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Holidays

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Original poster

What do you do when you stay in a hotel room with a baby?

74 replies

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 08:40

We are going away this weekend (for a couple of nights in the UK) for the first time with DS (13 months). He is usually in bed by 7-7.30 which we could probably push back to 8. But as he is sleeping in a travel cot in the hotel room, what are me and DH meant to do? Can't watch telly, can't have a light on to read - what do other people do? Do we just have to accept that we will have to sit in the dark until we are tired?

I know this is probably a stupid question but I am interested in what others do and any tips so me and DH can still enjoy ourselves without being in bed at 8 o'clock!

OP posts:

Baffy · 09/08/2007 08:44

Do you know for definite that he will wake up? At home is he in a blacked out room in complete silence etc?

When we go away we keep ds up as late as possible, 9 or 10ish sometimes, until we know he is absolutely shattered. Sometimes we let him fall asleep in the pram so we can go down to the bar for a drink and he sleeps next to us. Or he goes fast asleep in the room and we can have the tv on, lights on, have a drink and a chat... and he has never woken up.

But our house is generally quite noisy so maybe he's used to it?

Azure · 09/08/2007 08:44

We found that once DS1 was asleep we could turn the tv on loud enough to hear so that it wouldn't disturb him, or put a bedside light on to read. Depending on where you are staying you may be able to use a baby monitor so that you can have a meal or whatever, although I appreciate you may not wish to. Agree that sitting in the dark or going to bed at 8pm is not a great prospect.

FluffyMummy123 · 09/08/2007 08:44

Message withdrawn

MrsBadger · 09/08/2007 08:46

put cot in bathroom

you have to wee quietly but can ahve tv, lights etc on in bedroom

(this tip may be copyright NQC)

FluffyMummy123 · 09/08/2007 08:47

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 08:48

No he doesn't sleep in a blacked-out room at home and he usually does sleep quite soundly at the beginning of the evening - so maybe it will be ok to have the TV on.

I quite like the pram idea - although I think it is more likely that we will buy a bottle of wine (or 2 ) and drink them in our room.

The other idea is to get him to have a late afternoon nap (by driving him somewhere etc) - he will then probably be ok to stay up until 10ish - but then I guess he will be more tired the next day etc.

OP posts:

ProfYaffle · 09/08/2007 08:49

We do the baby monitor downstairs thing but it does depend on the hotel, we've only done it small family run type places.

LIZS · 09/08/2007 08:50

Will he sleep in semi darkness ? Perhaps take a cot sheet to drape over the top of the travel cot to shield any direct light ? If the room is large enough you may be abel to make a dark corner and use spotlights for yourselves to read etc.

Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 08:50

MrsBadger - surely most hotel bathrooms aren't big enough for a cot - certainly the ones I stay in aren't

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Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 08:51

Prof - it is a big Holiday Inn hotel so not keen on the baby monitor idea tbh.

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MrsBadger · 09/08/2007 08:57

I do seem to remember NQC advocating putting the mattress from the travel cot in the bath...
see, I'm not mad, she did

Baffy · 09/08/2007 09:02

I bet he'll be fine if you just tire him out in the day and put him to bed late.
(Not too late otherwise you won't be able to relax and drink that wine! )

Agree with the other's who say it's probably best not to stay in hotels with children as you're better somewhere where you can have separate rooms - if that is an option.

But honestly we have stayed in 1 room so many times, ds is 2 this month, and it's never been a problem

thelady · 09/08/2007 09:03

Don't assume baby monitors will work even in small family-run hotels .

Ours is a little 5-bedroom hotel, but v. old with stone walls and you're lucky to get the monitors to work through 1 floor, not the two you'd need from bedroom to pub.

Plug in ones are no better, as we have three separate electicity circuits (3-phase building), so be warned!

seeker · 09/08/2007 09:06

We've always either let ours stay up until they fall asleep on a sofa or in a pushchair downstairs or put them to bed it the room, then have room service if we're going posh or a bottle of wine with the telly. Ours have never woken up even with the lights on - but maybe they are more used to noise that most people's! You may find they are so tierd they sleep through anything anyway!

Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 09:07

Baffy - unfortunately 2-bedrooms is not an option as it is only for a short break and the hotel only has single rooms.

I don't think we would have taken him away normally - but it is for a MN meet-up so that is a good excuse I think - and we thought we would just extend it to a mini-break as we haven't had a holiday for 2 years and not likely to have one this year either.

MrsBadger - do like the bathtub idea - not sure DH would go for it though.

OP posts:

Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 09:07

Baffy - unfortunately 2-bedrooms is not an option as it is only for a short break and the hotel only has single rooms.

MrsBadger - do like the bathtub idea - not sure DH would go for it though.

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Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 09:08

Oops - don't know why that posted twice!

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nightshade · 09/08/2007 09:10

dd is 14mths, never had a problem away as she always stays up until we are ready to go to bed, when away.

if she is tired, often she will fall asleep on my knee, whilst i'm sitting in a comfy armchair supping wine.

most hotels have sofas, put ds to sleep there and carry on.

Baffy · 09/08/2007 09:15

Totally agree ceebee - even when we've had the option of 2 rooms we still always go for 1! Cheap option and we know ds will sleep anyway, so everyone's happy

Hope you have a lovely weekend

Original poster

Ceebee74 · 09/08/2007 11:15

Just mentioned the 'bath' idea to DH and he actually thought it was a good idea so maybe we will go down that route

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motheroftwoboys · 09/08/2007 14:21

We obviously were Bad Parents as we always left ours in the room when we went down to dinner! Now the DSs are 16 and 15 and we always have two rooms as they come in MUCH later than us when we are on holiday!

sarahhal · 09/08/2007 15:49

We have always done the travel cot in bathroom!! The only place it didn't fit was when we had to stay in an Ibis in Portsmouth before getting a ferry.

Spockle · 09/08/2007 16:11

We have always taken the kids away to hotels lots and lots; put the kids to bed at normal time and left them in the room with a baby monitor; if the signal didn't reach we keep popping back to check on them. After the MMcC business I vowed I'd never do it again, but actually life has to go on...and surely you can't sit in a hotel room all evening and call it a holiday???? If the room is locked and secure, and especially if you can hear every sound, is there a big problem with this? Am I a Bad Mother? Oh God....

JodieG1 · 09/08/2007 16:17

We're going to Legoland next week and have a family room for the night. We intend to just stay in the room with minimal noise. We holidayed in Dorset when ds1 was a baby but had a cottage so we could be downstairs and watch a film etc. I wouldn't leave them alone in a hotel room ever even before recent events.

Spockle · 09/08/2007 16:20

Why? Because you were always worried about recent-event type events, or another reason? It's odd, because I am so paranoid and neurotic in other ways yet I thought what we did was quite normal...

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