How well do your kids sleep away from home?

[Calliope]

We used to go down to my ILs every weekend, but R has become pretty much impossible to put down to sleep at night when we are away from home. Last time we went, he was up until 2AM and this is after being really easy to put to sleep at home. I am a little perplexed by this because I always heard that co-sleepers will go to sleep anywhere as long as their parents are there and that it was CIO kids that wouldn't sleep anywhere but their own crib.

How do your kids do sleeping away from home?

[hey mommy]

Oh, you mean w/us. When I first read it I thought you meant alone..

Umm, not too great when he was younger, but we'd put in a movie in the bedroom and he'd either fall asleep during the movie, or after it while I layed down w/him. If we were at a hotel or something, he'd climb into bed w/us and he'd be fine. More or less. He's never been a great sleeper and has always been hard to get to sleep. Now he does just fine away from home. We do the same routine as we do at home and if he needs me to lay w/him I will, just like at home.

[Happygrl]

Up until 2.5ish, Elizabeth slept well away from home. Since then, she doesn't sleep too well.

Ben has only been away from home a couple times. The first times (2.5mo, 5mo) he slept really poorly. 7mo he slept well. 11mo he slept well for most of the trip, poorly for the last few nights.

[joy]

Really. Awful. Just terrible. And being away from home and out of his element already will make him extra tired and wore out. We go through periods of not even trying - and then give it a go again - but so far it is still the same. We tried this past weekend to be away from home two nights. We drove home early, after just one night because it really was just too hard to do. It makes me tired managing him through it all - so I end up at the end of my rope too.

So of all the responses you get, I'll probably be on the far extreme of no good! :sadno

[March]

DS did fine when we were at a rented beach house; even went down on his own for a longer stretch at the beginning of the night than he does at home. However, I didn't bring the cosleeper so I had to deal with a lot more... movement. All. Night. Long. I think the first night, he nursed through the entire night, and after that, he just kicked and pumped his legs often. I was constantly having to reposition him, and now he's doing the same thing at home. I'm not sure if that was a being-away thing or if it was just going to happen last week no matter what.

[TuneMyHeart]

I would think that the more you go to your IL's, the better he would get at sleeping there. :think

We actually bought a pop-up camper for this very reason. Vacations are hard for Ellie. It takes 3 days for her to adjust to where we are, and then she starts to sleep normally. But taking the camper has helped a ton. Now I'm working on convincing Anna Kate to sleep away from home. ;)

[kiloyd]

When mine are still nursing they nurse a LOT more at night when we are away and wake more, even with me next to them.

My 8 and 4 yr old sleep fine once we get them to sleep.

[zak]

No problems with either kiddo. Hotels, cabins, family's homes, a tiny camper, etc, we've never had a problem, IIRC. :)

[MomtoJGJ]

We've never had a problem :shrug3 we do everything the same to get them to bed just in a different place.

We couldn't ever get them to nap though... naps were impossible...

[swimming with sharks]

We tend to do driving naps but other than that....both kids sleep really well away from home. Put them in a bed and they're good to go and dd was a MISERABLE sleeper for the first 4 years. :shrug3 Sounds like it's a temperament thing. They both really see,m to like traveling so...

[forty-two]

I never had any trouble with R - I was her sleep prop :giggle, and she'd sleep on any bed, in any room, as long as I was next to her. Now that she goes to sleep in a sidecarred crib with dh supervising (with me out of the room), I'm not sure how she'd travel. But if we put her between dh and I (where she sleeps when she wakes up during the night), I think she'd be fine. A has never been away from home overnight, so who knows :shrug3? But she sleeps right next to me, so I am guessing she'll be fine as long as I am there.

[klpmommy]

P was my worst away from home sleeper until I taught him to cosleep. However, all of the big kids have gone through *phases* of poor sleep when away from home.

[AngelaVA]

Mine won't sleep or eat when we are away from home, then they get sick, we don't travel much because of this ;)

[Calliope]

I would think that the more you go to your IL's, the better he would get at sleeping there. :think

Yeah, you would think. But it has been getting progressively worse recently. If we stay more than one night, it's not so bad after the first night, but the first night is a DOOSEY. :/

[TuneMyHeart]

Anna Kate will hardly even nap anywhere else but home. :/