Travelling with baby & sleep tips
Travelling with young kids can be a wonderful adventure, and can also be SO exhausting, especially when your baby’s sleep gets disrupted. When you travel with young kids, it is essentially parenting in a new location without all the familiarities and securities of home. It can be tough! We did quite a bit of travelling with my first baby through 2019 and have lived to tell the tales. Whether you’re taking a long car trip (we drove from Ontario to Prince Edward Island with our 8-month-old) or flying to a new destination (we flew to Mexico and Philadelphia in his first year), it’s important to help your children get the rest they need to enjoy the trip, and for you to be able to enjoy yours, too! As a baby & toddler sleep consultant and mom of 2, here are my top travel baby sleep tips!
What you’ll learn from this blog:
- Strategies to practice sleeping in a new sleep space
- Travel sleep essentials
- How to set up the travel sleep space
- Reality check
A new sleep space
If your baby has never slept anywhere other than their nursery at home, you will want to take a few days to practice getting them familiar with their travel sleep space. When using a pack-and-play or travel crib, set it up at home in advance. This will help them get familiar with the space and give them opportunity to spend some awake time in it. Play peek-a-boo, let them explore the new textures and sounds, and keep things relaxed and not pressured. After those few days, consider practicing your baby’s sleep in their travel sleep space by offering a practice nap in it 1x/day for a few days before leaving for your trip. Practice makes progress!
Once you’ve arrived at your destination and it’s time for sleep, be prepared that your baby may take a little longer to fall asleep in their new sleep space and/or require more support than usual. This is normal! Just like as adults we need to get acquainted with the new environment, your baby will too! With practice and time, your baby will thrive in their new sleep space. They could also adjust very quickly to their travel sleep space. Every baby responds differently to a new environment and your baby’s unique temperament will be influential in their adjustment time.
Travel sleep essentials
Babies love routine and predictability. Having items that they are familiar with in their new sleep environment will also help to support them during travel sleep. If possible, try to stick to their sleep routines and schedules, when possible. This isn’t always reality when traveling, and that’s ok. Maybe the bedtime routine is only 10-minutes when traveling because you stayed out for a dinner reservation – it’s all good! We try our best and hope for a rest! Things will always get back on track once home.
If you’re like me, once the trip is planned, I start creating packing lists to avoid forgetting something essential. Here’s a list of items you should consider packing for your family vacation to help support your baby’s sleep when travelling:
- Crib sheets from home to help your baby feel comfortable with familiar smells and feelings.
- A sound machine and a portable sound machine that can be used for on-the-go daily adventure naps. White noise in their nighttime sleep will also help eliminate any unfamiliar noises from the new environment that may be distracting for them. Don’t forget your chargers!
- Sleep sack and comfort items (e.g. lovey, books, etc.) that are sleep associations from home to help cue your baby it’s time to sleep, even when in a new sleep space.
- Their favourite pajamas and any other items that are meaningful to your child’s sleep (my son loves his battery operated shark lantern for new sleep spaces)
Travel Sleep Space
You’ve arrived at your destination and now it’s time to rearrange the space. I’d recommend setting up the travel sleep space as soon as you’ve arrived to avoid frantically setting it up with a potentially overtired baby as an audience (… I may be speaking from experience for this).
If you’ve brought along a SlumberPod, set it up in an area of the room that isn’t high traffic so they have minimal disruptions. The SlumberPod is blackout darkness inside but not sound proof! This is where your sound machine will be super helpful.
If you’re not traveling with a SlumberPod, consider bringing a few industrial grade garbage bags and tape to secure over the windows to create a dark sleep space.
When covering windows isn’t an option, consider positioning your baby’s sleep space in a dark or enclosed area of the environment (e.g. washroom, walk-in closet, etc.). Do a safety check before sleep time occurs to ensure your baby can’t reach anything that could harm them – they will be curious about their new surroundings!
Reality Check
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, travelling and baby sleep can be really difficult! Remember, travel and new experiences can be stressful for children (and adults!) of any age. Sometimes, this stress results in sleep difficulties. Be patient and try to understand that they are trying their best. Your baby may need a bit of extra support to settle into sleep, and this is ok. If you’ve introduced some habits during travel that you’re not interested in maintaining once home, here are a few tips.
- Verbally communicate that to your older kiddos so they have a clear understanding of expectations.
- For younger babies, offer alternative ways to support your baby such as picking up and snuggling, bum pats and back rubs, etc.
- Get back to basics as soon as possible once home to ensure you and babe get back to the quality sleep you both enjoy.
Lastly, if you’re worried about a later bedtime when travelling or if you’re messing up their schedule, don’t stress! Make the memories! Enjoy the sunsets!
Wheels up, babe! Enjoy the ride!
Chelsea
P.S. If you’re looking to purchase a SlumberPod consider using my code (LITTLESLEEPSPACE) to save 5% off your purchase. If you’re local to Hamilton, connect with me about renting my SlumberPod.
