Surviving the Holidays

There’s less than 2 weeks until Christmas! I love this time of year. There’s so much preparation for it and then before you know it, it’s here and gone. This year has been extra challenging, so I’m sure you’re happy to see it end.

During the holidays you may have plans to travel and see family or you may have family staying with you. But you may worry if you have recently gotten your baby sleeping on a schedule that they might regress a little over the holidays. Well, it can be easy to get off track during the holidays so I’m here to share some tips with you to help you survive the holidays.

With some strategic planning and determination, you can keep your child’s routine running just the way you did at home. There are two major obstacles to your little one’s sleep over the holidays. The first is travel and the second is family and friends. I am going to tackle all of that in the topics below.

Travel Tips

If you’re traveling in the car, I suggest scheduling your drive during your child’s nap. Motion naps aren’t as restful, but compared to a crying baby, it’s much easier to travel with a sleeping baby. So, plan to get on the road right around the time that baby would normally be taking their nap.

If you have a really long drive and you will need to feed and change your baby, plan for stops every few hours. If you have a toddler or older child, they will need a break from the car either to use the bathroom or to just stretch their legs. I definitely would pack lots of snacks and toys or even tablets (for older children).

If you are flying instead, hopefully the trip is shorter. Hearing your baby cry in the car is one thing but crying on a plane is a little more stressful given that there are lots of other people around. If you can plan the flight during nap time that’s ideal, but it’s not always possible. Do what you need to in order for your baby to sleep (rock, bounce) but try not to feed them to sleep if you’ve worked hard to remove that sleep prop.

I would plan on being able to feed your baby (breast or bottle) as needed on the plane along with having a pacifier if your baby will take one. This will help relief the ear pressure while flying. For older children, have snacks, toys and tablets packed (charged) and ready to go.

Schedules

Avoid overscheduling! One thing about being in the middle of a pandemic is that we’re house bound most of the day. That will work in your favor and allow your baby to get good naps in a dark, quiet room. There will of course be days where you may be out and about, but I would try to follow a busy day with a low-key day to let your child adjust and have naps at home versus out and about.

Be consistent with naps and bedtime as much as possible. This means respecting your child’s naptime and bedtime to avoid overtiredness. Having a plan so that your child can nap and go to sleep on time.

You may be thinking, we have plans to be out and my child can just sleep in the car. While this is true, motion naps are not as restorative, and your child will be exhausted when bedtime comes. You also may have a child that doesn’t sleep as well on the go (my daughter) and likes sleeping in a quiet, dark room.

I would also recommend keeping bedtime around the same time as when you are home, with a late bedtime being the exception, not the norm. Try to follow the same bedtime routine and if you will be visiting family late, start the routine before you leave.

If a bath is not feasible, at least change their diaper and put their pajamas on before leaving. Some white noise (portable) can help them fall asleep faster in the car. This way you can put your child right to bed when getting home, even if they wake up briefly, they should settle pretty quickly.  

Family

If you’re visiting family, they most likely want to spend time holding and snuggling your baby. If your baby is an independent sleeper, you want to make sure you limit naps in arms so that they don’t get too off track. This means you may have to announce your baby’s naptimes and bedtime.

Be prepared for some pushback. You’ll hear that they didn’t get to see the baby for very long but trust me an overtired baby is not a happy baby. It’s better to put baby to bed on time than keep them up later just so your family can see them a little longer.

Sleep Environment

When your child is in a new environment, things will be different for your child as they get used to this new space. So, it makes sense that your child may not sleep perfectly and there may be some disruptions in the first few nights.

In these moments, during the protests, crying and middle of the night wake ups, remember that your child is adjusting to a new sleep space. Respond to them how you would at home. Wait at least 5-10 minutes before responding to give them some comfort and reassurance that they’re okay, but nothing more than that. Any bending of the rules can cause these issues to continue for the length of the trip as well as when you get home.

Bring your child’s comfort items.To make your child more comfortable in this new space you want to try to mimic their sleep environment at home so that they feel safe and secure. I will share my sleep travel list suggestions at the bottom of this post.

First and foremost, your child’s room needs to be dark, like a cave. I recommend using a travel item like the GroAnywhere blind, Amazon has their own version. If your child is sleeping in a pack and play or mini crib, the Slumberpod is an even better investment; a guaranteed black out sleep space.

Save $20 at Slumberpod.com when you enter HAPPILYEVERAFTER at checkout.

A white noise machine is super helpful, especially when there may be new noises you are trying to drown out while sleeping somewhere new. I recommend the Hatch Baby Rest because it can be used as a sound machine, night light and toddler clock. The myBaby White Noise Machine is a much less expensive sound machine and helpful for travel because it has an AC adapter as well as a battery backup.