Tips on Your Summer Holiday

There is nothing more relaxing than taking a break with your family – but if you don’t prepare your child’s sleep environment you could potentially be walking around your vacation retreat with bags the size of your hold all under your eyes. Children are sensitive when it comes to change, crossing time zones, strange sleep environments and long hot summer nights are known to disturb children’s sleeping schedules; the main reason is children usually sleep in the same room as their parents so you respond quicker to their cries out of courtesy to other guests. Here are some travel tips:

• Have a plan on how you will deal with night waking’s or bed refusal before you go to avoid long term problems; it will also give you confidence on how to handle issues should they arise.

• Take as many sleep related items from home as possible and crib linen from home. A couple of days before you go – if you have a pack n play then set it up and have your baby sleep in and then it will be one less change for them.

• If you have the option of a one bedroom suite then take it and make it the babies’ room. If you don’t have a one bedroom suite then make a separate area for the babies crib that is not close to your bed.

• Keep your babies normal daily routine in mind – its okay to have the odd late night but don’t succumb to late nights every night.

• Don’t skip naps – otherwise you will have even worse night time sleep – it is also a good excuse to have a siesta yourself and get out of the mid day sun. Although you don’t have to stick to a strict nap schedule, let your child nap when they need them the most. Once you get home you can revert to your normal naptimes.

• Put your baby onto local time as soon as you get there and stick with your child’s normal bedtime and wake up times to help them adjust to the time change– babies and small children adapt better than adults.

• Relax – if you are stressed your baby will pick up on your anxiousness – if your baby no longer nurses at night let dad deal with the night wakings.

Even babies who have slept through the night consistently before going away will wake up when sleeping in a strange environment and may have problems falling asleep.
This is where parents start to question what they should do – don’t try new techniques at this time but do what has worked in the past. Your child has not changed – only the environment has, so if you change your responses then you will more likely end up in a place you are trying so hard to avoid. In short – stick with what works and being prepared and expecting some resistance is better than cure.