Travel bed solution?

[Anonymous]

What do people do when their child is too big/uncomfortable in a pack n play but too young to sleep in a bed when traveling.

We will be staying in a hotel that only offers pack n plays and my 2.5yo refuses to sleep in one. She is tall so I think she is just uncomfortable. She has never slept in a bed before and I would worry she will roll off and get hurt, or won’t stay put and will wander around. I would also strongly prefer not to sleep in the same room as her because she will wake up 100 times and I don’t want to start a bad habit. She is normally a very good sleeper.

Any ideas for what to do? Do portable bed rails exist that we could bring? Something else?

[Anonymous]

Yes, get a portable bumper that fits under the sheet on the bed. Usually what we would do is get a double room and I would share a bed with or 2 year old, so she'd be between me and the bumper. As she got older, we could do the bumper on one side and a kind of wall of pillows on the other, but we only did that once she was used to sleeping in a regular bed at home (though one closer to the ground than a hotel bed).

You can also put the bumper on a couch if it's deep enough (again, tucked under a sheet). But this may or may not work for your kid if they feel confined in a pack and play. But it's worth it to experiment and see what works best. You can play around with it at home.

For portable bumpers, you can get an inflatable one but make sure you have a way to blow it up. We actually used a non-inflatable one (so it was like a hard pillow). It folded in half and I could fit it in a suitcase (had to bring a bigger suitcase to accommodate. But we only had to use it for about a year, so just a few plane trips and everything else was in the car. I didn't want to deal with an inflatable bumper because I worried it would spring a leak or we'd have trouble blowing it up.

[Anonymous]

A foldable travel cot is pretty cheap too. You could get one for about $25.

[Anonymous]

We got an inflatable crib size mattress that had a bumper too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, get a portable bumper that fits under the sheet on the bed. Usually what we would do is get a double room and I would share a bed with or 2 year old, so she'd be between me and the bumper. As she got older, we could do the bumper on one side and a kind of wall of pillows on the other, but we only did that once she was used to sleeping in a regular bed at home (though one closer to the ground than a hotel bed).

You can also put the bumper on a couch if it's deep enough (again, tucked under a sheet). But this may or may not work for your kid if they feel confined in a pack and play. But it's worth it to experiment and see what works best. You can play around with it at home.

For portable bumpers, you can get an inflatable one but make sure you have a way to blow it up. We actually used a non-inflatable one (so it was like a hard pillow). It folded in half and I could fit it in a suitcase (had to bring a bigger suitcase to accommodate. But we only had to use it for about a year, so just a few plane trips and everything else was in the car. I didn't want to deal with an inflatable bumper because I worried it would spring a leak or we'd have trouble blowing it up.

You can just use extra towels and get the same effect. Call housekeeping for extra linens to build your own bumper.

[Anonymous]

We've used something like this for my 3yo. DH slept next to him though, only because otherwise I think he would have wandered around instead of sleeping

[Anonymous]

PP here, forgot the link. On the floor, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/EVERYDAY-KIDS-Toddler-Removable-Pillow/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A foldable travel cot is pretty cheap too. You could get one for about $25.

+1 My DD6 is still using it this summer - although it's probably the last time she'll fit. She's tall.

https://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Portable-Toddler-Fitted-Travel/dp/B000H1MRJO

[Anonymous]

We just put the mattress on the floor. I have done this at friends' houses, not hotels, but there's no reason it wouldn't work at a hotel too.

[Anonymous]

Roll up towels and put them around the kid like bumper, then line the floor around the bed with pillows. Never had an issue, two kids, started around age 2 for the same reasons you mention.

[Anonymous]

We did the cot and it worked super well. If your kid goes to daycare I think you will have no issue - they sleep on cots / mats there and it feels the same.

[Anonymous]

Get the Shrunks blow up travel bed and a connecting room or suite.

[Anonymous]

Can you bring along or borrow a crib mattress, then just put it on the floor.

[Anonymous]

My son has used this since almost 3 to almost 5 now.

https://www.amazon.com/hiccapop-Inflatable-Toddler-Portable-Mattress/dp/B01LWQMM4V

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has used this since almost 3 to almost 5 now.

https://www.amazon.com/hiccapop-Inflatable-Toddler-Portable-Mattress/dp/B01LWQMM4V

+1

we have the intex version, it uses a crib sheet (only reason we still have them)