Whether it’s an upcoming vacation, road trip, weekend getaway, family visit…travelling with your little one can be exciting and terribly frightening all at the same time!
Vacations are seldom classified as “relaxing” with a baby or toddler in tow. They can even seem like more work sometimes, having to pack up your entire house, relocate for a few days and then have to come home and dare I say it. UNPACK.
Throw in the stress of wondering “how will this disrupt my baby’s sleep” on top of that!
If you have a great little sleeper, but it’s taken you hard work to achieve it, the fear of taking the risk of ruining all that hard work and going back to sleepless nights will have you resigned to beach screensavers and Skype calls with family. Don’t let that fear stop you from creating those precious family memories. Vacations are priceless, its a time to be present with your loved ones and no amount of worry should rob you of that time.
As parents all we can do is plan, and we’re expert planners!
So here are 6 things you should plan before you go, to make it easier on your baby’s sleep and thus YOUR sleep while away.
Plan where and how you will sleep at night. While making accommodations, keep in mind how you all sleep best. If your baby sleeps in his own crib/bassinet at home, then look for accommodations that will allow baby their own sleep space. Try to keep it as close to how you would do it at home (plus it makes transitioning back, when you get home way easier if you stay consistent). You don’t want to be switching it up now, it’s confusing and you all might not sleep well. You can often find hotel rooms with their own separate space, ie. a living room, extra bedroom and those suites with the swim up balcony are also great for putting baby down and still getting some pool date time while baby naps/is down for the night. I’ve also seen some great partitions/room separations, don’t be afraid to move some furniture around to make it more comfortable for your baby and their sleep.
Bring home with you but not your entire house. Bring with you the products that your baby associates with sleep. Sleep sacks, white noise machine, lovey/pacifiers (if they use one) **always bring an extra.
As for equipment, if your baby usually sleep in a crib, then this is not the time to switch your toddler to a “big boy/girl bed.” This will cause sleep disruptions and you don’t need that on vacay. You can often arrange for a crib or bring a pack n play with the resort or hotel once you arrive (or call ahead so it’s waiting for you). I often suggest renting baby products if you can. This will avoid the hassle of having to bring all your equipment on a long journey.
Keep your bedtime and nap wind down routine as similar as possible. Your bedtime routine can be done anywhere. Stay consistent with it even in a new environment. This will help cue sleep and help baby relax after a stimulating day of travel. The key is to try to keep many things the same so that the only difference is location, baby will likely not even notice if they're still getting all the same messaging and cues ie. it’s time for sleep.
Along with this is try to keep bedtime similar, I know that’s not always possible on vacation but even if you do a bedtime routine in a dark room and then put them in a stroller and cover it up adding white noise. Do what you can and what the circumstances allow.
Provide the best environment possible for naps (even stroller naps). The reality is that every baby is different and some babies (especially as they grow) have a harder time sleeping in stimulating environments. You know your baby, if the bustle of light and sound wake them or cause them to not be able to sleep, then we try to provide the best possible environment for them, even in their stroller. Make sure you have a stroller that lies down fully. Cover that stroller up to make it as dark as possible. Include some white noise to drown out all the ambient sounds, and provide their sleep tools such as a lovey, if they use them. I also put a portable fan in there on hot days. The truth is that often babies sleep less in strollers (if they sleep longer then a-mazing!), try to have one good nap a day at least, maybe you stay at the hotel for the first nap and then do stroller naps the rest of the day. Bringing me to my next point..
Control what you can control. Let go of the rest. This is hard. Let me tell you, us mama’s sometimes have a hard time accepting that we can’t control some things, especially relating to our babies sleep. You can’t always control the environment, circumstances and whether your baby will sleep or not. That is entirely out of your control. It doesn’t mean it’s less stressful but we try to control what we can. In a situation where you’re frustrated that your baby won’t sleep, your baby is up late, naps were short or non-existent. Think about this. What are the factors here that I can’t control? and give yourself permission to let them go.
If you have a well rested baby, a baby who is a good sleeper and not sleep deprived, then that is okay! Baby can handle the odd sleep disruption and will bounce back SO easily! Let it go, if you do some naps being held, in a carrier, or on the beach (love these!) then that’s okay!
Get right back to your normal routine as soon as you arrive back home. Enjoy your vacation but when you get home go right back to having a predictable routine (doesn’t have to be a rigid schedule). You’ll be surprised how fast your baby adjusts back with a little repetition and familiar cues. Babies find a sense of security in predictability and this is done through repetition. Re-establish those great sleep habits that you had before you left on vacation and in no time you’ll be back to normal (except for all the laundry…)
So if you are preparing to go on vacation, have a road trip planned or are just thinking of doing some day trips, all of these tips can apply.
If you need a well rested baby first (which makes the world of a difference) and need some coaching to get there, then reach out to me. Let’s get some good nights under your belt and then travelling will less stressful for all.
When it comes to adjusting to time differences, read this article: How to manage time changes when travelling with your baby.
Happy and restful Travels!
