Babies and sleep. It's easily one of the most discussed and google'd topics for first-time parents. What's the best way to get your baby to sleep? When will my baby sleep through the night? How do you establish a bedtime routine? The list of questions seems endless, especially when you're sleep-deprived.
I'll be the very first to admit that Harper has loved sleeping since she was born. Save for some brief periods of sleep regression, we flat-out got lucky and we know our next baby will never sleep, ever. We didn't "sleep train," but we did establish a bedtime routine that we follow every night and that's worked really well for us.
When we traveled to Toronto recently, I was worried about how Harper would sleep. Normally this isn't a concern---but in a new place with a new daily routine, I was expecting her sleeping habits to go berserk.
We stayed at my mom's house and shared the guestroom with Harper, who slept in a borrowed pack n' play next to our bed. Toronto time is only one hour ahead of Houston time, so that worked to our advantage.
We continued to follow our same nightly routine--- reading, bath, bottle and snuggling/rocking and wouldn't you know it, Harper slept through the night like usual.
I think what made her sleep so well is that she's used to sleeping in a pack n' play at home. On weekends, we often have Harper nap in her 4moms breeze play yard which we keep in our living room. I'm a total breeze believer--- she sleeps so well in it. Here are a few shots of her empty breeze so you can get an idea of how large it is. It's also less of an eyesore than most pack n' plays with its simple allover black design.
We considered bringing it with us since it's incredibly easy to use (seriously, you just push down the middle and it snaps into place---no complicated, multi-step instructions needed!) but we decided that with all of the luggage, car seat and stroller, we were a bit maxed out. However, if we had driven somewhere, it would be a different story!
If you're traveling, I highly recommend that you try to mimic your baby's typical sleep environment as much as possible. Since Harper is comfortable sleeping in her crib at daycare and her breeze play yard and crib at home, we were fortunate that her sleep wasn't affected by the change in her day-to-day routine and environment. In fact, her naps were longer than usual while we were away---but that could be because she really exhausted herself playing outside all day.
The other thing you can do for baby's sleep when you travel is to stick to your same bedtime routine and not introduce any new things while away. We transitioned Harper to whole milk before we left on our trip, but we decided to keep giving it to her in a bottle and wait until we got home to transition completely to straw/sippy cups for every meal.
We also picked up the same baby wash we use at home and tried to do bedtime at the same time every night so that her routine was what she always expects.
I would love to hear from you mamas on what helped make traveling with your baby easier for you--- whether it's about sleep, eating, being on the plane, etc.
Before you go---I have a fantastic giveaway open to both U.S. and Canadian residents. I'm giving away one 4moms breeze (!!!) all you have to do is enter via Rafflecopter below--- you can like 4moms on Facebook for one entry and opt into 4mom's emails for a second entry. Thanks for entering!
If you're traveling, I highly recommend that you try to mimic your baby's typical sleep environment as much as possible. Since Harper is comfortable sleeping in her crib at daycare and her breeze play yard and crib at home, we were fortunate that her sleep wasn't affected by the change in her day-to-day routine and environment. In fact, her naps were longer than usual while we were away---but that could be because she really exhausted herself playing outside all day.
We also picked up the same baby wash we use at home and tried to do bedtime at the same time every night so that her routine was what she always expects.
I would love to hear from you mamas on what helped make traveling with your baby easier for you--- whether it's about sleep, eating, being on the plane, etc.
Before you go---I have a fantastic giveaway open to both U.S. and Canadian residents. I'm giving away one 4moms breeze (!!!) all you have to do is enter via Rafflecopter below--- you can like 4moms on Facebook for one entry and opt into 4mom's emails for a second entry. Thanks for entering!
