How To Get Your Baby Back On a Sleep Schedule After Travel

Holiday travel and sleep schedules. 

You had the best of intentions, right?

And then it all went out the window. Because you weren't in control of mealtimes, and thus couldn't control bedtimes. And now your little one is going to bed too late and waking up too early and maybe even sleeping in your bed. You are afraid that all your hard work with sleep training has gone out the window. 

Deep breaths, tired parents. 

It hasn't all gone out the window.

And no judgment. We've all been there. Me too. 

Once you have done the hard work of sleep training the first time, it'll never be this hard again. I promise!

Here are some tips for getting your little one back on track quickly:

• Assume she is overtired and put her to bed early the first few nights back at home. She's actually less likely to wake up too early with an earlier, rather than later, bedtime.
  
  
• Immediately revert back to the bedtime routine you had before your trip. If you used to nurse and then brush teeth, but have been nursing him to sleep on your trip, go back to nursing and then brushing teeth on your first full day back home. Don't bother with this after a long day of exhausting travel... just get him to bed as quick as you can that first night. Go back to the old routine the next night.
  
  
• If you were bed-sharing while you were traveling, but didn't before your trip, don't continue it at home. Even for a night. Your child will quickly understand that sometimes, exceptions are made on trips, but the old rules still stand at home.
  
  
• If your child is having night wakings, go back to whatever training method you used to sleep train initially. Don't wait, as this will only make it harder -- start on your first full day back home. 
  
  If you used an exinction method, do it again. I promise it will be faster this time! Same goes for if you used timed checks or the chair method. (In the case of the chair method, I would start with the chair halfway across the room and move it further from the crib each day.) Just be extremely consistent and your child will quickly get the message that the old rules now apply once again. 
  
  
• Minimize screen time once you are back home. I'm the first to offer unlimited screen time when my kids are trapped in a car or on a plane. But once we are back home, the screens should be put away again. The lighting from a screen is stimulating to a child's brain and can make it harder to fall asleep, especially if the screen time is in the hour before bed. Try to offer plenty of fresh air and activity in the hours before bedtime, instead. 
  
  
• Go back to a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. All those carboydrate-rich foods little ones enjoy while traveling tend to be constipating. This can interfere with sleep. Increasing fiber in her diet will help get her regular again. 

Rest assured parents, we've all been there. Travel, and visiting family, is a beautiful thing. Even when it messes with their sleep. If you follow these tips, you should be back on a predictable, restful schedule again very quickly. Don't forget to include an early bedtime for yourself, too! All that travel and social interaction is exhausting for everyone.

Need some help getting back on track? Or maybe your child's sleep wasn't ideal to begin with? No worries. I'm here to help -- no judgment. Just schedule a free consult and we'll get your family the rest you all deserve.