I love to travel and explore new places. Over the past year travel has included a few extra pieces of luggage and an adorable companion. As much as I love having my travel buddy with me and I've figured out the logistics of packing and checking luggage there is one aspect of travel with a baby that I still haven't gotten used to. Hotel rooms are not built for a baby's schedule! Taking a baby to a hotel poses tons of challenges. First there is the crib issue. If we are driving I'll bring our own portable crib along but when we fly I rely on the hotel crib. Hotel cribs are hit and miss, most hotels do have them but you never know what condition it's going to be in or if you'll even get a sheet for the bed. My baby does not do well with this and ends up crying more and sleeping less when we are on the road.
Second, say that I don't want to go to bed at 7 pm when I put the baby down, where do I go in a hotel room? Invariably I end up sitting in the bathroom for a few hours reading until I'm tired. I've gotten better and gathering up what I'll need before bedtime and making sure I have food and drink on hand but just the same I'm spending a portion of my vacation hanging out in the bathroom.
Third, how are you supposed to handle crying? At home we only go to get the baby if she cries for more than a few minutes but in a hotel, as a courtesy to other guests, I try to respond to crying much quicker. This sets up a bad system where she just wants to be held and cries more often and finally I give up and she sleeps in my bed while I try to rest. Related to this is the fact that she knows we are in the same room as her so she wants to be as close to us as possible. This isn't a problem at home, just a hotel.
So, what do we do? Book a suite? I wish we had that much diosable income! I don't have any grand answers but I sure hope that things get a little better as she grows because hyper is a lot of the world left for us to discover!
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