In just over a month, we will be embarking on a vacation. This will be Evan and Seth's first trip to our nation's capitol. While this is exciting, there's a big part of me that is very anxious and nervous about this huge disruption to Seth's daily routine...and what that might mean for the grown-up's routine too.
Food. I'm least worried about feeding Seth on the go. He's a good sport about it and though sometimes a bit messy, I think we can make it work. Instead of bringing along all my homemade foods (which would need thawed), we'll probably resort back to Gerber for the four days for convenience. I'm doubting our hotel room will have a small fridge or microwave, so it's best for us to be prepared to do without.
Sleep. This is where I have some major anxiety. Seth still takes 2-3 naps per day. I know he will not get that on vacation. At this point I'm hoping we can make it back to our hotel room each afternoon (ideally after lunch) for Seth to get a decent afternoon nap (preferably 2 hours). Going to bed for the night is where it could get a little tricky. At home, we can easily put Seth in his crib, turn on his music, and let him drift off to sleep. When sharing a hotel room, this will obviously not be the case. Evan and I have thought about hanging up a sheet or blanket in order to block Seth's view so he can't see us. Seeing mom and dad = no sleep. So even if we do all that, have all his favorite things from his home crib in the pack-n-play, we still are in a hotel room with Seth. It needs to be quiet, especially until he is completely out.
So, do Evan and I have to just sit and do sign language to each other from 7:30-8pm until we go to bed? This is our vacation too, and honestly, I'm not exactly thrilled that we will be prisoners to our hotel room. Guess this is part of having small children. Maybe I just need ideas on how to make it fun. Evan isn't really into playing cards or playing a board game. TV would probably wake Seth up since he's in the same room. So, this is where my problem lies. I'm open to suggestions (keep it clean, now! ha.)
8 comments:
we went on a trip to the smoky mountains when Jack was really little just started eating etc. He was sleeping through the night we put blankets on the sides of the pack and play b/c it was mesh and the light went right through.
You can also put one over the top until he falls asleep to give more darkness.
But jack goes to bed with his cd player playing and has had the same cd play since he was an infant so he has always gone to bed with "noise". After he was asleep we were pretty good to move around and talk etc.
We also put him away furthest away from the window/tv etc.
Not sure if that is at all helpful.
I'm sure everything will go smoothly....
Seth my surpise you. My kid do really well going from place to place and sleeping in strange places. Probably because they have both traveled since they were 2 months old. We are preparing for our first big vacation with them too. They will have almost all the comforts of home with them minus their beds. Another option for you to do is to let Seth fall asleep and you and Evan go into the bathroom. Then probably when he is asleep you can come out and spend time together. I did that last summer with Kendra and it worked out nice. She was 11 months old at the time. I will say that keeping a schedule is hard to do with small children but again Seth my surprise you at how well he will do no on a schedule.
I had the same worries when dwight asked us to go on a work trip with him...I wasn't sure how nap time would go. However, I think if they are tired enough...they will fall asleep. (as you will see in my post for tomorrow). It is tricky sleeping in the same room with her, but don't worry about it too much, you guys will figure it out. :) (haha, dwight will probably laugh at this comment from me, I worry about this kind of thing a lot! but i'm trying to give you some hope :)
Maybe you could try letting him sleep in his pack n play in different areas of your house, just to get him used to being in other areas...
The first trip is always a little tricky. My plan has always been to be prepared to have everything not go as planned. This way I am not nearly as upset when things go crazy (as they usually do in my house) Kids bounce back easier than we think so even if he misses his naps and throws off his schedule he will get back on when you get back.
We always brought a sheet to cover the sides of the pack n play and then when they were asleep we turned the tv on low and they both stayed asleep.
Good luck and have a really great time!!
maybe you are putting too much thought into it! He may really surprise you! I think covering the sides to make it dark will be great and over the top for just to get asleep!
Have a fantastic time!
Kids bring a whole new dimension to vacation! When we went to New York, we stayed in a hotel for a couple nights. Brian took one of the blankets and secured it somehow to the t.v cabinet and then used his tripod for the other side to create a wall between us and Daniel. We also used a sound machine to drown out some of our noise. We had to be pretty quiet while he was falling asleep and yes, did actually use some sign language! ;-) To be honest, we had some good nights and some bad nights. If you want to watch something, do you have a laptop? You can watch dvds or t.v shows with head phones.
We are actually contemplating the same thing right now. We are thinking about going to Michigan in Sept. for Brian's cousin's wedding and also maybe to Ohio to see my grandma since we will be up that way anyways. The drive will be a huge challenge with two kids, but I am most concerned about the sleeping arrangements. Alanya has never slept in the pack-n-play and it has been so long since we have traveled anywhere, the last time we did Daniel still slept in the pack-n-play. He is such a crazy sleeper he would surely fall out of the bed! So we'll see.....
I'll be praying for you that everything goes well and I'll be praying for Seth that he sleeps well! You will have some great memories from this trip even with the challenges! Are you driving or flying?
Just remember he'll be one month older when you do vacation. Lincoln changes so much each month I have no idea what to expect 4 weeks from now.
It's good to plan vacations even when he's this little. You don't want to be trapped in Lakewood until he's 5:) Seth's such an easy going little man, hopefully you won't have any problems.
Good luck.
Jenn
Is it wrong to suggest kiddie cough syrup?
Yeah, I thought it would be.
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