Traveling and Sleep!

As we enter the summer months, many of us are looking forward to and planning out summer vacations. But how do you manage your little ones sleep while traveling?

Try to stay as close as you can to your child’s normal schedule, but also try to enjoy yourself. If you haven’t planned a vacation yet, but want to, I usually recommend that people try and stay in one place. It will be easier on your child if you stay in one place for 5 nights verses taking a road trip with stops at different hotels each night. Although, I am not a fan of car naps in general, sometimes it is the best you can do on vacation. So try and plan some of your driving around your child’s normal nap or bedtime.

When putting your child down for bedtime or naps, try and stick to your same routine. If this includes reading books, snuggles, singing etc. go ahead and do all of those things. Don’t forget your child’s sound machine and their favorite blanket, lovey or stuffed animal. This will give them some comfort and something familiar to take to bed with them.

I also recommend if at all possible to avoid bed sharing, unless you are already partaking in this. Sharing a bed with Mom and Dad can be very exciting and it a hard habit to break, even if you just did it for a night or two. Try and bring a pack n play or use a roll away bed. There are also crib renting services if you are going to be staying in one place for a few days and can’t or don’t want to haul a pack n play with you.

Changing time zones can be tricky for little ones. If you are staying for more than a day or two I recommend that you switch them over to the local time immediately. This requires waking them at their normal time and putting them to bed and down for naps at their normal time. For example; If you are from California and your child normally gets up for the day at 7am and you travel to Florida then wake your child up for the day at 7am Eastern time. He may be a little groggy or even grumpy but nap time will fall earlier and it will sync pretty quickly. Make sure your child is getting lots of sunshine to help set that body clock! And remember that you can always put your child to bed slightly earlier to compensate for when they are tired. Don’t forget that our kids very very simulated and excited on vacations, and rightfully so. But this is why we can’t throw their sleep needs completely out the window. If we do, we will end up with a very grumpy child who is unable to enjoy their vacation. Keep to their normal nap routine, even if they don’t act tired. Your little one isn’t going to let one that they need a nap when the mini golf course looks so appealing!
When you return from vacation you might have a small adjustment time. This is normal and once we expect it, it usually isn’t bad. Just jump right back into your normal schedule and supplement with an early bedtime until they have caught up on any lost sleep.

And most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!