Holidays with a baby...

We took our baby, who has been sleeping in his own room since he was 3 months old, on holiday when he was 11 months old. We all stayed in the same hotel room (in fact, 4 different hotels during the trip!) and I was worried about how this would work out. The first night, he basically stood in his cot and cried all night, hysterical, confused and completely unable to fall asleep. We were horrified and wondered how any of us would get any sleep during the trip. Then I realised that it was actually impossible for him to fall asleep while we were in the room as we normally leave him alone in his room at sleep times, and he has learned to relax on his own and go into his quiet sleeptime head space alone. When there were other people in the room he was too aware of us and unable to switch off and go to sleep. So for the rest of the trip, we put him down for naps and at bedtime, then left the room for a few minutes to give him his space, and returned once he had fallen asleep. He only needs about 5 minutes for that so it wasn't too inconvenient - I would go to the bathroom while DH read his book on the balcony outside for a few minutes, or whatever, when all was quiet we could go back... At night when it was dark it didn't bother him having us in the room as he couldn't see us. He was still waking up once or twice every night then and had no trouble falling back asleep after being attended to in the normal way. Once we started leaving him alone to fall asleep, we didn't have any sleeping problems again during the trip or when we arrived back home. All we needed to do was stick to the normal bedtime / naptime routine. Looking back I think it was actually silly of us to expect him to fall asleep while we were in the room, after training him up to fall asleep on his own! Every child and every family is different, what I have learnt is that you need to really think about your bedtime routine and try to keep as many constants as possible. We also take along as many physical constants as possible, his sleeping bag, blankets, a few toys, his bath towel. I try to set up every new cot exactly like his cot at home as soon as we arrive. Little things like that can make a big difference - or it does for us! I personally wouldn't pay for an own hotel room for a baby but that's just me! Also, there is a risk that being in a strange room all by himself could freak him out just as much as sharing a room with his parents?! But then again we've never tried it. Good luck.

DD has been in her own room from 6 months old. During travels she stays in our room and it takes her a couple of days to get used to. She wakes up more when in a room with us, which is why we moved her out in the first place. So the first couple of nights on holidays are a bit rough. But then we all get used to it and are fine. Getting back home has never been an issue, she seems to like sleeping by herself a lot better. We've been lucky in some hotels and got a suite type room with a separate living area. Then we put the cot there and she'd sleep by herself. But we can't afford it in expensive hotels, so usually go with a standard room. I guess it depends on where you travel to.