It’s inevitable. If you have kids, eventually you will need to travel with them. Traveling with kids to hotel is tough. I’m separating this post into sections by kids’ age, since depending on your kids age you will need to bring different things.
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Traveling with kids to Hotel NEWBORN Section:
1.)Refrigerator: No don’t bring your fridge, but you will need some way to keep breastmilk bottles cold if you are pumping. Always call before and #1 ASK HOTEL if they have a small fridge in your room. If not then I’d suggest bringing a yeti cooler or maybe this backpack cooler with you. It will keep ice for at least 11-12 hours and then you can just refill it in the hotel ice machine…which brings me to the next thing on the ask hotel checklist…ICE. When Traveling with kids to Hotel, make sure they have an ice machine.
2.)Bottle Warmer: Don’t forget this for formula or pumped milk! Just a word to the wise, you might want the option of a microwave if you have younger children sleeping int the same hotel room as you. Those bottle warmers take a few minutes and that baby crying at 2 AM could wake up your other kids. So #3, when Traveling with kids to Hotel, ASK HOTEL if they have a microwave!
3.) Sleeping Area: You can always ask the hotel for a crib, but personally I never did this. I’m a bit nuts about disinfecting, especially when mine were babies. They get sick so easily. We always brought our Pack N Play and I honestly think all parents of infants should have one. Newborns stay still, but as soon as they learn how to move…BOY DO THEY MOVE! My kids slept great in the pack N Play and it has a built in bassinett (saves your back) as well. It folds up and takes up very little space in a car while travelling.
*****Don’t forget to buy separate sheets and water proof pad for Pack N Play, crib sheets are too big and too large sheets are a suffocation risk.
4.)White Noise Machine: Hotels can be awful loud and doubly so if you have other small children in the same hotel room. We learned this when we brought our kids (6 weeks) and (2 years) to Great Wolf Lodge years ago. When one kid wakes up, the other wakes up, then everybody is up…then it’s a party. White noise machines drown out hallway noises, coughs, sneezes, parents getting up to pee at night.
***This particular one has a built-in ambient nightlight…you will want that so you’re not bumping into unfamiliar furniture and luggage in the night to feed/change baby.
5.) Portable Humidifier– We take this puppy EVERYTIME we travel. Hotels are notorious for dry air and my kids and my sinuses take a hit. I think this in the room is a complete necessity. Now if you don’t wanna fork out the money for this then you can put a wet towel near the AC unit, but this never worked well for me and with 2 young kids and 2 adults sharing a hotel room, where is the area to hang a wet towel? We use every square inch of the room.
6.)Bottle brush– If you bottle feed then you may forget this, but you need to be able to clean bottles and pump parts.
7.) Trash bags– You will have poop and pee diapers and those hotel trash bins are tiny. I always used these blue diaper sack, they did a great job of masking the odor (at least until morning and I was able to dispose of it outside the room). Formula fed infant poop has a scent that will waft through a confined space very quickly. Also large trash bag for dirty laundry and blow out onesies!
***So, #4 NECESSITY when Traveling with kids to Hotel, TRASH BAGS!
8.) Paper towels and small Dish soap for cleaning and drying bottles and pump parts.
9.) Travel sized baby shampoo wash, lotion: Baby cannot use the hotel stuff, it will dry their skin out and burn eyes if it makes contact. I always had the travel bottles on hand. Also bring some baby wash rags as well. The hotels are way to big and coarse to get in all the baby creases.
10.) If you’re staying longer than a night…or if baby has a bad blow-out then bathing will be a need. We had a great over the sink bathtub at home, but I was not lugging that thing to a hotel…NO WAY. Our car is not that big. I just got in the bath and bathed baby across my legs then hubby dried the baby off and dressed them. Just easier.
***Bathing a newborn in a sink at a hotel is gross and the sinks are usually so small. It’s just easier to get in there with baby on your lap.
11.) Swim Diapers– If you’re going to waterparks like Kalahari, Great wolf Lodge then you will need swim diapers to contain poop if it happens in the water. This brand was my favorite.
****If you’re going to one these awesome Waterparks then head over to my posts for more information on Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge Family Vacations.
Traveling with kids to Hotel Toddlers Section:
1.) Sleeping. This is obviously the most important thing when Traveling with kids to Hotel because momma and daddy be TIRED AF. LOL. In terms of hotel sleeping arrangements you can go 3 ways here;
-1 King bed and cots for the kids
-2 queen beds (if you are cool with your kids sharing as bed at this age)
1 king or queen bed with a sleeper sofa (if you are cool with your kids sharing as bed at this age)
We have done ALL 3. The 1 king bed and 2 toddler sized cots was by far my favorite and this is why….my kids kick eachother…there was no controlling it. Screaming in the middle of the night, not good. Also, my kids don’t sleep well and both of them get up alot to pee or just to generally drive me crazy. The Toddler sized cots were wonderful. These cots lasted from about 2 years till about 5 years old and then my kids outgrew them. They also, fold up nicely. We brought cribsheet mattress protector (wetting the bed when you don’t have a washing machine is awful so bring an extra, also the mattress pad gives some cushioning to the cot) and 2 sets of crib sheet.
***Crib sheets fit these cots wonderfully. Just use the hotel pillows. I would bring a blanket for each kiddo though.
2.)If your kids have a favorite stuffed animal they sleep with then I always let my kids bring it. The goal is restful sleep for everyone. Cranky toddlers are rough while travelling.
3.)White Noise machine and Humidifier same as above. We still don’t travel without these.
4.)Amazon Firestick– I let my toddlers watch one show before bed to wind down. Hotel never have good shows so these firesticks are pretty cheap and plug right into the TV.
5.)SNACKS- Do toddlers ever stop snacking? Honestly, I thought my kids were going to eat me out of house and home when they were toddlers…then I hit elementary school. Toddler phase is nothing…my school age kids eat all day, I don’t understand how they’re not huge. So same scenario here, make sure there is a small fridge and microwave in the hotel room.
***Even then, if you are staying more than a day I’d bring my cooler for more storage like waters (hotels will charge SO much for a bottle of water) maybe daddy a few beers and momma some white claws thrown in there too ;-). MUST BRING SNACKS when Traveling with kids to Hotel
REFRIGERATED THINGS:
-Pre-cut fruit in tupperware(strawberries, grapes (please cut these, whole grapes are a choking hazard!) cut in quarters,watermelon, canteloupe…you get it
-Cheese cubes, string cheese, sliced cheese
-zero sugar chobani yogurt cups
-small milk (for cereal, oatmeal or drinking)
-small Jelly (for PBJ), ketchup
-Lunch meat
-Leftover pizza or cut up hot dog weiners
Non-Refrigerated Dried Foods for the counter:
-Oatmeal
-Little Bites muffins or large deli muffins or cinnamon rolls
-small loaf bread for PBJ’s or sandwiches
-cutlery, paper towel, paper plates and bowls
-Sippy cups
-Chips, veggie straws, cheez-its
-popcorn
-fruit snacks
-cereal
6.) CLOTHES- When travelling with toddlers always pack more clothes than you think you need. Not only for pee and poop mishaps, but eating accidents well. I always pack double the amount of undies or nighties, don’t forget you won’t have a washer/dryer. I also pack long sleeve and pants jammies with fluffy socks because my husband keeps the hotel room cold. Dont’ forget a trash bag for dirty clothes/swimsuits.
7.)Ask the hotel if they have a pool- we always stay in this Marriott in Round Rock, TX when we visit the SIL…it has an awesome indoor pool! Whenever we stay in Galveston over the winter we stay at San Luis Resort, because they heat the Oasis pool. Point is ask. Swimming wears toddler out like you wouldn’t believe. Don’t forget swimsuits and water wings!
Speaking of waterplay, I have some awesome posts on Kalahari Resorts Round Rock, TX and Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine, TX if you’re headed there and need some pointers for that family trip 😉
Pre-School and School-Age Kids
1.)Sleep: This age group is where it gets easier interms of sleep. They are potty-trained, sleep like logs all night like normal little humans lol. This is when you start getting the 2 beds in the room or the 1 bed and sleeper sofa. If the bed is at least a full then they can co-sleep. I have a girl (6) and a boy(8)…they basically think the other one has cooties all day, so I give them their “own space”. If I happen to have a pool noodle then i can shove it under the fitted sheet and create a “border wall” between them. That usually makes them happy and my son won’t kick my daughter all night. If I don’t have a pool noodle then I use pillows as a “wall”. My kids LOVE the “wall”, they will even use separate blankets like a couple weirdos.
2.) Humidfier and Noise Machine-Told you, I don’t leave home without these items. They come with me everywhere.
3.)Snacks: same as before. Little snack monsters do nothing, but eat. Bring resuable cups (I love these as they keep ice for a few hours)and waters or drinks in the cooler still.** If your hotel has an ironing board then you have a kitchen table in front of the TV!
4.) Ipads: I let my kids watch a show on their Ipads before bed because then hubby and I get the TV, a beer and the firestick to watch my movies on prime. We don’t have Apple Ipads , but Amazon Fire Tablets…just cheaper and it gets games and all their apps….literally a fourth of the price of an Ipad.
5.)Pretty easy at this age. They just use my shower stuff and bathe themselves, they eat what we eat and go to bed on their own when we do. When they want a snack they just get up and go get it.
