Fostering Good Sleep for Your Baby While Traveling
Traveling Season is Near
You may decide to venture out of your home and travel a bit for this upcoming holiday season. This could mean staying with family, staying in a hotel, or renting an Air B&B. While planning for outfits to wear, toys to bring, and where you will eat while you’re traveling, you might mistakenly let one topic slip your mind: sleep.
While you already know that traveling can negatively affect sleep, there are a few questions you can ask yourself that will help in preparing for your trip.
What items can you take with you to foster good sleep for your child while traveling?
What planning considerations should you have to support restful sleep for your child?
Items to Take to Support Good Sleep While Traveling
Here are a few items that you can take with you to your travel destination that can be extremely helpful.
Red-Light Bulb
This will come in handy, especially if you must room-share with your child. Switch the light bulb in the room out with a red-light bulb to allow yourself to see while also maintaining an environment conducive to sleep.
White Noise Machine
Putting one next to your child’s crib/bed will be very helpful in blocking out noise that may wake your child or cause a fear of missing out (like laughter in the next room).
Camera/Monitor
This will allow you to keep an eye on your child when you are not in the same room. It also adds a layer of safety since we all know places that we may travel to aren’t always child or babyproof.
Comfort Items from Home
If your child is over 1 year, they can safely sleep with up to two comfort items. This may be their favorite stuffy or the blanket that they regularly sleep with. Also, bring along any sleep sacks that your child is used to sleeping in.
Bedtime Books
If your child has 2-3 favorite books to read during the bedtime routine, bring them with you! This will help in maintaining consistency in the bedtime routine which will help your child settle down for sleep faster.
Portable Crib
No matter where you plan to stay, call ahead and plan to have your child sleeping in a bed/crib similar to what they normally sleep in. Some hotels and Air B&B’s will have cribs available, but you want to be sure you reserve it to ensure you will have one. No matter if you bring your own portable crib, borrow one, or rent one, be sure to bring your own sheet from home to use for it. The familiar smells and texture from the sheet will also be comforting to your child.
Black Trash Bags or Aluminum Foil and Painter’s Tape
Black trash bags and aluminum foil are easily packed away, so they make a great tool while traveling. You can use these to blackout windows in any room. The painter’s tape is ideal because it is less likely to damage any walls or windows that you are trying to blackout.
Slumberpod
If you are able, a Slumberpod is also a GREAT tool. This acts as a tent that can go around your child’s portable crib or bed. It completely darkens the area immediately around the crib/bed so that the need for blacking out windows is no longer required. These are ideal for situations where you may need to room share with your child.
Planning Considerations to Support Restful Sleep
Here are a few considerations to make while planning the details and events of your travel.
Well-Rested
Before you leave for your trip, be sure your child is already well-rested. When children are already well-rested, travel difficulties associated with sleep do not have as bad of a negative effect.
Regular Meal/Sleep Schedule
As you travel, maintain a regular meal and sleep schedule as close to your normal routine as possible. This will help significantly in maintaining your child’s circadian rhythm.
Plan Around Sleep
Throughout your trip, maintain your child’s normal wake time, nap time, and bedtime as much as possible. Plan your events around your child’s sleep schedule. If for any reason, your child skips a nap, plan ahead for an early bedtime. Avoid having your child miss multiple naps and avoid having them miss naps on days that bedtime cannot be early.
Avoid Motion Sleep
Avoid using motion sleep as a replacement for sleep in a conducive environment. Unfortunately, motion sleep is not as restorative as sleep in a crib or bed. It is always tempting to use motion sleep (such as naps in a car) while traveling, but instead of being beneficial to your child, it acts as junk sleep (much like junk food vs. healthy food).
Returning Home
Plan to return home a couple of days before you must return to your regular schedule. This will allow for plenty of time in the comfort of your own home for your child to readjust back to their regular environment and schedule.
Conclusion
Traveling can be so tough on children and parents alike! The key to traveling and maintaining good sleep habits is planning. Plan out your schedule, your routine, and what items you need to pack or gather upon arrival. However, even more helpful than that, is having a child that is already well-rested before you travel.
We have a couple of weeks before the holiday season and travel season starts, so this is a great time to look at your child’s current sleep situation and decide if it can be improved upon. If you are looking to travel for the holidays but also know that your child could be better rested, let’s chat! Just book an evaluation call with me so that I can tell you how one of my packages will benefit your child’s sleep. You don’t have to wait until after you travel! There are many things we can work on beforehand that will make your trip much more enjoyable!
I hope you found this helpful! Until next time…
