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Q&A: How to Maintain Kids’ Sleep Routines When Traveling

Natalie Willes

Natalie Willes

Image of a mother holding her infant with a snowy town at night illustrated in the background Image of a mother holding her infant with a snowy town at night illustrated in the background

In this article, Tinyhood pediatric sleep expert Natalie Willes shares tips for how parents can help maintain their children's sleep routines while traveling, especially during the busy holiday season.

Travel and vacations with kids can bring so many fun moments and core memories, but every parent knows all of that exciting newness is not without challenges. When your baby or child has a hard time sleeping, it can affect everyone's mood. But by learning strategies for maintaining your child's sleep schedule while traveling, you can ensure that you'll also get some rest on your trip.

Read on for tips and strategies to create an environment that encourages sleep. Plus, learn how to manage time zone changes, and what you can do to help your child adjust before you even leave.

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How can parents create a sleep-friendly environment in a hotel or new location?

If you are staying at a hotel, here are some tips for setting up your baby's sleep environment to be as similar as possible to home:

• Ask the hotel to provide a full-size or portable crib for your room, or bring your own travel crib.
• Use white noise. You can bring a portable-sized sound machine or use an app.
• Keep the room as dark as possible. Some families bring their own travel blackout curtains or use black trash bags and painters tape.
• If sharing a room with your baby, try to create a separate sleep space. Even visually separating yourself from your baby can make it easier for them to sleep. Remember, it can be difficult for your baby to see you. They may be frustrated that you are right there and not comforting them, and your presence can be stimulating, making it harder for them to relax and go to sleep.

If you are staying in another person's home, ask questions so you understand what the sleep situation will be like before you arrive. If renting a home, they may have a crib, sound machine, or other items you need, and all of my advice above applies. You may also want to bring a video monitor. This way you can always hear and see what baby is doing even if you are not within earshot of them.

And lastly, one pro tip — have your baby sleep in their travel crib at home for 3 days, starting at bedtime, before your trip. This will help them become used to sleeping in it and make it easier for them to fall asleep once traveling. 

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What strategies do you recommend parents use to maintain a consistent routine for their child while traveling?

While it might be difficult for travel to not impact your baby's sleep at all, there are some ways you can help maintain their good sleep habits. The key thing is to try to pretend like you are at home as much as you possibly can. So keep your baby on a consistent sleep schedule, try and mimic their sleep environment, and most importantly: do not assist them in falling asleep.

As far as keeping baby on a sleep schedule, there are some important things to remember:

• There are no sleep rules when enroute to your destination. So between leaving your home and arriving at your destination, do whatever works, including helping your baby fall asleep. Feed your baby, walk them up and down the aisles of the plane, whatever you need to do to get them to go to sleep and stay asleep is fair game. And don't worry about their schedule. No matter how thrown off it becomes, you can always recover.
• As soon as you arrive at your destination, focus on helping your baby fall asleep unassisted for naps and bedtime. This is especially important for the first 24 hours of your trip.
• Treat sleep the same as you would at home. Even while you are on the road, if baby wakes at night, do just as you would at home - intervene only if something is wrong, otherwise allow your baby to fall back to sleep on their own. If at a hotel and baby is having a hard time falling asleep at bedtime, stepping out into the hallway while keeping the door ajar, or standing on the balcony can be helpful to allow baby to fall asleep on their own, as they won't sense you in the room.

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Featured Styles: Check Mates Zippy, Heather Sage Sleepy Bag

How should parents adjust their child's sleep schedule if they will be adapting to a new time zone during travel? Should they adjust anything before travel?

My advice is different depending on which direction you are heading.

Let's start with west to east. If traveling east, attempt to keep your baby on their west coast schedule for as long as possible. For example, if your California-based baby goes to bed at 7pm, when you arrive on the East coast, put them to bed around 10pm East Coast time. your baby will likely wake around 9 or 10 in the morning. Plan to continue putting them to bed around 9 or 10 pm until they naturally start to wake on their own closer to 7am East Coast time.

Why will they naturally make this shift? Babies and toddlers are extremely sensitive to sunlight, and the sunlight entering the room starting early in the morning is going to naturally cause them to wake and start their day earlier, despite the later bedtime. Once they begin waking around 7am, you can start putting them to bed at 7pm East Coast time. For most babies, this shift occurs within 3-5 days of arriving on the East Coast.

Now, let's talk about traveling east to west. If your child is going to bed at 7pm East Coast time, when they arrive on the West Coast, they will get tired early. Work as *hard* as you can to keep your child up until as close to 7pm West Coast time as possible. Keep them up as late as you can and do not start their day until 12 hours later. So if they fall asleep at 6pm West Coast time, they can start their day at 6am. For most babies, it will take 5-7 days for them to adjust to this new time zone.

A few important tips to help with these adjustments:

•First, I encourage no in-person checks after 4am as long as you're certain baby is healthy and safe. This is especially important when traveling across time zones. It helps your baby adjust faster and know when it's time to sleep.
• It takes slightly longer for kids to adjust when going east to west than the other way around.
• No matter which direction you're going, time naps based on whatever time your child starts their day. For example, if a toddler who usually wakes at 7am and naps at 10am and 2:30pm wakes at 8am instead, move their naps one hour later.
• And, if your time zone change exceeds 5 or 6 hours, you may want to sign up for the Tinyhood Sleep 101 Class, which details how to handle this.

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Featured Style: Check Mates Swaddle & Luxe Bow Headband Set

What should parents do if their child refuses to sleep in a new location?

A child may protest falling asleep more than normal at a new location. As long as you're committed to giving your child all the time they need to fall asleep on their own, you should find they're falling asleep more easily on their own within 24 hours of arriving at your destination.

Are there any best practices for when a child wakes up too early in a new location?

First and foremost, teach your child the skill of independent sleep. You can learn more about this in our Tinyhood Sleep 101 Class. It's vital for children to know how to fall asleep completely on their own; if babies can put themselves to sleep during the day, they are all the more likely to use that skill at 5am.

It's also helpful to keep your baby's room as dark as possible. Since baby is in a lighter sleep stage during the hours of 4-6am, any light that creeps into their room as the sun rises can cause them to wake. See my tips above on creating a sleep-friendly environment while traveling.

And lastly, I know this can be a challenge, but reduce or eliminate interactions with your baby during this time. This encourages them to put themselves back to sleep unassisted in the early mornings. My rule is no in-person checks between 4:00-6:30am, except, in case of emergency. If you have been going in and interacting with your baby during these early mornings while traveling, it may be time to revisit this rule. These interactions can actually cause your baby to start waking even earlier, as they think it is time to start their day.

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About Natalie:

Natalie Willes is a Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Tinyhood Expert that has helped over 10,000 babies and toddlers using her sleep training method. Her methods are backed by thorough scientific data and years of professional experience. As a parent of two, Natalie knows that sleep is not a luxury, but a necessity to survive and thrive.

 

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32 Comments

  • Megan

    Nov/06/2024

    I love traveling with our kids! I feel like when we do travel, they end up sleeping better than they do at home. It also helps if they’re tired from playing and moving all day! We always bring along our white noise machine and pack & play. We also purchased a hiccapop mattress pad once our daughter was older so that it was more like her crib for her. We have a camper on a permanent site, so our kiddos are used to being in a different location often.

  • Nicole

    Nov/06/2024

    We always bring our sound machine and familiar blankets and pjs, of course! It makes it feel like home!

  • Alex

    Nov/06/2024

    Sound machines are definitely a must for us! We travel a lot across the states as we have family all over, the best thing we’ve come notice that helps up the most is sounds machines. For both our 6mo old and our 5yr old! I used to think my 5yr old would outgrow the sound machine we have by age 2 or 3, but they’re falling asleep to it almost every night! Sticking to routines, eating dinner at a normal time (even when traveling) is a huge part of our routine as well!

  • Stephen

    Nov/06/2024

    I completely agree with the post and the comments—bring along the sound machine you usually use at home! It can help create a familiar environment while you’re on the road. I also used a SlumberPod to darken the travel bassinet, which made a huge difference. Doing your best to maintain your regular schedule can be helpful too, or at least sticking to your morning and evening routines to support better sleep.

  • Shannon

    Nov/06/2024

    The slumberpod has been a game changer for my family! Gives my little one her own space within the hotel room so what we do won’t interfere with her sleep. We also never travel anywhere without our noise machine. Must haves!

  • Taylor

    Nov/05/2024

    Sound machines are definitely a go to for us! Consistency is important for sure. We are struggling with our toddler staying in the pack and play (yes it’s big enough) at night. That’s new for us.

  • Mylie

    Nov/05/2024

    We travel a lot, mostly camping and road tripping! We have a 5 yr old and a 10 month old. Thankfully my eldest sleeps fairly well, but we definitely have struggled with the little guy. He just gets so excited in new places. We make sure we keep his environment as similar to home as possible; sound machine, and blackout curtains. But most of the time we just adjust to his schedule on the trip and that’s works out too!

  • Moriah Saunders

    Nov/05/2024

    I think trying to stick to your bedtime routine as much as you can is super important! but also understanding that they are in a new place and it may take longer for them to get comfortable. Try to have patience and never forget the sound machine haha!

  • Karlis

    Nov/05/2024

    Bringing a monitor is a must for me, this way I feel more confident specially during nap time.

  • Caitlin

    Nov/05/2024

    We’ve been hesitant to travel with a toddler who already fights his naps! There are some good suggestions here. Even traveling locally, we make sure to set aside time close to his nap hour, bring a sound machine, his favorite blanket and make the room as dark a possible. This is what we do at home and makes it comfortable

  • Holly

    Nov/05/2024

    Make sure they are comfortable and try and keep the same routine you have at home, and of course you can forget a cozy cloud blanket to keep them cozy!

  • Frankie Medicine Horse

    Nov/05/2024

    Great advice! I haven’t done much traveling since having a child and the one time we did, it was such a nightmare haha I definitely recommend getting a room on the main floor and as far away from other people as possible if you have a wild toddler.

  • Cynthia Garcia

    Nov/05/2024

    Bringing a pack n play or any portable play yard is a must for us! Not everywhere is baby proof like my home so it’s exhausting to keep pulling a crawling baby away from dangerous objects she can get into and perfect place for her to sleep! Plus the mini crib sheets fit on a pack n play so she feels like it’s her crib at home! Add some little sleepies Jammie’s and she’ll sleep all night!

  • Hannah F.

    Nov/05/2024

    We just traveled with our 6-month-old to Disney. We tried to stay on our normal routine like we do at home. What helped us the most, I believe, is bringing our own crib sheets and things that “smelled like home” to leave in the crib during the day, and then at night we would obviously remove them. She did have a harder time falling asleep, but we are in the middle of sleep training, but once she was asleep, she slept like normal!

  • Logan

    Nov/05/2024

    What a great idea to have them sleep in a pack and play at home for a few days first!!

  • Leticia

    Nov/05/2024

    I have so much anxiety about traveling with my littles (2 under 2) but I’m taking notes. We are hoping to do some roadtrips next year

  • Maria

    Nov/05/2024

    I definitely agree with the post and comments bring your sound machine you use daily. It’ll bring a sense of normalcy while traveling. I used a slumberpod to help black out the travel basinet and that was a big game changer. Also trying to keep to your normal schedule the best you can will help with sleep or jusy sticking to your morning and evening routines.

  • Carley

    Nov/05/2024

    I am so glad I sleep trained my baby! He’s been sleep trained for 7 months now. He sleeps from 7p-630/7am. A sound machine is great for white noise. I make sure the room is pitch black. Before, we just had those annoying white vertical plastic blinds, but recently installed black out curtains over them, and what a difference it makes in his sleep! What a great read. Thank you!

  • Kodi Miller

    Nov/05/2024

    We purchased a Slumberpod and it was a life saver. It’s a blackout tent that goes over the playpen. We were able to put the nanit, a fan and his sound machine in there and he slept beautifully. We especially loved it for the camper and hotel rooms. 10/10 would reccomend.

  • Jordyn Rohrer

    Nov/05/2024

    Even if we’re having so much fun with whatever we’re doing, we make sure to wrap up the fun a couple of hours before we lay them down for the night so we can “enjoy the room” we stay in, as they say, but really we’re just trying to get them to calm down for the night! They get to enjoy the room, we get to stay caught up on sleep!

  • Zoe wells

    Nov/05/2024

    My favorite sleep hack is of course taking our little sleepies for comfort but also a slumber pod for the blackout affect on the go!

  • Sabrina Baldwin

    Nov/05/2024

    I know it’s hard but I try my best to keep his wake up times, naps and bedtime the same. Also a fan or sound machine especially for hotels. And the biggest thing is bring little sleepies!!!!

  • Dana

    Nov/05/2024

    Try to keep the same routine you have home and bring lovey or favorite pillow to help with sleeping in a different place.

  • Theresa

    Nov/05/2024

    If they are old enough for a lovey make sure you bring a lovey that they are used to sleeping with at home.

  • Katie Metz

    Nov/05/2024

    Consistency! We traveled out of the country to Costa Rica with at the time our 9 month old, we had no sleep issues ! We brought all of our things from home (sound machine , little sleepies sleep sack etc) we kept our same nap schedule as home and we lucked out .. and had a great time !

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