How can you ensure your baby sleeps well while traveling or on vacation?

A very important factor that determines how well your baby sleeps while travelling is his temperament, which is inborn.  Part of a child’s temperament determines how adaptable they are.  See, some children can easily adapt to a new environment after taking a few minutes to familiarize themselves with their new space.  If you have an easy-going child, your child will probably be fine when travelling!

However, if you have a child who is very slow to warm to new changes, as shown in the past by the huge amount of time it took her to adapt to her new daycare, or caregiver, or house, it will probably take her quite a bit of time to adjust to her new living arrangements when travelling.

Here are my top tips for ensuring that your child sleeps well while travelling:

1. Bring as much of your child’s nursery as you can with you on vacation.  Bring anything that your child sleeps with such as a lovey, blanket, pacifier, white noise, bedtime music and stories.  This is important so that your child feels like he’s in a familiar environment.
2. Continue implementing your regular bedtime routine.  This will help your child wind down for bedtime, just like at home!
3. Make sure you’re set up with all your sleep gear!  For example, If your little one sleeps in a crib or pack n play, make sure that your sleeping arrangements will have crib for your baby.  You can always rent one from a local baby equipment rental company.
4. Pray to the sleep gods that your child sleeps well.  When travelling, all bets are off when it comes to your child’s sleep, especially if he isn’t so adaptable to changes.
5. If you are traveling somewhere with a time change, get your little one onto your local time as quickly as possible!  There’s no need to drag the process on for longer than necessary.
6. If your little one is used to sleeping in their own room, try to rent a hotel suite or an Air BnB with an extra bedroom.  Otherwise, your presence might create distraction for your little one at night, which can CAUSE nightwakings.
7. Get your little one back on track as soon as you get home!

If your child’s sleep regresses while you’re travelling, make sure to be militant about getting things back on track when you’re home.  This might involve re-sleep training!

Applying these important tips should help you ensure your baby or young child sleeps like a champ while traveling so that you can actually enjoy your vacation!