Seeking Alternative Sleeping Arrangements for 16-Month Old When Traveling

My son had that problem when ever he stayed the night at my parents. Then while I was talking to my mom about it she brought up a good point to me. She said "Well, just look at how much padding he is sleeping on. It isn't very much and after awhile it gets very uncomfortable." So we put a thin layer of eggs crates down before we put the fitted sheet on the pay pin bedding and it worked like a charm. He slept well through out the night and we was able to get another six months use out of the play pin.

When we traveled with my 23-month-old over the holidays, we took the mattress from his crib and the gates we used to make a hexagon/play pen. We put the mattress on the floor and made the hexagon around it. Then we put folded blankets and pillows on the sides so he wouldn't roll off the mattress. It was soft and kept him contained. HTH!

If the room he is sleeping in is baby proof enough, you could put a baby gate up in the doorway and make him up a bed on the floor. My four year old prefers the floor to her own bed. (I'm not sure why.)
You could also see if your mother would consider having her own crib or toddler bed there at her house. You can look on craigslist or at thrift stores for an inexpensive one.

We had that same problem but my daughters are a bit older. We got a child's size tent and put a foam mattress pad in the bottom. She loved it! She had plenty of room and just loved the idea of camping out at Grandma's. The tent we got was only $13 at Wal-Mart and is now set up at home for all the kids to play in.

My son is also OVER the pack and play!! Not a cheap alternative but my mom bought a fairly inexpensive crib for her house!! My son is the 2nd grandchild and I think she thinks she will get her money out of it with future G-kids!!

IF you stay there often how about considering a toddler bed near where you sleep? My parents set up a room for the grandkids.

Thanks,
L. G

I bought safety rails and put mine in a regular bed. I didn't have a problem with either one of mine staying in bed or rolling out. The safety rails can be cumbersome to travel with but it is worth it. They also came in handy when we upgraded to our big girl and big boy beds.

You can get a home and roam play pen/porta crib which is really big. Also I do not think your little one is too big. Your toddler is probably growth spurting or something and isn't sleeping as soundly. Anything to think about is what she may be watching on tv- the most seemingly "inocent" things can give young children bad dreams.
I would stick with the porta crib- she will eventually quiet down in her sleep again and will be fine. DO NOT take her out of a confined space this young- then she will not sleep at all- unless your Mom is willing to have her in her (meaning the bed your mother sleeps in) bed this is not a good idea.

Try the Kidco PeaPod Plus (make sure it's the plus which is made for big kids...the original is made for babies). They are like little tents that have an inflatable mattress that goes in a special compartment under the floor and comes with a sleeping bag. It folds up easy and goes back into a carrying bag (but you have to follow the directions or you could bend the pieces...I read some online reviews and that was the only complaint). You can get it at www.target.com or www.amazon.com and I'm sure if you google you will find many other places. People also sell them on EBay for a reasonable price. Anyway, I have twins, so I have 2 of these, & they're great! Hope this helps!
J.

We had 4 small children who all had this issue. If the room we were in was child-proof enough, we would just put a baby gate at the entrance to the bedroom door, and then use sleeping bags/blankets/playpen mattress on the floor.

Alternately, we bought those interlocking portable playyard sets (Walmart, ToysRUS, etc.) for our house, so when we traveled we could bring a set of them and set up a larger playyard area that was enclosed, but big enough for them to move around in. And again, used sleeping bags/blankets/mattress on the floor.

This also works great when your child no longer wants to sleep in crib or bed but you want to keep them in their room safely. My oldest one would get out of bed every night and end up sleeping at the foot of the gate of his room, and I didn't have to worry about his falling down stairs while I was asleep!

Good luck,

*S.* :) SAHM of four boys

we have 2 of the kids inflatable beds my daughter now 6 first used hers at 18months just make sure its on a soft surface on one side and against the wall on the other side. Things should be baby proofed and a gate on the door so he cant get out of the room.

There is a company that lets you rent all baby gear when you travel. If they have it where your mom lives, they will come nd set up everything. They even do toys so you don't have to bring them. You could rent a crib from them. I believe it is called Babies Away. Go to google and look there. I want to say they are based out of San Fran. but are all over the country.

Or maybe your mom can get an inexpensive crib. Since my mom already has 4 grandkids and 2 more children that don't have kids yet, she just bought a crib. She figures she will have atleast 9 or 10 so it was worth the investment for her. And it makes it easier for us to come visit often! :)

Hi! I used a toddler bed and my daughter was 14 months old. It is a small bed, low to the floor and has guard rails so they cannot roll off the bed. Walmart has them and they worked great for me and my daughter. If she got up during the night the first place she went was hunting me..lol which was not far because her bed was in my room until she turned 2. This may not be the right situation for you, but then again it might be something to give some thought too. Not sure about a traveling sitaution, but maybe have one at your house and one at your moms. The beds can be used for years. Good Luck, G.

We would always just drag the twin (or whatever) mattress onto the floor. We'd sort of put one end against the wall and the other end up against the rest of the bed to sort of enclose it as much as possible. Not perfect... but it worked.

We also travel to my mothers quite often with my 2 girls. One is still in the playpen, but the older one has grown out of it. We usually set up an air mattress between the bed and the wall and then pull some chairs or a chaise that are in the room up to the foot of the air mattress to keep her from waking up and wandering in the middle of the night. My older daughter stayed with my mom last summer for a few weeks and she set it up the same way in her room. It worked for us! Good luck!

You can put a mattress on the ground and use those toddler bed rails to keep him in. I moved my daughter into a full size bed when she was just a few months older than him. I just put pillows at the foot to make sure she didn't roll out and had it against the wall on two sides and the long side I put a rail. She wasn't on the floor but she doesn't wiggle to much when sleeping.

Target sells a great little fold up cot for toddlers for $30.00. If works like the folding chairs and is only about 6 inches off the ground. We bought one for my 2 year old and she sleeps on it fine, once she gets used to the new environment. She started sleeping on a cot at daycare around 12 months.

Here is a link to the page - http://www.target.com/Regalo-Portable-Child-Bed-Royal/dp/...

or search for Regalo My Cot Portable Child Bed

One Step Ahead also carries a inflatable mattress with sides and some other options.

D.