Good morning from the hallway of a Holiday Inn outside of Philadelphia.
Never thought I would begin a blog post with that sentence, but such is life. Ha! We’ve had a busy week in Pennsylvania and I plan to have a little recap post next week with more details. For now, as I am sitting outside my hotel room door while LJ takes his morning nap, I thought now would be a good time to share a few tips I’ve learned from hotel stays with a baby so far.
As always, these are things that work for our family. I share them in case there is even one person who might benefit from reading what works for us but I realize every family has different preferences and needs and so these things might not work for everyone.
Tip #1: Ask the hotel for a crib/pack and play
There may be some hotels that do not provide them, but every time I have made a reservation, I ask the hotel if they have cribs or pack n plays for guest use. So far, every hotel has had some. You want to make sure to request it when you make the reservation, because each hotel only has a limited number. Some will reserve the crib for you and some may say you need to call the day-of to reserve a crib so make sure to ask their policy. It saves a TON of space and hassle to not have to bring your own pack n play so I highly recommend using the hotel’s option. (Also, a side note: I realize looking at this picture that the lamp looks close to the crib but in reality it was against the wall out of reach of the crib).
Tip #2: Bring your own crib sheet
A pack n play takes up a ton of space. A crib sheet does not. I always bring my own and put it on top of the crib mattress for a few reasons. It smells like home and is a familiar thing for LJ to sleep on, which I truly believe helps him sleep easier in a new room. I also know with certainty that it is clean to my standards and is a material that he will be comfortable on.
Tip #3: Bring a sound machine
LJ does sleep with a sound machine at home, so the noise is consistent with what he is used to. Even if he didn’t regularly sleep with a sound machine, I would still bring it to a hotel room. Since I’m sleeping in the same room, this helps mask the small night noises that either of us might make and helps keep us from waking one another up over small noises. This trip, my mother-in-law brought her sound machine to save me some space but on past trips I have just packed it in the carry on.
Tip #4: Don’t overload the toys
We brought a few small toys to entertain him in the room but honestly, LJ has had just as much fun playing with the plastic water cup provided by the sink and sitting in the empty pool area and listening to the echos made by his voice (my mother-in-law’s idea! He looooved this). The point is, utilize what is at the hotel that your baby might like. Everything there is new and interesting for your baby and there’s no need to bring tons of toys or other entertainment.
Tip #5: Think through naps (aka – be prepared to hang out in the bathroom)
Okay this one is more of a preference thing, but I find it helpful to think ahead about what I want to be doing while LJ is sleeping. He goes to bed much earlier than I do and takes naps during the day and I obviously can’t leave him during this time but I don’t want to twiddle my thumbs in the dark. If you’re going to want to read during these times, bring a book light to read in bed. Or bring magazines and nail polish to have some “me” time in the bathroom. Or your laptop to work on the floor in the hallway outside the door. Or bring headphones to watch Netflix on your phone in bed. I just think it helps to think ahead about what you might like to do during this time so you bring what you might need (a book light, your computer, magazines, headphones, whatever).
What tips do you have for staying in a hotel with a baby? Share them below!
simplify the chaos 