Need help with bedtime for 17 month old

[Narcoossee]

We will be at wilderness lodge in september. We are planning long afternoon naps and a consistent bedtime. But I am concerned about getting my daughter to sleep in the pack -n-play with us in the same room with her. Her bed time is 8 pm. Any suggestions on how we keep her asleep and us enterained until we are ready for bed?

Narcoossee

 

[jldriscoll]

We had our 9 month old at WL a few years back. I know just what you're worried about. Our dd didn't like sleeping in the same room with other people.

We took her blankets from home and used the extra ones from the hotel to drape over the sides of the crib to darken the crib so we could leave a light on. We kept her on the door side of the room so we could go out and sit on our balcony and watch the MK fireworks or enjoy the evening without walking past her. Worked great!

Disney really wears kids out, that helps too!

 

[SandraC]

We tossed all bedtimes out the window at WDW. The only thing we all insisted on was an afternoon nap. Sometimes the nap was 1-3pm, those days ds (15 months at the time and another time when he was 2.5 years old) would go to bed about 8-9pm. (His regular bedtime is 7pm). Sometimes we would be at the parks until 3pm and nap would be 4pm-6pm, those were great Illumination and SpectroMagic/Fantasy in the Sky and Fantasmic nights! It all works out! S

 

[Gillian]

When are you going in september? the park hours are really short! We'll be ther with our 2 year old, and I'm not sure what we'll do about an afternoon nap. I know he needs one, but I think we'll figure it out when we get there.

What we've done for bedtime is put the pack & play in the darkest part of the room, or even in the bathroom, if the layout allows. Sometimes he doesn't want to go to sleep, so we let him cry it out, like we did when he was learning to fall asleep. He's usually very tired on vacation, so this lasts less than 5 minutes & usually less than 30 seconds!! I don't feel bad about the noise, as it is usually pretty early (8:00).

We found that once he is out, very little disturbs him, but the balcony is the best place for talking after the he's asleep.

 

[SandraC]

At CBR they have curtains separating the vanity from the room, so we put the crib near the vanity, it was nice and quiet. At CSR they don't have curtains. The crib was placed beside the TV wall unit. It's funny, on vacation, kids do well. Our ds slept very well. We all tend to get less sleep on vacation. The later naps also gave us the chance to enjoy later dinners and resort hopping! Late nights at the pools are great too. S

 

[shelly3girls]

When we were at the WL they actually gave us a porta-crib, which my daughter greatly prefers over a pack-and-play. We stayed in a deluxe room so I can't say how location would work there. When we stay at the GF we put the crib near the bathroom door which is blocked off from the room by a wall. This way she couldn't see us. She cried a little before going to bed, but we also just let her cry it out. It only took a couple nights before she was going to bed without a problem. We also brought her blankie from home.

 

[lisaost]

Been worried about this myself too. We were letting our two little ones just fall asleep on the livingroom floor and then carrying them up to their cribs to sleep through the night....until last week. That's when I realized this might be a problem in our villa (2br, offsite at Marriot Cypress Harbour) if we needed to let them cry it out....I don't want to wake up the whole hotel....it's TWO of them! LOL. So I'm putting them in their cribs awake every night now so at least they won't go crazy when I try to get them to go down in the pack and play. But I have to sit with them for a while or they go crazy. I don't mind letting them CIO for 5-10 minutes or so but my son is one of those relentless types who can do it for an hour. And after a long day at the parks (even with a break in the middle ) I"m not going to want to hear it! LOL!

 

[Pammy jo]

I have heard of people bringing tape and taping up a sheet across the vanity area so the baby is like in another room. Helps with the light, not the noise. In the past we've usually let the kids stay up later or we'll go crazy going to bed at 8:00 on vacation. This year we're doing the 1 bedroom so we can stay up. Hurray! As far as making them like the pak-n-play my guess is as good as yours. We'll be taking a 15month in November and I hope he doesn't have to cry it out too long. He's also one of those stubborn ones. Good luck!

 

[jwfla422]

We've stayed at the S/D several times since dd was 2, she's now almost 4 and up until our last visit she was in the portacrib.

We put her crib in the corner of the room near the slider. We brought a king sheet and clothesline and clothespins from home. Some of the rooms had curtains on 2 sides so we'd feed the clothes line thru the bracket under the valance on each side at the end and tie it. Then we'd hang the sheet over the line blocking her from the rest of the room.

In some cases if the room only had curtains on one side we'd hang the other end of the clothes line near the door on the pole stuck out from the wall (to hang a garment bag).

This worked great. We brought her activity box and stuffed animals and she'd play for a bit even with us right there because she couldn't see us and we'd try to just keep one light on, then she'd eventually fall asleep. We also brought her CD player and put that on next to her crib.

Last visit we used a twin air mattress and just pined the sheet (with clothespins) to the curtains mid way up and rubber banded the other side to the amoire tv door, she had a little tented area and she loved it.

When she was a baby she'd never like to sleep anywhere but her crib til we took her to Disney Just her and I are going to WL next month, they're setup is a little different. If we do bunk beds i can hang sheets around the bottom bunk from the top but if we do queens I'll have to figure out another strategy and probably use her air mattress again. I can let you know how the rooms are set up after our visit Sorry so long, but this was such an issue for us too

 

[Lainy67]

Am I the ONLY one whose child (just turned 3) goes to sleep between 10:00 and 11:00? There is NO way we have EVER been able to get her to bed any earlier. She is up around 7:30 each morning. They make her take a nap at daycare. So she doesn't go to sleep until very late. This has been forever.

I keep reading about everyone's bedtimes for kids and it being 7 or 8 and I think HOW?

I am more concerned about getting her to take a nap in the afternoon. She takes one every day at school, but on the weekends she tends to refuse.

 

[Barb D]

Here's an idea...

Start some bedtime routines now that you can carry over on your trip. For instance, you could play a lullaby tape on a tape player, and get her really used to it before you go. That way when you're in an unfamiliar room she will have familiar bedtime sounds (and of course, her very own blankie and stuffed buddies from home).

Also, don't forget to bring a nightlight if she's used to one. (It's helpful to have one in the bathroom anyway.)

 

[shelly3girls]

Lainy67

Dont worry, my 3 year-old is the same way. She is always wide awake at 9 even without a nap. With a nap, she is good to go until atleast 10! Recently we started a chart, every night that she goes to bed by 9 and stays there until the morning she gets a star. After 10 stars she gets some reward that she chooses ahead of time. Last night she slept at her cousins house as her reward. It only took 11 nights for her to earn her 10 stars. We even stayed overnight in a hotel where she stayed in her own bed without a peep! This was a child that refused to go to bed without me next to her and came in my bed every night by atleast 2. It is amazing what a little bribery will do. I now have a little time to myself every night. And by the way, my younger daughter is the total opposite. If she is not in bed by 8, she goes upstairs on her own and stands by her crib asking for night-night.

 

[Narcoossee]

Thanks for the ideas. I am really interested in trying to partition off an area of the room for her. She sleeps in a pack & play all the time at her grandparents. But she is always in her own room. I think if she can see us it will be a big problem. Anyone been to WL recently who knows if you get a portacrib or a pack & play? Is the bathroom/vanity area big enough that I could create a private area for her?
Narcoossee

 

[dixiegirl76]

hay gillian,
me and my family are going to disney in september welll aug 30 to be exact..our daughter will be turning 2 there......(sept 1st) any tips on flying down?? she was great last year , but she was also not as mobile...lol

 

[shelly3girls]

We were at the WL last November and I am almost positive it was a portacrib.

 

[skeezixspud]

In six visits over 4.5 years, (always in off-season, BTW) DS has only once failed to fall asleep on the way back to the hotel after park closing time, and on that occasion a post-park 30 minute swim did him in.

WDW is incredibly exciting for a child that age, and they tend to just run until they drop, which is why a comfy stroller is so important. On any given bus from any given just-closed park, I would guess that 90% of children under age 6 fall asleep before their resort is reached.

 

[chemteacher]

I've taken my DS to WDW at 7 1/2 months, 19 months, and 2 1/2, and suggestion is-- SWIM, SWIM, SWIM!!! We put him in the pool twice a day once after lunch and once at night. It always uses up any extra energy-- he usually fell asleep within fifteen minutes in the room. I, also, agree the skeezixspud. Most kids fall asleep riding back to the resort. But remember you are on vacation-- bed times should be flexible!

 

[Kid at heart]

We took our DS in 1999 he was eighteen months old. We stayed at (Then) Dixie Landings. We ordered a crib etc and it was quite close to the door (1 King bedroom). We asked housekeeping for an extra sheet and stuck it up with tape! It did the job. We were able to then watch T.V and relax, without having to go to sleep at 9pm.

 

[mousemama]

Hi,

We have an 18 month old DD. We have found something that makes traveling with her sooooo much easier-- a white noise machine. We bring it with us whenever we have to stay in the same room with her. It lullls her to sleep and and allows dh and I to have a conversation without disturbing her. Also, she doens't hear our tossing and turning during the night, and we don't hear her tossing and turning during the night. We all sleep much better. We got ours from the Hammacher Schlammer (sp ??) catalog--but they have them lots of places.

 

[cinjam]

We stayed at AKL in April w/DS (then 14 months old). We brought sheets for pak n play from home, as well as his teddy bear & pillow. We stuck to a normal bedtime of 8:00-9:00. DH & I put him down then went out on the balcony (& drank wine & ate pizza ). DS handled the whole thing much better than we expected. I really thought we would have a problem, but it all turned out fine! He was so tired after a day in the parks that he was out within 15 minutes.