Living Out Of A Suitcase

With a toddler in tow in a hotel!

If it isn’t already a task to find anything or set things back, living out of suitcase, add a toddler to the scenario. I have never had more time spent trying to organise my luggage to get a better deal out of daily life.

Children tend to get messy even when it’s least expected. So, even when you are in the poshest of the Hotels, you have to explore the laundry options first. The first visit I made, after settling in the hotel, was to a convenience store to get a detergent and a fabric softener.

The hotel we are living in is made for corporate types who really never stay in the room except for sleeping at nights. So the pristinely set rooms with immaculately clean linen really amused me. I knew in just a few minutes, the place wouldn’t know what hit it.

The explorer mind of a toddler wants to get into every nook and corner and try to pull out everything. For daddy it is a nightmare. He is already converting and calculating the damages that might be put into his credit. Poor man! (Pun totally intended!)

So by this rollercoaster experience, I have learnt the hard way a few things that can keep toddler entertained and the hotel room safe.

Firstly, the main concern is safety. Redecorate the place. Everything fancy and ornate is sharp and harmful for the little ones. So first thing to do is to push-off sharp-edged furniture to a side and cover it off with some blankets or a throw. If the room has a balcony, make sure the railings are high. If not, say goodbye to the sea view and deadbolt the doors! The view is ok from the window too. There goes the posh look! We also had to push the beds to a corner so that the toddler doesn’t fall off the corners.

Second, is food. Pack a lot or buy a lot at the airport or the hotel store. A hungry toddler is very much more difficult to handle. Go light on diet restrictions. A few corn chips extra or a few extra stringer cheese snacks or a juice or two, shouldn’t hurt. Snacking is great time pass too when you are in the room.

Bring in a lot of books and a few favorite toys from home. Familiarity breeds security for the toddler. It also gives a few sane moments to the parents to look around a bit. A few new toys also help to keep things interesting and to satiate the curiosity. We got a bubble set for her and it keeps her busy for a good 15 minutes a day!

Try and fit into the local timings with toddler schedule as soon as possible. Especially, when there is a huge time difference involved. It is better to get the toddler to sleep in the local times rather than time at home. Jetlag is not something we want to deal with, right? I started off on the local time and did everything for the toddler as per her schedule. It was difficult for a couple of days. Then she got used to it. She slept in a little late and got up late for the first few days but slowly got into the timezone.

Make friends with the housekeeping. A few tips here and there help too. 😀 After-all, you will have a mess to clean and you don’t want to clean it yourself all the times.

Overall, when in a new place, I have found that my toddler enjoys herself more. There are more things to explore, aren’t there? Mommy and daddy can and will always worry about things, why should she?

An erstwhile Quality Analyst, Sirisha Achanta, is now a full-time mommy to an adorable 2-year-old girl and a part-time writer. 🙂  She loves to dance, dream and read a lot!