Toddler Sleeping Options While Traveling?

One Step Ahead catalog or website has a child size blow up mattress that has sides. it is a bit pricey, but we have 2 and have used them a lot and there is no worries that they will fall off.

Let her sleep in the bed with you. You won't spoil her. When you get back
home she goes back in her crib.

Sleeping bag on the floor with maybe an extra blanket folded underneath it for extra padding. She'll be plenty confortable enough. She can still use a pack and play unless she is climbing out of it. My kids are great sleepers at home, but when we traveled when my daughter was two, she had to sleep with me. That left my husband sleeping with our then 4 yr old son. Those were the "vacation" sleeping arrangements for 2yrs!!!!

If she's not a climber, you can still use the pack n' play. If not, just fold up a comforter on the floor. If you put her next to your bed, put pillows between her spot and the edge of your bed. I forgot this step recently, and my 3 year old woke up scared stiff because he had wiggled half his body underneath the bed. I had to pull him out by his feet, then calm him down. Won't forget those pillows again. If her diapers leak sometimes, you can put those indoor doggie pads under her sheet to absorb any accidents. The dog ones are cheaper than the disposable changing pads or hospital style chucks they make for people, but work just fine. It's really embarrassing to tell your hosts they have to wash the comforter your child slept on. Take a familiar blanket for her, a familiar CD of relaxing classical music, a night light and outlet covers with you. You'll often need to drown out exciting noises from the other room to keep her in bed when the adults are staying up later.

Have a great trip.
S.
SAHM of 3 (and frequent traveller)

I second the PeaPod from onestepahead. It can be a bit noisy as it is similar to a tent, but my son is a VERY active sleeper and has never woken himself up from it. When he wakes in the morning, he actually entertains himself by kicking it. :) Plus, you it is a blow up mattress, but it is secured inside the lining, and with the zipper, there is no chance of them rolling off.

We looked into one of the collapsible travel cots from One Step Ahead when travelling with our kids. We ended-up just putting them in bed with us most of the places we went or having them sleep on the floor.

My in-laws got the kids sleeping bags for Christmas, they loved using them.

But, thanks to working for a company that deals with insects, bed bugs are making a big resurgence - especially in hotels. So, I'd either ask for a roll-away bed or a pack-n-play/crib if you're at a hotel or snuggling in bed with you.

Good luck!

Can you bring a crib mattress for her and have her sleep on the floor. Just a thought good luck.

pack and play is great - she can sleep diagonally. it's the same thing as a crib but portable - exactly what you need.

what's wrong with the pack and play? Does she not fit in it anymore, or do you just think she's too big? our daughter stayed in hers until she was 3 and couldnt sleep in it anymore without curling into a ball.

Pea Pod Plus -- easy to transport plus they are contained inside.

I have a Pea Pod Plus and my 2 year old daughter loves playing in/with it. But it didn't work very well for sleeping. My daughter tends to creep upward toward the head of her bed. In the pea pod, she ended up with her face squished up into the end of the tent where it slopes downward toward the floor. She was in no danger of suffocating since the end of the tent is mesh, but it did scare her to wake up with that mesh fabric snug against her face. I ended up pulling the air mattress out of the tent and she slept on that on the floor without the tent part. Subsequent trips I've used a twin sized air mattress, but she has rolled out a couple of times. Obviously, being so close to the floor, she wasn't hurt but some cuddling was required to get her back to sleep. I liked the idea of a folded quilt on the floor, but my little girl squirms so much that I'm sure she wouldn't stay on it. And I wouldn't want her to end up sleeping directly on the carpet.
Good luck and Have a great trip!

Hi K.
This is what worked for us. We traveled because our twins were born when our oldest was in college, and our respective families lived out of state. We stayed in homes & in hotels and this worked for all those situations.
We took the 2 hotel spreads and and put them on the floor in the best space usually between the inside wall and the bed. I brought a sheet to lay on top of the hotel spread. Then I put my twins into a child's size sleeping bag (once I found them), before that I had sewed up the side of their blanket. If there was room enough & if they could roll under the bed I put the suitcases there, if no room then we pulled the spread up over them and asking for an extra blanket we rolled it and packed it into that space. I also brought a night light so that we were never in complete darkness, why? because the first time we did this the only light was the bathroom brights, or the one at the heads. Some hotels have cribs -- some charge, some don't but you always have to reserve them. My twins didn't like them.
Go and have a great time.
God bless you
Hope you find something that works for you

We bought a sleeping bag with an inflatable matress inside. It didn't work good at all, I was contstantly getting up int he middle of the night to put him back in his bed. If you use a blow up matress it should be quiet enough, just make sure you get a twin or bigger. When we are at our friends they take their son's extra twin mattress and put it in our room for him to sleep on. We put pillows around the edge so he has a border. At home he's in a convertible crib and it has 3 sides since he's still in the toddler bed. Good luck.

We had a great sleeping tent that we used when my twins were 2. It folds up really small and then pops open. You then pump a small air mattress that goes inside the tent. There is also a sleeping bag type blanket. It was really good. Compact and easy. And your child will be confined inside it. You can unzip it if you want it more open or zip it closed to keep light out... I think there is also a way to zip it up with netting so she can see out, but she can't get out... I just found a link to it... it's called the Pea Pod Plus... They sell it on Leaps and Bounds for $89...

http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?product...

We were like the previous poster and used our Pack & Play until the kids just couldn't fit in it any more (I can remember my son's head and feet pushing against the sides at the same time - I think I gave it up soon after that). Since all they were doing was sleeping in it and I'd get them out as soon as they woke up it seemed to be okay.

What I've done when visiting friends without a proper crib is use the floor. It is perfectly safe...no fear of falling out of bed. Put down a quilt or a couple of folded blankets on a carpeted floor and it is soft enough to be comfortable. As the kids get older, they look forward to the "adventure" of sleeping on the floor of our room when we visit our friends at the shore.

We used a Pack-n-Play as late as a couple months after 3 years old, and our daughters are off the charts for height. They thought it was fun.

Good luck!

We used an aero bed made for kids which has sides that keep them in the bed. It was not noisy and both of our kids loved sleeping in it. It is low to the ground if for some reason they could roll out of it.

Baby Bjorn makes a travel crib. They sell it at Buy Buy Baby or online at Babies R us. It is a bit pricey but I have found it very useful. I actually keep it in the trunk of my car for any time I am visiting a friend or family and my daughter needs to take a nap. It is very light weight and very easy to set up and take down. There are no loose pieces. It all collapses into itself. There is a sheet that is sold separately the you really do need to get. I tried to use a pack n play sheet but it didn't fit correctly. Good luck.