Have you ever wondered what to do about your child's sleep schedule while traveling, let alone figure out how to handle a trip across time zones?
Aubrey answers many questions about what you can do to help your child sleep better while traveling and also gives valuable advice for helping you get your full night's sleep back. All in The Wander Mom Diaries Podcast episode #7! Click the image below to be taken right to the episode where you can subscribe on your preferred listening app!
I can't emphasize enough how many of my friends struggle with a child who is still waking up in the middle of the night, long after they should be snoozing away on their own.
Aubrey has her master's in social work and worked as a psychotherapist, for children, teens, adults, and then as a school social worker for a good while.
She is a stay-at-home mom at the moment with three boys ages eight, five, and two. She became interested in setting up a routine for her children and was active in social media and eventually was trained by a sleep coach named Batya and continued to support families with sleep issues.
“Is there a special sleep formula that you can share?” I ask.
“It’s funny you asked that. I get asked that all the time in that sleep group, they're always wanting a magic formula, they want an answer, and I always have to tell them, you know, there is no magic formula. It's not magic. It's not going to happen instantaneously, that's for sure. So the work that I might suggest to them. You have to put in the effort consistently and you will see the payoff. It's just you have to make a commitment, you know, to change what you're doing and you will see that it will work”.
So what do you do when your environment is no longer consistent?
Do you have a family vacation is on the way?
Do you have an ex-pat assignment and are moving across the globe?
Here are the topics of this article if you want to jump to what is more relevant to you.
Importance of routine and familiarity
Aubrey emphasizes that In general, people, babies, kids, we all thrive on routine, we thrive on consistency and knowing what to expect and that's not going to change when you're traveling, kids still need that, we still need that. It's okay to veer off the routine a little bit, but generally speaking, having a flow to the day even when you're traveling is great.
It’s naturally difficult to adjust to being in a new place and being with new people, so trying to have similar daily routines will help a lot.
The next thing is, set yourself up for success by having a lot of the things that the baby or the child or you are even familiar with. Your own pillow and sound machine for example because that's what helps you feel comfortable sleeping somewhere else.
So for a baby or for a toddler, you want to bring that kind of stuff with you. A pack and play that would be the basic, most safe place for them to sleep, with your own sheet for it so that it smells familiar for the toddler.
Creating a Healthy and Safe Sleep Environment
Sleep sacks are excellent for babies up until about one. After 1 year old, they have a blanket
so be sure to bring this item with you while you travel. In regards to the sound machine, the Hatch Baby Rest was highly recommended by Aubrey, so if your child gets used to that device and you have room to pack it, bring it!
Darkness is key according to Aubrey, and it may be that missing link to your sleep problems with your little one. She emphasizes that little humans need to have dark to sleep and light to be awake. She’s trained her kids on this concept since the day they were born. At home, she has a heavy-duty blackout system with cellular shades along
with black-out curtains, and on the go, she brings black garbage bags or travel window shades to cover the windows of the room where the kids sleep so that it is truly dark. There is a nightlight that comes along with the Hatch Baby Rest mentioned earlier, so there is just enough light for a parent to be able to walk in and comfort a baby, but the darkness is key to her sleep training regime.
If you’ve really struggled with getting your child to sleep, you may want to try this technique of really ensuring your child’s environment is dark when they should be sleeping (including day naps) and light when they should be awake.
In the podcast episode, safety is addressed. Many “nifty” gadgets seem like a great idea, but they are NOT SAFE for your little one. The first thing is a tent that goes over the pack and play. It is advertised like a blackout tent. Some of the names this gadget could be called is a canopy cover, a darkening cover, a blackout cover, a sleeping cover, an instant tent, a slumber pad, anything of that nature is not safe. You can never put anything over the crib.
Traveling long distances within the same time zone
If you’re able to afford the extra seat, sleeping in their own car seat on a plane is safest and most familiar to them, and is, therefore, the best option; but not everyone wants to pay for a whole other seat for their infant.
The next place that could be an option would be in your lap or if you're babywearing. Try to keep them on their normal schedule as much as possible. That means the eating, the napping, the snacks, the sleeping all of those things, try to keep the same. In general, if you veer off your schedule for more than two to three days, you will start to see it become their new schedule. So you don't want to veer off the schedule too much for more than two to three days.
Cross-Country Travel Strategies
So if you're traveling from Michigan to California, just for a week, you can stick to your schedule, but you could decide if you want to be really diligent or be a little bit flexible.
If you wanted to be really diligent, then you AND your child will be going to bed three about three hours earlier and will ultimately shift the whole schedule in California to your schedule, which could be tough especially if you’re visiting people who are used to California time.
So you could go somewhere in the middle, and you could like change their schedule by about an hour and a half difference. So you move the whole schedule earlier by an hour and a half. If you do this approach be sure to adjust everything in the day by this amount of time. Including the AM nap, feedings, and bedtime, everything moves together.
Just try not to stress about it. If it doesn’t work out, then it’s okay to go with the flow. One of the things that the sleep coach talked about, in one of her videos that she did on traveling and sleep is that you don't want to obsess about the schedule, you still want to be able to enjoy your trip and be with your family. But still, generally keep a flow to your day that will help your child feel comfortable.
Global Travel Strategies
Start a week or so before pushing the whole schedule earlier or later depending on where you’re going. Then once there push it the other half. Might need to push it more towards 30 min over a few weeks if it’s a really large time difference. Do the same thing coming back as well.
It can be stressful traveling with your child and sometimes need to actively think like maybe even make a note for yourself to take a breath and enjoy the moment.
Traveling aside, how do you get your child to sleep through the night in the first place?
This podcast episode was so full of great information that it is divided into two separate blog posts. For the article about sleep schedules and what to do if your baby does not sleep through the night, click here!
Helpful links and resources mentioned in the interview
Car seats for the littles traveling article
https://csftl.org/leaving-on-a-jet-plane-the-csftl-guide-to-safe-air-travel-with-children/
Safe sleep and baby care- evidence-based support Fb page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/safesleepbabycare/?ref=share
Batya the baby coach
http://batyathebabycoach.com/are-you-ready-to-sleep/
Batya’s free sleep guide
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/newpdfswithbookaca/DontCryItOut.pdf
Batya’s ultimate baby sleep group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheUltimateBabySleepGroup/
Batya’s YouTube channel with videos about everything
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCD8GDHBmJTVBV4ZiRomdr1g
Batya’s traveling and sleep video specifically
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y61vqL51ysc
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