Pack'n'plays Are Not Cribs

This is very very very not good. We have 2 nights reserved at Great Wolf Lodge next week. My sister and her family and my sperm donor and his family are all joining us as are my parents. I reserved 2 cribs. I called today to talk about the reservation and the freaking told me that they were actually pack'n'plays instead of cribs even though I had asked reservations specifically if they were full sized cribs. They are now in cribs with crib tents at home. Is this going to work?

Can a 3 footer fit in a pack'n'play? How easy is it to climb out? If it doesn't work what the heck am I supposed to do. They are in a room with a king bed and the rest of the clan was going to sleep in other beds/sofas in the rest of the suite so they are the only ones with a door that closes because they sleep early and nap. Will I have to sleep with them in the king size bed. Is that remotely safe? I am totally freaking out (and, at the same time, just telling myself that I will handle it).

Any words of encouragement?

 

I would probably have them sleep in the bed over the PNPs. You might have to lie down with them for them to get the idea, maybe put some pillows on the sides so they don't roll out.

 

My Jake is 39 inches, so over 3 feet. He naps on a PNP on the weekends. He actually likes it. And he sleeps in a regular crib, also with a crib tent. Yes, he can climb out of the PNP if he wants ... so you might need to stay close till they fall asleep ... but he fits (barely).

 

They will fit, so don't worry about that. I would still go with the PNPs rather than the king size bed. Either way, you will have to convince them not to climb out, but at least they can't fall out of a PNP in their sleep.

I'd probably sleep in the room with them -- they'll feel more confident if they happen to wake up and see you there, and you can also check on them if you happen to wake during the night (or if they do decide to go walkabout, they won't get far).

It may not be as bad as you think. If you are really panicking, I think you can buy PNP tents, but I bet that with all the excitement of being on vacation, etc., they will sleep like logs. You may need to sit in the room with them while they fall asleep (I normally either pretend to sleep or lie there and read a book, and I tell them they are not allowed to talk to me or I'll leave). If they're good sleepers in general, it'll be OK. At least that's been our experience, when we had our usually crib-sleeping kids sleeping in PNPs or mattresses on the floor or something.

 

I think if it were me, I would put my kids in the PNPs. It might be a tight fit, but it should work for a couple of nights. I'm sure you will handle it just fine! :hug:

Anecdotally, I caved and let both of my kids sleep in my bed the other night when a screaming fest at 2am became more than I could handle. We all slept in a full-sized bed and live to tell the tale (though it will likely not happen again!). So, if you have to sleep in the King with them, I am sure you'll all be fine. My approach would be to just remind myself that it's only for 2 days/nights, and for that amount of time, you can roll with just about anything. After all, you made it through the first year, right? You can do it!!

Have a great time!!

 

Mine always sleep in bed with us when we travel. Usually we have 4 full sized beds(one for each adult) and we split the twins up. One with my mom or dad and one with me

 

Don't fret over it. Just assume you will use the PNP's. If you decide that they won't work, you always have the king size bed. DH, myself and the twins all slept in a king size bed over the New year weekend. It was either that or I put them on the floor. We all had a good night sleep and it worked out fine. If you have to end up using the king bed, I am sure it will be just fine. If you can, rearrange the room and push the bed up against the wall. That way you are sleeping on the edge. It will all work out...Enjoy your trip!!

 

Shoot - when we went on vaca in May the girls were just 2.5 and they slept on the floor. We just put some blankets down.. they conned DH into sleeping with them though! LOL

When we go to Grandma's house they always sleep on an air Mattress, or in the bed with us. We've been known to fit all THREE of our kids (the twins and their younger brother) in a Queen sized bed with us. DH and I just fashion ourselves to make a human border around the bed (Think of the letter 'L' that's how we sleep) with the bed also pushed to the wall. All 3 of the kids would then sleep in the middle of the bed. not the MOST comfortable, but doable.

I wouldn't even worry about it. Let them sleep in the King bed. It's big enough for 2 little tot's to roll as much as they want and I"m sure they'd still be fine!

 

It's actually not their safety in far as sleeping goes, it's that I'm not prepared for a 3 hour bedtime because they are jumping around and I can't get them to lie down or that, if I'm not in the room, they will hurt themselves or destroy something. I rely on that, generally they are good kids because if I relied on their fear of me or of discipline, I'd be in big trouble.

I guess I could say that they couldn't go swimming the next day....hmmmmm....of course, then I'd have to ask myself whether I would live up to the ultimatum.

Otherwise, I'm trying to just repeat my mantra "don't borrow trouble. Don't borrow trouble." It may be just fine. We are looking at pictures of waterslides on youtube before our trip so this morning I pulled up a picture of a pack'n'play also just to get them used to the idea.

To be honest, I'm always anxious about trying something new with them and it usually works out just fine. Eventually, I'll learn that lesson.

 

This is me too and my girls always surprise me too I think you should try the pnp's. Bring your own sheets, blankets and lovies from home. They'll probably be able to climb out on their own, but they will also probably be exhausted and go right to sleep for you. "Go with the flow" is my mantra for trips and so far my girls have done well whenever we travel. GL and have fun!!!

 

I was just in the same boat over xmas.
My two LOVE their cribs and crib tents.
Get the pack n play tents, they felt like they were at home and they worked great!
$60 each but WELL worth the peach of mind!