Staying in a Hotel with a Baby

Many times, when traveling with babies, it's more convenient to rent a house or apartment and that's a lot of the advice I got.  While I do think there's some truth to that, I like staying in hotels, so I had to figure out for myself what works. Here are my tips for staying in a hotel with a baby under 1. 

All our baby paraphernalia at the St. Regis Washington, D.C. - carseat, boppy, podster, and folded Rock n' Play

• Sleeping arrangements: make sure to request a crib in advance with the hotel. If your baby does not sleep in a crib (as mine didn't for the first 4 months of her life), bring their bed with you!  In our case, we toted around a Rock 'n Play to a few different locations. This works well for road trips.  For flights, do a detailed check of the airline's traveling with baby luggage policy or make arrangements to have it at your destination (Amazon Prime works well for this)
  • If your baby uses a white noise machine at home, bring the white noise machine wherever you go! Not only does it give them a sense of familiarity, but it helps to drown out hallway noise. Here's mine - it doesn't have the best stamina (one has broken), but we have multiple of them, they are cheap, and they can handle 220v with no converter
  • The crib can double as a play yard for mobile critters to keep them out of trouble while you are getting dressed, preparing their food, etc. 
  • Once your baby can roll and move well in the crib (usually after 6 months), you may be using mesh bumpers at home. We've had cribs in hotels that were wood and the bars weren't far enough apart to get a leg in there. But, in the case of the one below, we definitely had a couple of night wake ups due to a stuck leg and we were wishing we threw an extra mesh bumper in our suitcase!

Baby in her crib while mommy and daddy get themselves ready for a day at the pool at the Westin Savannah Harbor

• Feeding - bottles, and nipples, and baby spoons, oh my. There's a lot. This is definitely where a kitchen sink and dishwasher would come in handy. In the case of a hotel, I bring along a travel sized dish soap and brush to clean bottles, nipples, baby spoons, and baby bowls.  Tissues or extra towels from housekeeping work to dry. In a pinch, the disposable bathroom or coffee cups in the rooms make a good baby food bowl, but the babyfood pouches are a lifesaver while traveling. Our favorites pictured below

• Always request a fridge. Whether you are storing pump parts in there, cooler packs, open pouches of baby food, or breast milk, it's a necessity for staying in a hotel with a baby 
• Room Type - this is no surprise, but if a suite with a separate bedroom is at all possible, it makes things go way smoother, especially for older babies who are more in tune to their surroundings. For one thing, you can put them in the separate bedroom, put on your monitor, and have some adult time in the living room. Because sometimes it's nice to stay up past 8 pm. If a suite is not an option, utilize any kind of hallway in the room for the crib so little eyes can't see you when they are supposed to be sleeping. The white noise machine will at least allow you to have whispered conversation as your drink your covert glasses of wine in the dark

Suite at the Gregans Castle Hotel with separate sitting room aka Baby's bedroom

Have any tips for hotel stays with baby? Let me know!