a hotel in Las Vegas. That was a disaster, mainly because we hadn’t co-slept since she was three months old, so it was a new, uncomfortable situation for all of us.
Our hotel room in San Diego had two double beds. I ordered a roll-away bed from the front desk for my toddler. “At least if she falls off, it’s not a long drop,” I thought. I put the roll-away bed at the foot of the double bed I planned to sleep on. I reserved the other double bed for my husband. The roll-away bed isn’t very comfortable, but I suppose it was comfortable enough for my very light toddler because she actually slept in it!
It must have been the action packed days that wore her out. On Friday, we traveled and briefly visited the beach; on Saturday, we went to the San Diego Zoo (and did a lot of walking); Sunday and Monday we went to Sea World. After her bath, I read a book and turned off all but one of the lights in the room. I told her to close her eyes and go to sleep. At home, she’s a pretty good nighttime sleeper but a terrible napper. At the hotel, it took about 20 minutes for her to actually go to sleep. I was exhausted too, so I browsed apps on my phone for about an hour before I went to bed. Mornings were earlier than usual, but I didn’t mind so much because we had so much to do each day. Because she was at the foot of my bed, she was able to climb into my bed and wake me up. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. Hopefully the next trip out-of-town will be just as smooth. Fingers crossed!
Related:
Video clips from a few shows we saw at Sea World:
