Spring Break Travel Tips to Optimize Your Child’s Sleep

Ah, vacations. So relaxing. Except, maybe, when you’re traveling with young kids ;)  But you can still have a fabulous time with everyone sleeping well, if you follow these tips! My best advice is to replicate the sleeping environment, routine and schedule as much as possible while on vacation.

Things to bring on vacation to optimize your child’s sleep

Some things to remember to pack whether you’re driving or flying:

1. White noise machine
   Especially if you’re staying in a hotel, perhaps by the elevators or ice machine, you’ll want to drown out noise in the hallway.

2. Bedtime books
   Since you’re reading books in the bedtime routine at home, you’ll want to bring a few of your favorite bedtime stories to read while you’re away.

3. Different weight PJS
   If the place you are staying is a different temperature than at home, make sure you bring different types of layers for sleep sacks and onesies so you can ensure your child doesn’t get too hot or cold.

4. Loveys and/or blankets 
   If your child is old enough to have a lovey or blanket to sleep with, make sure you bring them along. The tip I always give clients is to buy spare loveys once you know which one your child attaches to – and then rotate them when you wash the crib sheets so they all get “loved” equally and you avoid having the brand new spare hiding in the closet. When you go on your trip, depending on how attached your child is to the lovey, you may want to bring one of the spares – in case one gets accidentally lost or gets dropped on the airport bathroom floor ;)

5. Blackout shades or…
   If you’re staying in a hotel, chances are the curtains will be blackout (you may need to use a chip clip or one of the hangers with the pant clips to seal it up in the middle). But if you’re staying in a house with regular shades, they may not have blackout shades. This is a travel blackout shade that is easily packable. Even better would be to bring a Slumberpod. The benefit of using one of these is that it creates a completely pitch-black sleeping space so you don’t have to worry about covering windows and when you’re sharing a hotel room or bedroom, you don’t have to sit in darkness (or in the bathroom) after bedtime!

If you’re driving you also may want a portable crib and mattress. Some portable cribs are small enough to bring on flights, fitting into a backpack like this one, but most do better packed in the trunk.

If you use the pack n play frequently, I’d buy a real mattress for it. It’s so much more comfortable to sleep on than the foldable mat that comes with it. There are options for a foldable mattress and a “real” non-foldable mattress.

Thinking about starting sleep training? Download your free PDF to help set you up for success!

What to do (and not do) while you’re on vacation to optimize your child’s sleep

Now that you have your packed items, here are some reminders of things you should focus on (and things you should try to avoid) to optimize your child’s sleep while you’re away.

1. The sleep rules from home still apply
   It’s very normal for babies and toddlers to test the boundaries around sleep when they are somewhere new. They may think that just because the rule is the rule at home, it doesn’t necessarily mean the rule is the same at Grandma’s house.

   This may mean that your child cries for some time at bedtime or has a night waking or two. The best way to handle it is to not do anything differently than you would if this happened at home. You can go in every five to ten minutes or so to offer a bit of reassurance, but other than that, don’t bend your rules. If you hang on tight and are consistent the first night or two, your child will be used to the new environment and will be sleeping well again. (This is assuming your child already had good sleep skills prior to the trip.)

   This also applies to sleeping spaces – If you don’t bedshare at home, then make sure they have their own bed on the trip. If you start sharing a bed on a trip, your child will quickly get used to the idea and when you get home, will want to continue the new tradition!

2. Don’t overfill your schedule
   Travelling prekids, you could be on-to-go from dawn until bedtime…but that kind of rigorous schedule will just set you up for some cranky, crabby kids! If your child is so overtired from the exhaustion of the day, it will likely affect sleep negatively. Remember that overtiredness makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

3. Try to have most of the naps in a crib
   An occasional car seat nap or slightly later bedtime typically doesn’t do too much harm, but if your baby spends a couple of days taking car seat naps here and there and having late bedtimes, he may become so overtired that by the time bedtime rolls around on day two, he has a complete meltdown and seems to “forget” all of his sleep skills and just cries for longer periods of time.

4. Keep to the same schedule
   Do yourself a favor and make sure you can offer naps at the appropriate times – ideally in a crib wherever you’re calling home base, but on-to-go can work too as long as it’s not for every nap.

If you want even more tips on packing lists, roadtrips, airplane travel, adjusting to different time zones - and optimizing sleep while you’re away from home! - check out my TRAVEL FOR LITTLES GUIDE!

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This post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you, your child and/or your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your child’s physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.