Holidays, Travel and Baby's Sleep | Parenting Starts Here

Holiday travel and events can affect your baby or toddler?s sleeping patterns.

It?s the most wonderful time of the year? unless your child isn?t sleeping, that is! Many parents find that the extra holiday travel, parties and excitement may add up to some big bedtime trouble or can rock the nights of even the most trusted sleepers!

So, what should you do, when traveling or faced with a midday party or late night event that is sure to disrupt naptime, bedtime or both? Here are some tips for getting through the holiday season:

1. Maintain normalcy. Plan to bring the same books, loveys, blankies, music, etc. your child is used to at home. Implement the same bedtime routine you do at home while you are away, and try to maintain a schedule consistent to yours at home.
2. Keep it dark. Remember that darkness and light cues your child when to sleep and when to be awake, so keep her sleeping environment as dark as you can. A dark beach towel draped over a bright window can work wonders!
3. Be prepared to deal with over-stimulation. Your baby may be up later than usual and spend lots of time in different people?s arms. Try to anticipate that your child might be a bit overtired and cranky by the end of an evening of partying and spend a bit of extra time soothing her before sleep and winding her down. Be aware that your child might wake up at night due to some over-tiredness and be prepared to handle it consistently in the way you do at home.
4. Pack your white noise machine. Is baby?s travel crib 3 feet from the double air mattress you and your partner are sharing? Go ahead and use that white noise machine! It can also help drown out adult conversation and revelry during baby?s naptime and at bedtime.
5. If baby misses a nap, don?t panic. If it?s the morning nap that has been lost, go for the second nap a bit earlier than you would have otherwise. If it?s the afternoon nap, TRY to avoid a late afternoon ?bedtime sabotage catnap? and opt for a bedtime that is a bit earlier (30 or more minutes) instead.
6. Relax and have fun. Virtually any non-medical sleep problem can be fixed ? really! Your primary goal should be to enjoy your special family time, have fun, do the best you can at preserving your child?s schedule, and know that when you return home to the status quo you can quickly get things back on track.

Is your baby is a great sleeper at home? Then it?s perfectly reasonable to expect she?ll continue to be while traveling or having some holiday fun here and there. If you are noticing a lot of problems popping up during this holiday season, you may be trying to do too many activities and your child?s sleep is suffering.

If you can?t scale back your holiday schedule, just enjoy your time away but be prepared to get right back on track when you return home. For babies who have some problems to begin with?or for tips on getting back to normal when the holidays are over? you may consider one of our personalized sleep consultations, conducted by phone, by appointment. We consult with families across the US, Canada and Europe. Learn more

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Nancy Holtzman, RN BSN IBCLC CPN and

Meg Casano RN BSN MA and Erin Evans PhD RPSGT
Isis Parenting Sleep Team Leaders

View related Sleep Webinar recordings: Holidays, Travel & Infant Toddler Sleep or? Travel and Time Zone Changes

Source: http://www.parentingstartshere.com/index.php/2012/12/18/holidays-travel-and-babys-sleep/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holidays-travel-and-babys-sleep

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