We’re back! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday season. Welcome to #iPPP! Mama Mash and I want to see your funny, your yummy, your heartfelt, your favorite phone photos of the week. Link up below!
We had two of our family Christmases at two different hotels this year. Just for fun. And it was fun. Mostly.
What do you mean, mostly? How could going to a hotel for Christmas not be fun? There’s a pool in the middle of winter, there’s eating out (or in), there’s somebody else cleaning up after you.
I’ll tell you what’s not fun about it.
This guy:
I know, he’s a charmer. Just look at that face! But, it was 10 pm, you guys. Toddlers and hotels DO NOT MIX.
I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Not convinced?
There is nothing NOTHING in a hotel room that a toddler can not reach/mess with/open. Door handles, refrigerators, toilets, lights, phones, microwaves, beds, door handles, phones, door handles. I hope nobody tried to call us because the phone was unplugged immediately. And if the top lock on the door wasn’t locked, he was headed down the hall.
This particular toddler is a great sleeper most of the time. The exception? When someone is in the room with him! He didn’t go to sleep a second earlier than 10:30 pm on any given night, and that was only because we had the luxury of a suite at the second hotel and I went in the other room while everyone else was out playing games in the lobby. And then in the mornings? Nightmares (or something) that made him wake up before dawn and cry loudly. Which made me jump up and get him before he woke up everyone else in the room. And it’s all downhill from there.
And THEN, after you’ve spent the whole night NOT sleeping with the toddler, you wake up and there is one measly coffee filter pack for the whole room. I call BS on that one.
And naptime? FORGET NAPTIME.
Has anyone had any good toddler hotel experiences? I may or may not want to hear them.
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My little does that too. She get so excited to be in a new place, with everyone around, naps barely happen, sleeping at night takes forever, and the littlest sound wakes her up. She also likes to scream through the middle of the night with a sore throat, or fever that magically goes away in the morning. To the point that we bring Benadryl (haven't used it…yet) as well as ibuprofen for her. I feel your pain. I hope the rest of the time was good and you weren't too tired to enjoy it.
Both places were a lot of fun, and it was nice to not have to drive across the state to make our visits this year. I probably will enjoy it MORE next time. 🙂
Oh dude! The idea of taking Pants and Plum to a hotel gives me hives! You are a brave brave mama. I hope you are sleeping right now 🙂
Ha! I have gotten some rest since we got back but OY, was it exhausting.
Oh, how I LOVE that toddler shot running down the hall in his pull up! priceless! I have been there too and agree – what the heck is that BS with only one coffee filter after pulling an all nighter with a toddler?
Haha, thanks, Ilene! And yes, it's seriously BS. Usually, you can get some from the lobby, but the second hotel we went to took the coffee when they took the breakfast. TOTAL BS.
Haven't we all contemplated running down a hotel hallway in our knickers? Or maybe that's just me.
HA! I don't know that I have, but I also am the only one in the house that consistently chooses to wear clothes. 😀
Oh my. I know just what you mean. We've had some success but mostly when C was a little older than this. It's mostly a nightmare (though my husband got really good at babyproofing hotel rooms. Duct tape – the secret it duct tape.)
DUCT TAPE. That is brilliant. Why did I not think of that?! Maybe because I was too busy packing for six people (holy wow), but that's BRILLIANT. Maybe he needs to do a tutorial on your blog? I would pin that S$%^. 😀
Ugh. That's such a hard one! Thank goodness they're cutie pies, huh? 🙂
Oh, such a good thing! He can get away with just about anything if he's smiling at me. 🙂
Oh Erv. I think he was probably just excited about it all 🙂
So far, the 3 year old has performed remarkably well at hotels, but we haven't traveled since he was 2, so….
Oh wait, our last vacation, we all had to share a bed. He would refuse to go to sleep at night unless I was with him. Same with nap time. But at least he did sleep. I just had to join him.
Yes, there's definitely a lot more bed sharing than I prefer! He was excited…can't blame him, I guess. 😀
It just sounds terrible, Greta. Brinky's the same way – he can't sleep with other people in the room and so much excitement going on. So we blame him when we say we can't travel 🙂 Glad you survived!
Haha! Our other choice (at least for one of the hotel stays) was to drive the six hours to grandma's house like we usually do. This was a nice break, but I think it may have been just as tiring!
We have had a similar experience. Hotels are just far too exciting for toddlers. Too many things to explore!
Way too many things! And all of the things are totally off-limits at home. I guess I can't blame him for going a little nuts…he does loves buttons!
I was exhausted for you when you going through all of this! He is such a little charmer though! Darn good thing too or you would've left him as the tip for room service! lol!
Ha! Yes, you know it, Kristen! He was just so darn happy to get to play with ALL THE THINGS that are off-limits at home.
This was our first experience with a hotel toddler as well. We had two in the same room. It was madness. Look, let's turn on the AC! What's this phone do? Click. Lamp on. Click. Lamp off. Click. Lamp on.
And then there was the joy of adjoining rooms.
Nope.
At least you got adjoining rooms, and weren't all packed into one! It is MADNESS. Sheer madness.
I couldn't agree with you more. As soon as we got in our hotel room for our week long stay we had to unplug the phones, put the chain on the door, close the bathroom door, and sleep was not happening!
I agree with you, toddlers and hotel rooms do not mix!
YES! It sounds just like me…..I barely have time to put the suitcase down before I have to try to start Erv-proofing the room (which is, of course, impossible).
NOPE and NOPE. It's always a nightmare with us, too. We were in Savannah in December and had the same experience. And when you're in the same room, oh good, we're ALL going to sleep at 9 pm and Kelsey and I just lay in bed whispering and playing on our phones praying he doesn't wake up and start screaming KIDS! (which is the game he plays on my phone and now he thinks that's what we're doing, too.)
Of course! Because why on earth would you want to do anything else with your phone?!
my favorite part of this post was "BS on the coffee'! so true! yep hotels and toddlers is difficult to say the least!
Ha! Thanks, Kerry!
But he's so cute!! I was so afraid of this when we went to Disney in November, but luckily the kids went right to sleep (I'll blame it on the sheer exhaustion from being at the park all day though).
Oh gosh. Disney is MAGICAL in more ways than one. I think I even go to bed by 9 at Disney!
The one time that we took my toddler to a hotel it wasn't that bad… but he slept with his sister and thought that it was a great fun.
Oh yes, I bet that was it! Hotels are full of things that you can't do at home. 😀
I remember the ole kid in the pack -n-play thing. Ugh. I also remember the ole sit in the hotel bathroom until the child falls asleep so we can come out and…um…watch television. It. Took. Forever.
He is really freaking cute, though.
Haha, yeah. It does take forever. I don't know why I never thought of "hiding" before.
Thanks 🙂 That smile gets him out of a LOT of trouble.
I LOVED seeing these pics on Instagram! I thought you were so brave to have done this, and the kids are going to remember this for years to come. We've yet to have any good "hotel staying" experiences, but I'm hoping as they get older it'll get better.
I just had to book a hotel room and was thinking of this exact situation. We do me in a bed with the 5yo and my hubs shares a bed with the 4yo. The 2yo then sleeps (I say sleeps jokingly) in the pack and play. It makes for a LONG night!
You know what's funny is when the 2-yo and I travel as a pair, we do FINE in a hotel. We stay up late, co-sleep for night and naps, no worries. Add someone, ANYONE, else to the mix? No bueno. My husband thought I was making the "good traveler" part up until he took the kid on an overnight trip alone and saw the good sleep in action. So. Weird. (The streaking-down-the-hall pic is still one of my all-time faves, btw.)
We went to Sea World when the boys were 5 and 2. G (the 2 year old) was also in a Pack N Play and he did pretty well. But one of the mornings, before the sun was quite all the way up an adult male (who shall remain nameless) tooted and the toddler says from his Pack N Play "Daddy fahr-ted!! HEE HEE HEE!" I'm so glad hr knew who it was and didn't say me! We all died laughing and were up at like 6:45… 😉
My kids LOVE to stay in a hotel. The summer before last I had to go out of town two weeks for work. My husband came and brought the kids the first week. I have a vlog somewhere on my blog with the jumping on the beds and generally acting insane in the background. I think you just have to go with it.
Dude, hotels with toddlers suck. We JUST had a successful stay over Thanksgiving, and by successful, I mean we didn't have to knock them out with melatonin (highly recommended for when you NEED someone to go to sleep) and they went to bed at a reasonable hour. They did wake up earlier than I would like, but oh well!