Where should my 2 year old sleep??

[beanersmom]

OMG I am totally stressing about this. My 23 month ols currently sleeps in a crib at home. We will be travelling on the Carnival Miracle in April (he will be 2). I am trying to figure out where he can sleep. Our cabin has a couch that turns into a single bed, but I highly doubt he will sleep in it because he is used to sleeping in a contained area. The cribs Carnival supplies are the little white iron ones. He is too big for these. I could bring my pack n play but even that would be small for him and cost $75 in baggage fees. Any suggestions from people with experience similar to my situation. I guess he could also sleep with us in bed but the beds are twins puched together.........oh boy...:p

[staceyeileen]

We just cruised with our 24 month old at the beginning of the month. He fit in the crib, but just barely. He is 33 inches, which is on the short side. Plus the crib is pretty narrow, so he'd often wake himself by hitting his head on the rails. Most nights we would start him off in the crib and by 1-2am he came in bed with us. When you put the beds together it is the size of a king, so we actually had more room than we do at home in our queen. He did nap fine in the crib. I've read here that you can use the couch back pieces as a sort of bed rail, but I didn't try that out. We don't normally bring him into our bed at home, but you do what you gotta do!

[angelndscz]

I read on another thread that someone just turned the couch around to face the wall and the little one slept there.

[carynvernon]

I read on another thread that someone just turned the couch around to face the wall and the little one slept there.

 

Ditto this! We did this with our little one and it worked fine.

[karl_nj]

OMG I am totally stressing about this. My 23 month ols currently sleeps in a crib at home. We will be travelling on the Carnival Miracle in April (he will be 2). I am trying to figure out where he can sleep. Our cabin has a couch that turns into a single bed, but I highly doubt he will sleep in it because he is used to sleeping in a contained area. The cribs Carnival supplies are the little white iron ones. He is too big for these. I could bring my pack n play but even that would be small for him and cost $75 in baggage fees. Any suggestions from people with experience similar to my situation. I guess he could also sleep with us in bed but the beds are twins puched together.........oh boy...:p

 

I would just try the sofa bed. I had similar concerns about sleeping arrangements when I was on the Carnival Glory last August. My daughter was 26 months and still slept in the crib at home. I was also worried about my son (who just turned six that day) sleeping on the pull down bunk. Everything turned out fine -- I think the excitement of the cruise made them more comfortable with the different sleeping arrangements.

 

For my 2 year old, we just moved the chair to be next to the head of the bed, and put an extra pillow up against it. But she was so tired by bedtime I don't think she moved an inch at night, even though at home she would wake up in every imaginable position -- except for the one she started in.

[Julienatul]

For my two year old, we have used a pnp, used the couch and turned it around to face the wall and also pulled the mattress off the top bunk and placed it on the floor.

[soozenw]

Also, if none of these ideas work, you could just make a little nest on the floor. Like julienatul said, the mattresses come off the top bunk and work quite nicely on the floor. And then you can just put it on the couch during the day so it's out of the way. That's what we will probably do if our 2 yo (who is still in a crib) can't fit in the crib, or can't handle the couch.

 

Don't stress about it! It will all work out and you'll have an amazing vacation.

[dadof2boys]

Im not saying this is the best idea, but we always throw our 4 year old in the bed with us and the 2 year old in the pnp. To the op, the beds are king when pushed together. If I recall you originally posted concern over the size of the beds when pushed together. We have a cal king at home and it felt the same as ours on the last six cruises.

[RCKM43]

My 2 year old (was 27 months when we sailed) slept on a pull out couch. She usually sleeps in a toddler bed at home. I bought blow up bed rails that go under the fitted sheets from one step ahead and they worked well. I also put pillows on the floor just in case as she does move around a lot - but she was fine and the blow up rails worked fine. They pack actually pretty small - you don't need a pump - it comes with one but I blew them both up just with my mouth.

[parrotthead]

Just off the Triumph yesterday.. We "tried' to use the crib for the "Traveling GingerBaby on the Go" (8mo old)..it was a no go... too small for him to be comfortable sleeping...~I cant imagine him in it in another 3/4 months...let alone at 2yrs!! ~ we did use it as a 'playpen' type thing...for containing him while we dressed etc... but for sleeping ..he ended up between us... (the little bed hog) ;)

[EviesCruisin]

Check out something called a PeaPod made by Kidco. About $60-70 and very lightweight/easy to fit into your checked baggage. We have taken on several vacations and has worked out very well. We only lug the pack and play if we're driving. Also saw something called a Guava Family GoCrib that looks cool but slightly larger than the Peapod. . . however - more like a pack-and-play.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Check out something called a PeaPod made by Kidco. About $60-70 and very lightweight/easy to fit into your checked baggage. We have taken on several vacations and has worked out very well. We only lug the pack and play if we're driving. Also saw something called a Guava Family GoCrib that looks cool but slightly larger than the Peapod. . . however - more like a pack-and-play.

 

Wow! This looks fabulous!!

 

Dont laugh, DH and are a definitely a few (more than a few, I hope, as our kids are both in college!) years away from being grandparents....but (ok, laugh because I am too,lol) Im gathering information on cruising with babies.....since DH and I didn't cruise with our children when they were babies, and they were already sleeping in beds! And we definitely plan on taking our grandkids cruising! More family memories!

 

This is great! Thanks for sharing.

[taragl]

I've used the Peapod on a five-week road trip and two cruises -- it is *excellent.* We have the one with the self-inflating mattress. You literally just unfold it and it inflates like magic. The tent itself just pops open.

 

DS has used it since he was one and he's now approaching three with it. We used it a few times at home before going on the road and he has no problems getting to sleep. We simply tuck it into a corner or fold it up if we need room. It packs down to a small circle. A winner for traveling with little ones!

[RCKM43]

I would try it out at home 1st though. We got a peapod and both my girls refused to sleep in it. I have also spoken to friends whose children either loved it or hated it. So make sure you try it once at home you would hate to get on the ship and find that they won't go into it!

[Mom2B&Z]

Our first vacation with a 2yo was land-based, but what we did was pack a railing in our suitcase and installed it on the bed. It worked like a charm, and that way you don't have to cart something heavy on the plane but still know you have something you know will work once you get on the ship.

He's slept against the wall on the pull out couch on two cruises now and he's been fine. At home he's in a big bed with a bed rail, but the wall works fine on the ship, and the "hole" between the two parts of the bed keeps him from rolling out the other side ;) Worst case scenario, as another posted said, put the mattress on the floor and go with it!

[crusinmama06]

Don't stress, this is a vacation! ;) We always did some of the above ideas. We have turned the couches around to face the wall (on the ships where that is possible). We have scored a pack and play onboard (not all CCL ships use a white crib). On one CCL ship I threw the mattress on the floor - yes, even that worked. :)

 

The rocking of the ship and the action of the day usually put my kids right to sleep. No worries!

[alj1208]

It really depends on the kid and how adaptable the child is. My DS, now 5, was in a crib until he was almost 3 years old. It was a major problem for travel. Portable cribs, such as Pack n Plays and the cribs-on-wheels often used by hotels, are not usually full-sized. They are much smaller than the full-sized cribs the child uses at home, so a larger toddler can't sleep in them comfortably. I can't believe none of the baby gear companies have designed a Pack n Play or portable crib that is full-sized!

 

What I ended up doing was renting a full-sized crib from an outside baby supply company when we stayed in hotels. I don't think this would be an option on a cruise, though.

 

My DS wasn't flexible on sleeping arrangements, and if your child is like that, my advice is to transition the child at home to whatever you're going to use on the cruise.

 

At 5 years old, we no longer have to worry about cribs, but I bring a bed rail with me whenever we travel. Most of them collapse enough to fit in a suitcase. I will be so relieved when we don't need to bring any extra equipment! Good luck in making your decision on sleeping arrangements!

[Prinycesa07]

I plan to have my 2 and 1 year old sleep together on the sofa bed and just put cushions or blankets on the floor underneath them. If worst comes to worst, have them sleep in bed with us.

 

We went on a cruise (Norwegian) when DD was 11 months old, they used one of those small white portable cribs. She fit well in it but wouldnt by 2 anymore. And shes a short one (shes 27 months and 33 inches). So i do agree the crib will be too small for you.

[parrotthead]

 

The rocking of the ship and the action of the day usually put my kids right to sleep. No worries!

 

This is Very True! The Traveling GingerBaby on the Go (Kinley) slept a Lot... he loved it! (And so did we) ;)

[crusinmama06]

Oh and I forgot the years that I took my travel bed rails! ;) those worked too.

[beanersmom]

Wow! Thanks for all the advice :) We purchased a bed rail to bring with us in our suitcase and use on the couch. I am hoping he will be zonked out from all of the days activities and take well to the different sleeping arrangements. He does NOT usually adapt well to ANYTHING but I have noticed in the last few weeks as he reaches 2, he is starting to catch up to other children his age. I don't think I am going to take him out of his crib just yet at home, I am not ready to deal with the sleepless nights :eek: If he decides he doesn't like sleeping on the couch then I can just put him in bed with us. Oh the joys of travelling with our little ones:)...although I cannot wait to see his little face when he sees the ship for the first time :)

[P646114]

When we last cruised my toddler was just over 2. We started off with a PNP supplied by the ship, but found that she was too big to sleep comfortably. After two nights where she would wake anywhere from 4.30am, I decided to let her sleep in the bed with me ( we had two rooms I interconnecting with hubby in the other room with 2 more kids). I was concerned because she loves her cot at home, but found she slept great and I could pat her back to sleep if she woke early. I think the lounge idea sounds good aswell. Good luck!

[NJfoodie]

Our last cruise, DS was just over 2 yrs old and we tried him out in the twin-sized bed. (foldout couch) He was using a toddler bed at home but it was a pretty recent conversion relative to the trip. We rolled up a blanket to put on the outside edge and pulled the chairs next to it so that the chairbacks forms a barrier. He did fine. If he had needed further confinement, we would have asked the steward to put the couch back together and turn it around.