Having a baby is a life changing experience. It is a joyful, exhilarating, and sometimes exhausting time in life. If you’re a traveling family already, you might be concerned about how a baby is going to fit in with your lifestyle. Does having a baby mean you’ll have to stop traveling for a while? I say no way! Check out these tips for how to get your baby to sleep while traveling!
This post is sponsored by MomSelect on behalf of Little Ones Sleep Program. All opinions are my own.
Baby Sleep Tips While Traveling
As a new parent in modern times, there is an overwhelming amount of information at your fingertips. Having such access can be helpful and profusely unnerving at the same time, especially when some parenting tips seem so contradictory!
After having my third child, I have come to realize that parenting advice is not “one size fits all.” Rather, it is most helpful to read and absorb as much as you can, but then make the information apply to your life and situation as much as possible.
That is exactly why my baby sleep tips for travel are just that: my tips. I hope they are helpful to you, but ultimately you are your baby’s parent, so do what is best for you!
Tip #1: Make it Dark
First tip for baby sleep is to make it dark. And by dark I mean serious dark. Wherever the baby is sleeping needs to be as dark as possible. I like a dark room as an adult, so this makes total sense to me for kids as well. Babies are used to mama’s dark, cozy womb after all.
When traveling, this is easy to do with clothespins and an extra blanket packed in your suitcase or borrowed from the hotel closet. Clip the blanket over the blinds for an extra measure of darkness that leaves no damage behind. That’s a win-win for everyone.
Tip #2: Sound Machines are a Must
Next, portable sound machines are a must, especially when we travel. While our neighborhood is typically quiet during daytime naps, we have no such control over the noise level around us when we travel.
Sound machines are incredibly helpful when we are staying all together in a hotel room. Obviously the baby goes to sleep a lot earlier than his big sisters, so it’s great to have a noise minimizing device handy when we’re ready to put him down to sleep in case they’re not quite ready yet!
Tip #3: Give the Baby as Much Space as Possible
This third tip is sometimes difficult to manage in a small space like a hotel room. However, if you can make it happen, it will make everyone’s sleep so much better. It may feel weird to move the baby’s crib or pack-n-play to the bathroom or closet area, but the darker and quieter the space, the better.
When my girls got older, it was so important to separate them from us as much as possible. If they saw us, they didn’t want to stay in bed or go to sleep. I’m sure this will be true for my son as well.
Tip #4: Don’t Let the Routine Go
Routines are so important to babies, and parents shouldn’t let them go, even while traveling! Of course a routine doesn’t have to be rigid, but even my older kids like knowing when and where things are going to happen while we are traveling.
A routine is important for our little guy because it helps us both know what’s coming next in his day. If we’re out and about after lunch and he starts to get fussy, I know that he’s ready to nap.
Putting him in the stroller with a pacifier and his white noise machine usually sends him right off to la la land. Since he can nap on the go, that keeps us from having to stop our day with the big kids and keeps everything moving.
Tip #5: Invest in Quality Advice
Finally, if you’re going to invest in any parenting advice programs or books, I definitely think you should give Little Ones Sleep programs a try. My favorite part about this program is the free app and community access that comes with the program purchase.
Since it’s been over eight years since I’ve had a baby, it’s easy to forget about their development. Little Ones has handy schedule examples right in their app for reference when I need them.
My favorite part of the program is the extensive FAQ and troubleshooting sections. My little guy is a human being, not a robot, and sometimes things don’t go according to plan. It’s so helpful to have ideas and tips for those times so I don’t feel like a complete failure!
Interested in trying the program for yourself? Click Little Ones Baby Sleep to check it out, and use the code “SARAH15” to save 15% on the program of your choosing!
Don’t Let Baby Stop Your Travels
Having a baby doesn’t mean travel has to come to a halt! It’s not difficult to make them part of your lifestyle if you work towards it.
Everything won’t go perfectly all the time, but practice and consistency are key. Before you know it, you’ll have a new family member who is just as excited to travel the world as you are!
