To let toddler sleep in his buggy?

[Brokenbiscuits43]

Currently on our first holiday with DS and having difficulties with the sleeping arrangements.

DS isn’t a great sleeper at home. Will sleep in his bed for a while but prefers to co-sleep.

As DS is under 2 (for a few more weeks), he is considered an infant, so the hotel have provided a travel cot instead of a bed for him.

He is flatly refusing to settle in the travel cot (screaming / crying) until he is taken out. I’d normally just stick him in the big bed between me & DP, but it’s two singles pushed together and the gap between them grows every time someone moves, so I’m worried that DS would end up falling down between the two. I’ve been trying to settle him on my other side, but he just keeps squirming off the bed, and I’m worried that if he does fall asleep there, there’s nothing to stop him rolling out in his sleep onto the hard, tiled floor. I can’t see any viable way to rearrange the furniture to have a bed up against a wall.

We have got a lightweight folding buggy that lies almost flat. It’s got a 5 point harness. Is it safe / ok for DS to sleep in the buggy overnight? I’ve got a selection of blankets to make sure he’s not too hot or cold, and he’s got a clip-on motion / breathing monitor (because I’m generally quite anxious about sleep safety). I would have the buggy right next to my bed.

I hate doing anything that goes against the safe sleep guidelines, but are they just for smaller babies? He’s nearly 2 now.

I’m absolutely exhausted, having had less than 2 hours sleep last night, and I really need to sleep, but obviously DS’s safety is my top priority.

AIBU? Can he sleep in the buggy?

Or has anyone else got any other suggestions for a tired mum?

Of course he can. I did that so I could prop them up a bit when they had a cold!
Ask tomorrow if you can have a bed rather than a cot, or see if it's safe to put a mattress on the floor.

Would he sleep on the travel cot mattress on the floor?
I have let mine sleep in the buggy at night occasionally but I’ve been paranoid about the straps getting caught up and strangling them so stayed awake and watched them (it was better than wrestling a screaming child).
Will he sleep in his car seat and then you lift it out of the car? I could do that with ds in his toddler car seat?

Of course.

Of course it's fine. It's only for the short term and you all need some sleep. My youngest son has always struggled to sleep whenever he has a cold. It is utterly exhausting so we would put him in his pushchair where he could be propped up and we could quickly rock him back to sleep when he did wake.

How does a motion sensor work on an almost 2 year old?!

Would you be able to move him to the travel cot once he's fallen asleep in the buggy without waking him up ?
It's a skill though and one thing I appreciated about my DH.

He’s two! He’ll be absolutely fine. the only thing I’d worry about was withered he’d wake at some point because he was uncomfortable- not much room for moving around etc but sounds like the best option in your case. Can the hotel not provide bed guards?

*whether

No that’s not safe. I’m surprised at others suggesting that it is. OP is there room in the bedroom to put the single bed mattresses onto the floor?

Can’t you push the cot up against your side of the bed?

Mattress on the floor, surely?

I would move the pillows to the side of the bed and sleep across it so the gap is under your knees iyswim? Then he can sleep between you.

put one of the single matresses on the floor

Of course he can. Can you nip into a shop tomorrow and buy a couple of thin, foam filled cushions (the type for kitchen/bar stools) just to make it a bit more comfortable for a long period?

Even if you can’t, he probably weighs little enough that it won’t be a big issue.

Enjoy your holiday

@Whetheryouthinkyoucan

How does a motion sensor work on an almost 2 year old?!

It clips onto his nappy and measures how much / how often his tummy moves as he breathes. The manufacturer did say it was recommended for babies up to 12 months but it still seems to work and doesn’t come off when he wriggles.

@LeavesOnTrees

Would you be able to move him to the travel cot once he's fallen asleep in the buggy without waking him up ? It's a skill though and one thing I appreciated about my DH.

Sadly not. I could do it when he was smaller, but he always wakes and arches his back as I lower him into a cot now. I do miss the days when I could transfer him once sleeping though.

@WellLetsSayHesSquare

I would move the pillows to the side of the bed and sleep across it so the gap is under your knees iyswim? Then he can sleep between you.

This is what I'd do

Could you ask to move to a room with an actual double?

I’d explain to the hotel and ask for a proper double bed or even a room with a larger bed. You’re a paying guest- I’d expect some service if the alternative is stressful sleeping! Xo

Of course he can sleep in the buggy! Safe sleep advice has gone a bit mad. He’s 2!

Yeah I’d turn the bed around too and sleep across it.

Beds against walls are really unsafe incase they fall and get wedged between the bed and wall

I had more holidays when DS was a toddler than any other time. Anything goes! DS would often fall asleep in his pushchair during the evening and that's where he stayed, until he woke. He would then come in with me, with pillows/towels/whatever on the floor just in case he rolled. No problem. Relax.

I'd put the 3 mattresses on the floor, with him on the mattress with my, on the side next to the cot mattress, then change rooms tomorrow. If he'll sleep in the buggy though then do that. Anything to get everyone a night's sleep!

@EverydayImPuzzling

Mattress on the floor, surely?

Agreed. It's the most sensible suggestion. He could sleep in a buggy but it would be a rubbish way to sleep for more than a short nap even if it did almost lie flat.

Don't. A child died sleeping like this.
on holiday. The family woke up, the pram had tipped up and he'd suffocated under the hood.