My husband and I are blessed with the ability to travel much of the year. Traveling is both of our passions. When we had our daughter we really didn’t plan to slow down when it came to traveling, but traveling with an infant or toddler can make being away from home much more challenging if your not prepared. Hotel rooms are one of our least favorite parts of traveling for many reasons.
How to baby proof a hotel room?
Baby proofing a hotel room consists of sanitizing, removing dangerous objects, moving breakable objects out of reach such as books or decorations, and moving the phone out of reach or unplugging it. There are many other items such as keeping the bathroom door closed and being mindful of sharp corners or outlets that are not covered.
Here we will share our tips and advice on how to ensure the hotel room is clean, safe, and comfortable for you and your baby or toddler.
Keep reading to learn all our secrets on making your next trip as enjoyable and stress free as possible.
Booking a Hotel Room
Let’s start at the very beginning. Part of babyproofing a room starts at what kind of room you get. Once a location has been chosen, it’s time to book a hotel room. Nowadays it’s very common to book hotel rooms online, which you can still do, but I recommend before booking that you call the hotel to ensure the room is equipped with everything you will need.
Hotel Room Must Have Options
- Bathtub: Ensure that there is a bathtub so washing up your toddler / infant can be as easy as possible
- Room Size: Ask if they have the room type you selected in different sizes. Sometimes hotels make have a double queen room is multiple sizes, even if the room is just a touch bigger it will help make the stay more enjoyable to be in that little larger room. (remember, you will spend much more time in the room when you have an infant or toddler due to nap times, feedings, etc. The more room the more comfortable you will be.)
- Room Location: We recommend staying off of the first floor and away from the lobby, why you ask? If you have an infant or toddler the main floor will have heavy foot traffic which could wake the infant. Also if your toddler has discovered how to open doors you do not want to have to worry about them escaping out of the room and then out the door of the hotel. The second floor or higher will be most suitable. Lastly, Ask for a room near the elevator to make getting out of the hotel as easy as possible, lugging kids down a long hallway to reach the elevator is never ideal.
- Appliances: If you are a nursing momma you may need to keep milk cold, double check that a fridge will be in your room, if you heat milk or plan to have meals in the room than a microwave would also be ideal to have.
Now that you have selected the best room for your family and you have arrived at the room, its time to get to work.
Babyproofing the Room at Arrival
If you are unable to pack a pack n play for the trip then you can also ask if the hotel has a crib or pack n play they can place in the room for you, and typically this is free of charge. If you are able to bring your own pack n play then I suggest doing so.
Hotel cribs and pack n plays will work for the child, but who’s to say how clean they really are.
It kinda grosses us out how many sick kids have had their mouth all over the edge of that pack n play. Here is our favorite traveling compact pack n play. Also Bring a fitted crib sheet to place in the crib, or pack n play. This will ensure that at least the sheet is clean and will keep your own pack n play tidy as well.
Items to Purchase Before Arriving at Hotel Room:
Step 1: Immediately after entering the room pull out these sanitizing wipes and wipe all surfaces, toilet, tub, remotes, anything and everything your infant or toddler will be in contact with. If the room supplied you with a pack n play or crib wipe it down as well. Hotel rooms are disgusting. It may look clean but more often then not the room is harboring all kinds of nasty germs.
Step 2: Set up bed area for infant / toddler. If you have a pack n play put it together and place infant or toddler in the pack n play or crib so you can unpack and finish baby proofing the room without needing to worry about the baby getting into something hazardous.
Step 3: Unplug the phone in the room. If the infant or toddler is crawling or walking the phone will be the first thing they set there sights on. They will be on the phone with the front desk in no time if you don’t get it unplugged.
Step 4: Check the toilet paper, is it in reach of the baby or toddler, if so remove it and place it out of reach from the little ones to save yourself the headache of needing to clean up after them after they unroll it all over the floor.
Step 5: Move garbage cans out of reach of little ones.
Step 6: Go through drawers and remove bibles or other books that can be torn apart, and pens that our kiddos could get their hands on.
Step 7: Locate the controls for heating and cooling the room. Often times they are near the ground and accessible to little fingers. If so, either block off the area by moving an item of furniture to keep them from getting burned if the heat needs to be on, or place tape over the controls to prevent them from messing with the controls.
Hooray, the room should now be about as safe as you can get it for your little one, not too bad, right?!
A Few Tips to Make Your Stay Enjoyable
- If your toddler is no longer in a crib we recommend getting a room with two beds, or with a pull out couch. Before arriving ask that housekeeping leave a few extra pillows to line the bed so your little one does not fall out of bed.
- High Chair: This travel high chair is life saving when traveling. If you think you do not need this item… well you are wrong. It will save the day when your little one will not sit still, or wants to eat something messy. We will often take the high chair with us to dinner as its much more functional and much cleaner than using high chairs from the restaurant. It is also beautifully compact and comes with a shoulder strap which makes taking it to and from places a breeze.
- Working out: I also put my daughter in this high chair when I go to the gym in hotels. I will let her watch a show on my phone while I work out and I don’t have to worry about her running around the gym! It is perfect if you need to get your workout in with your little one tagging along.
- Baby Carrier: If being hands free is important to you like it is to me then be sure to take a carrier with you while traveling. It is suitable for infants and toddlers. If you know your trip will require a lot of walking around then being able to get your little one off their feet when they become tired is ideal. I prefer a carrier over a stroller when traveling simply because its less bulky to pack, and I can get into little shops and restaurants without the trouble of a bulky stroller. This is my favorite carrier for traveling.
- Stroller: If you prefer to travel with a stroller I recommend something light and very compact. This is our favorite stroller for travel.
- Medicine Kit: Traveling seems to cause our daughter to become sick, nearly every time we go somewhere she somehow manages to catch some sort of bug. Be sure you at least have a thermometer, snot sucker, and baby Tylenol on every trip you take. Also, have this sanitizer in your handbag to ensure your little on is staying germ free.
- Dry skin: Traveling to different places can be irritating to a child’s skin depending on if its super dry or not. Bring a good cream in case your little one’s skin becomes irritated or dry. This is our favorite cream.
- Water: Keep your babe hydrated while traveling, it’s much to easy while traveling to forget to drink fluids. Have a pack or two of these toss and go sippy cups on hand while traveling, they are cheap, work great and you don’t have to feel bad if you end up throwing out a few.
Well, that concludes how to baby proof a hotel room. I hope you found this article helpful and that you are now able to confidently conquer the hotel with your little one. Happy travels!
