Toddler napping away from home?

[abaker89]

My 19 mth is not the best napper so I am wondering how to get her to nap over the holidays when we are away.  She has never napped anywhere but the car or her crib so I am wondering what to do.  We have a pack n play but I just don't think she will go to sleep.  Any tips?  I don't want to have to drive her around for an hour every day!

Aileen

[aidliz]

You could set the pack n play up at home and have her sleep in there so she gets used of it.  Set it up so she is farmiliar with it, let her sit in it and play.  If she wont go to sleep at home in the pack n play you could transition her into it while she is sleeping so she wakes up in it.  I dont know!  she just has to be farmiliar with it and know it is a place where she is safe and can be comfortable.  I would think her room would be the best place to start if you feel she wont sleep anywhere else.

[becky1969]

I agree with PP; set up the PnP and let her get used to it now.  Try a couple of naps in it before you go.

My son is a solid crib sleeper and won't even sleep in the car.  He sleeps great in the PnP when we go on trips.  Probably because he's just so worn out from all the things we do! The other thing I do to make it easier is bring a few of the things from his room at home, so we can stay as close to our nighttime ritual as possible.  For example, we say 'night-night' to several objects in his room before naps and bed, so I bring 2 or 3 of those things to make it more like home.  That does seem to help him as well.

[Vicku]

We do the same as Becky, and I was going to suggest that too, to bring some stuff from home. Little things. We only take the things she has in her bed, but that's quite a lot of things She has her dummies (at least 3, the more the better according to her), her teddy rabbit, her teddy teletubby, her cuddly cow blanket and her music playing clown. Oh, and her own pillow, we always bring that with the same pillowcase she's had for a few days before we go away. I used to always put all her things in the travel cot before bedtime, and then put her in there to play with her sleep things for a while just to get her accustomed to it and that always worked great for us.

We're going away too and now I have the same worries as you but because she's now no longer in a cot, but in a toddler bed. Doubt she'll nap there, but who knows?

Good luck to you!!!