Spending holidays with family is always looked forward to, particularly during holiday season. Celebrating Christmas and New Year with love ones is the icing on the cake. The prospect, while awaited, brings foretold woes for those traveling with a very young kid in tow. Taking the baby along (of course you can’t leave him/her behind) surely sells fun for everyone, especially if he/she is in good mood most of the time.
What can you do to ensure the baby will be a joy to travel and holiday with? Ensure that your little one will get enough rest and sleep while in transit and in your destination, wherever it may be. Sticking to his/her sleep pattern is the best strategy, regardless hectic activities or schedule. You don’t need to lose sleep thinking how to keep your baby sticking to his/her sleep pattern; check out this “9 Baby Sleep Solutions for Holiday Travel” recommended by Juliet Revelant and posted in FoxNews – Health Home Section.
- Have a plan: Instead of shuttling your baby between family members’ homes, pick one place to sleep throughout the trip … If you’ll be staying at a hotel, see if they offer a suite option so your baby can be in a separate room but still close by. Find out before you arrive if they offer a crib or if you’ll need to bring a pack-n-play.
- Get them ready: With enough sleep, your baby will adapt well to the schedule change, late nights and new
environment, so make your baby’s schedule a priority at least a week before you leave.
- Time travel right: … book a flight or hit the road during your baby’s regular naptime. If your flight lands during the day, stick to your baby’s schedule as much as possible. If you’ll be traveling more than three time zones east, put your baby to bed 30 minutes earlier each night …
- Set your baby’s internal clock: Sunlight in the morning helps to set your baby’s circadian rhythms. It also produces melatonin so your baby will sleep better at night … Making the room as dark as possible at night will promote melatonin production as well.
Power naps are powerful for sleep management
You have to appreciate its benefit to prevent the baby from having fits on those days when you can actually be having fun. A series of late nights and disrupted sleep pattern is a sure formula to make your holidays forgettable. If activities are mostly scheduled at night, naps during the day would be your most potent strategy.
Don’t try to alter the baby’s sleep ritual. This is not the time to make any change. Stick to the ritual to keep you baby dozing to the dreamland.
Bring something to comfort him/her, especially those that that put him/her to sleep – favorite bedtime/nap time music, wee night light or a crib sheet. The stuff will make any place, hotel room/holiday rental or relative’s place, “homey.”
Before planning to travel, ensure you’ll get help in your destination. If you are staying in a hotel, find out about their services and facilities. If you are visiting family and staying in one of their homes, make sure you’ll get help. If you have a family, it is good to involve them, but make sure they will cooperate and keep your baby getting enough sleep.
Normalize his/her normal routine as soon as it is possible. It will be a challenge with all the novel things and faces in the environment, but with persistence and smart approach it is possible. You need to because your baby’s and your happiness depend on it.
What can be the best time for your baby to meet your family and friends than the holidays? If traveling to a beautiful destination to rejuvenate from all the taxing work you do in the city, you want to be able to relax with a happy baby. It can be rough sailing for both of you, but with these tips you might just have another memorable holiday with the people you love.
