Want to travel with a baby? Take some notes!
Most of us like to travel and even when a baby arrives, despite postponing the trips for a while, we would still like to departure some time soon. Of course during the first few months, it would advisable not to travel, but stay at home to take care of you and your baby, bond with him or her, find a common rhythm which helps you both enjoy life together. The little one is still in the forth trimester so he needs the cosiest place he knows, which is next to mom.
But after 6 months there is definitely a chance to enjoy the first travel in your baby’s life.
Putting aside covid risks and the current limitations in terms of travelling, here are nine tips for sleep while travelling with babies:
1. Everything will be okay, in the end
First of all, try to prepare yourself mentally that not everything is going to work according to plan. And that’s okay! There are many variables when it comes to changing the sleep environment, the smell, the people around your baby, the routine etc. All these changes might disturb his sleep, but you can soon find your rhythm in the new place, with a few guidelines.
2. Expect some fussiness
Secondly, depending on the length of the trip, expect that your baby might be a bit fussy and won’t sleep the whole way. Consider it a transition day and let him nap on the move, if needed.
3. Do not foget!
Make sure you do not forget the buggy (with a sun shade cover) and the baby carrier (very handy in airports and when on the move during nap time). In case your baby can sit and have its solid meals in a special chair, a useful asset would be the chair booster, easy to take with while travelling and very handy at meal times.
If you are travelling by plane, a very useful asset would be the plane pal like this one, which enables your baby to get some more space to sleep between the plane seats.
4. Bring along familiar things
Then, all these changes might be easy to handle if you bring from home as many familiar things as possible (like the white noise machine, his comfort toy and a few other known toys, sleeping sack, bed sheets with home or mother smell, the portable blackouts to darken the sleeping room or even his travel bed, if possible). It’s not the whole home, don’t worry, just half of it 😉 It would be also a good idea to let him get familiar with his travel bed a few days before the trip, at home.
5. Come back to your usual routine
Soon after you got there, give yourselves some time to adjust and then follow your baby’s usual flexible routine as much as possible. Remember, if you want your baby to sleep well and therefore the whole family to rest and enjoy your trip, you need to adjust your schedule to his needs and consider his naps time, meal time and bedtime when making other plans.
6. It’s okay to be a bit more flexible
You can be a bit more flexible during your trip than at home and let your baby nap on the go (in the stroller or baby carrier) 1-2 times per day, but try to make sure he has his lunch nap (the most restorative one) at “home”, in his bed and usual sleeping room during this trip or holiday.
7. Try to stick to the same bedtime as much as possible
Bedtime should be as close as possible to the usual time in order to avoid your baby getting overtired thus waking-up several times during the night. However, if you manage to do this 80% of the time while 20% you miss it, it’s still okay. So, remember the 80-20 rule!
Another option is to arrange for a babysitter (or relative) to watch over your baby in the evening (while he/she is sleeping), if this is possible and affordable, so you can enjoy an evening out with your friends or relatives.
8. Tell your world about your rules
In case you are visiting relatives or friends, it would be best if you could let them know in advance about your routine, so that they consult you before popping up at your door unexpected. Your baby’s sleep is much more important.
9. Consider time difference
In case of time difference, there are two scenarios: if you are travelling west to east, try to put your baby in bed at your home time zone. For example if you are travelling from Germany to Romania where time is 1h later, you can put your baby in bed at first at 8pm instead of 7pm (which is exactly his home time). If you are travelling east to west and there is a bigger time difference than 1h, you can try a short catnap on the go so that the baby can last until his usual bedtime at home. In case the time difference is much bigger, my suggestion is to let the baby sleep on the way as much as possible and then get into the local time as soon as possible.
And remember: give yourself some time until you find your rhythm in the new place. Do not expect it to be perfect, but try to enjoy your trip and time with your family and take things as they come. They never happen randomly and we all have this instinct to adapt to any environment, more or less ;). Moreover, if baby was sleep trained and knows how to connect sleep cycles, he or she will be more open to adapt to the new circumstances.
If you need more support getting better sleep for your baby, I am happy to help.