Traveling overnight with the muchkins

Ladies! I need some words of encouragement!!

We will be taking our little ones on the road several times in the next few months. Our kiddos stick to a pretty rigid schedule for meals, naps and bedtime. I know we will need to be flexible while we travel, but I am starting to second-guess all this "fun" we have planned with the kids! It seemed a bit easier when they were younger (I never thought I would say that!!!!!).

This weekend, we will be driving ~4 hours to see friends and spend the night. I am taking the Pack n Plays, though we haven't used them in about 3 months. I am TERRIFIED that they will discover they can get out of them while on vacation! I also have the Peapod Plus travel tents, but have NEVER used them...we tried when they were a few months old and it was a disaster. They have been loaned out once, but that is all the use we have gotten out of them.

As I keep telling my husband, I don't care if the kiddos don't go down right at 7pm while we are on vacation...but I just feel kind of lost without the schedule. Do they just hang out with us? Will they be crying messes on the floor because they aren't in bed? As always, we will bring their lovies, white noise, nightlight, bedtime books, etc for the bedtime routine. For the most part, the kids should have their own room at night, so that might help?

UGH. I wish I was more flexible and less of a worrier!!! Maybe I don't need specific bedtime advice, but suggestions on how to "go with the flow"

 

I've traveled with my boys just a bit, and done a few overnight trips. These have all been road trips, and I've stayed as long as 4 days (last summer at my mom's cottage). Here are my lessons learned (and I'm sure I have a lot more learning to do in the future!):

1. Have low expectations and be flexible. Don't expect them to behave totally normally, or stick 100% to the schedule, and always have a Plan B in case Plan A doesn't work out.

2. Try to make their schedule and sleeping environment as similar to home as possible, but don't stress if you can't get them to sleep at the normal time or if they deviate from their routine. Chalk it up to a learning experience, and take enjoyment where you can! Realize that there will be some disruptions (for my guys it's usually the fact that they don't eat well), and that you will make up for them when you get home.

3. A dual-DVD player for the car was the best investment I have ever made as a parent. My guys don't watch a lot of TV at home, so the DVD in the car is like the best treat ever! Nate had a nuclear meltdown at a restaurant during our last trip, to the point where we couldn't even get him in his car seat. We turned on a video, let him see it, and it calmed him down enough so we could strap him in and leave. My guys are still rear-facing and I'm sure get super bored staring at the back of the seat for several hours.

4. Kids have to have their own rooms, or you need to go to bed when they do (unless they sleep like rocks). It sounds like you are going to have this for your trips, so you're golden! Do your normal bedtime routine at their normal time, turn on the white noise, and enjoy yourselves. If they don't go to sleep at the normal time, play quietly with them for 1/2 an hour or so, then try again. WRT the Pack-n-Plays, I think that if they haven't learned to get out of their cribs, it probably won't occur to them to try to get out of the PnPs.

"Going with the flow" is not my strong point, but I find that it really helps to talk out different situations that might arise and how to handle them. Don't be obsessive about every what-if, but knowing what to do when things go awry is SUPER helpful and a huge stress relief for me. No you can't anticipate everything, but as long as you and DH are on the same page, you can handle anything!

You'll have a great time! Enjoy your trips!!

 

i think Valerie has given you some great tips!

also, i was going to suggest that sometime before your trip, try your kids out in the PnPs or the peapods in their own bedroom so they have a chance to get used to them. then that'll be one less new thing when you're on the road. we've only ever used our peapods when travelling and have had great success with them - we usually set them up every month or two though between trips to keep them accustomed to them. was it just that your LOs wouldn't sleep in them last time? or was there a more specific problem with them?

 

My kids were hysterical when we tried them out...they were still really little (not mobile) and they were just too new to them. I don't think we will have the chance to practice with them before the trip this weekend, but I would like to try the Peapods for our two-week (!!) trip in July. They will be two-years-old and I need a concrete back-up plan if the PnPs don't work at that age.

Between trips, do you make them take a full nap in them? What is your technique? I am afraid ours will think the Peapods are a play-thing (like the tunnels we have in their playroom) and it will get them super-excited!

And my DD LOVES zippers, so I can see the challenge with zipping them into the Peapod. (DD is now wearing her sleep-sack backwards. She started taking it off a few weeks ago and handed it to us when we walked in to their room in the morning. She held it out to us with an innocent "uh-oh, uh-oh." )

That said, I would like to see if we can use them...it would be a shame to let them go to waste!

 

usually, i start by setting them up in the living room & just letting them play in them for a day. then we move them into their bedroom & have them take a nap in them. we might do a day or two of that. then i put them down overnight in them. then i pack them away again. i find the location seems to really make a difference in how they perceive them - play place or sleep place. also, when i put them to sleep in them, they have their blankies, pillows & teddies in there as well so i think that helps them differentiate. i think the biggest thing though is familiarity with them. :good:

we use twist ties to keep the zippers together - they can zip them all they want, but they can't actually zip them open. i'm hoping now that they're in toddler beds that the next time we use the peapods we'll be able to just leave the flaps open & that they'll stay in them but who knows? ardon:

HTH!

 

Thanks for the details! I will give it a go before our next big trip!!