Mommas (and daddies), I know how much work you put into getting your little angel to sleep through the night. I understand what you went through when you thought you would never sleep through the night again. And I remember the feeling of triumph and disbelieve when that little angel laid down on his own without any tears and let you walk out of the room guilt-free.
Those precious 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep mean as much to your child’s development as they mean to your own mental health so it only stands to reason that you would wonder how to get your baby on a schedule while traveling. Or at least, how to maintain the schedule you worked so hard to create.
I’ve got great news. Getting your baby on a schedule while traveling is doable. I was a little surprised at how well I did it on our recent trip abroad and I wanted to share with you how you can do it too:
Try to get to your destination around bedtime
Just as important as scheduling your travel time around naps, I would also add that when you arrive is important as well. Travel days tend to exhaust my son as much as they exhaust me which means that we’re ready to call it a night as soon as we get in. So to make this possible, I do my best to schedule our arrival at a hotel or airbnb as close to bedtime as possible. This depends on how far we’re going and flight schedules but the further we travel, the more likely that we’ve been traveling all day. If we’re traveling closer to home, I worry less about the schedule being thrown off and this tip doesn’t really relate to short-haul travel. But if you’re traveling long-haul, be sure and check out this post.
Continue your bedtime routine
Kids love routine. Here’s ours: we have dinner around the same time every night, even on weekends, followed by bath time, some play time or a movie/tv time, we read a book (often several times if my son asks lol), and then we go to his room, say his prayers and he lays down. He knows that this is how his evenings go and enables us to have the same bedtime every night. We keep this same routine even when we’re away from home.
Pro-tip: I believe this to be the most important tip for how to get your baby on a schedule while traveling. They have to know it’s time for bed or they won’t go down. At the end of the day, only two things decide if your baby will sleep or not: an act of God or your baby deciding they will go to sleep.
I know that some parents give baby massages before bed or sing a bedtime song, etc. Whatever your baby recognizes as the cue that it’s time to go to sleep, be sure to keep that routine when traveling.
Make sure your baby still gets their nap(s)
Not much makes me feel guiltier than having my son out and about during his nap time. I feel awful when he starts to fuss and it’s my fault for having him out when I know better.
My son still takes one guaranteed nap anytime between 11am and 1pm every day. So for my family, that means that we either do one thing in the morning and come back to lay him down or our day doesn’t really get started until after that first nap. This can seem really inconvenient, I know, but nobody enjoys themselves with an over-tired baby around.
Schedule baby and toddler-friendly activities
My son has taken to bringing us his and our shoes when he decides it’s time to go outside on the weekends. And he will not take “no” for answer. That’s because he’s used to being in daycare during the week where he’s constantly got something to do or someone to play with. Simply put, he gets bored of us if we don’t do something fun on the weekends.
The same can be said of your vacation plans. Schedule some time at a park or a children’s museum or even a zoo, if that’s your thing. Letting them get some of that curious energy out can be a fun activity or both of you. Getting them to play-off some of that energy is also a good way to get your baby on a schedule while traveling because it will encourage a good night’s sleep.
Are you worried about how other travelers in your group will feel about scheduling baby-friendly activities? Here are some trip planning tips to help when traveling with other family members.
Listen to your baby/toddler
A little before my son turned 18 months, I could see him start to get frustrated when he would try and tell me something that I didn’t understand. This is the number one reason for temper tantrums (I don’t know if this is true at all lol) which I try and avoid and almost all costs. So when my son had an epic meltdown at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich, I immediately took him back to the hotel for a(nother) nap.
You’re a great parent so I know you know your kid and what they need. Don’t let being on vacation or away from home be an excuse not to give your baby what he or she needs. Like everything else in your life that changes when you start a family, travel becomes about that tiny human and you have to take them into consideration as much, if not more, than you do yourself.