Sleep. We all want more of it. If you are a parent that is. It’s the hot topic at playgroups, seems to keep many facebook groups buzzing with notifications and the question of ‘how is the baby sleeping’ is always being asked.
Recently on our last trip to the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Montebello I was asked how we handle bedtime and sleeping with our 3 children under the age of 7 when we are at hotels. We travel often and my children have all been travelling and sleeping at hotels since just a few weeks old. Just in the last month my children have spent a total of 7 nights in different hotels. Why do we travel so often? Always a mix of pleasure and for work. I am of the mindset that my life and what I want to do won’t stop just because we have children. I love my children, oh so much, but I also truly feel that our children can become accustomed to a travelling lifestyle with just a few child friendly modifications for them.
So how do we tackle bedtime sleeping away from home and while still trying to keep it serene and peaceful? AND so everybody gets the most sleep possible?
1. Prepare ahead of time. When we first started travelling we would always make sure our childrens sleep and daily schedule were kept as normal as possible in the few days before we would travel. Truth be told that doesn’t always happen these days but we are confident in our traveling sleep strategies. We would always ensure they had their regular naps and were in to bed early for a restful night.
2. Find a strategy that works and stick with it. So what does that look like for us? When we have a baby under the age of 1 often my husband or I would put the baby in a carrier and take them for a walk outside in the dark and quiet evening. This would help lull them into a drowsy state and if they didn’t fall asleep in the carrier (they often would!) they would for sure be ready for bed once back at the hotel. With the baby out the other parent would tackle bedtime routine with the 2 older children. This would often mean a story, dark room, cuddles and then sleep. Once the older two were asleep the baby would come back and be put down to sleep as well. Now that our youngest is a toddler we often put her to bed first and keep the older two out of the hotel room and bring them back once the tot is asleep. The older two sneak into their pjs and get snuggled in for a peaceful night.
3. Ensure you have enough space. When booking your hotel rooms make sure that you have enough sleeping surfaces for everybody. Keep it as similar as possible to what sleeping at home looks like. If needed ask for a pull out sofa or cot (which we often just put the mattress on the floor). Don’t cram everybody into a bed if your children aren’t used to sleeping with other people. Nobody wants to be sleepless and grumpy on their vacations!
4. Humidifier- Often hotel rooms can be on the drier side so bringing a humidifier can help your little ones sleep a little better. Nothing like a dry cough that will keep everybody awake! We also have 1 out of our 3 who tends to get nose bleeds often when the air is dry so we don’t want to be caught off guard!
5. Essential Oils & Diffuser- when hotel rooms get dry or children are trying to sleep with the smell of different bed linens I find that essential oils can be helpful. At night I use a lot of lavendar or Easy Air at home so having those similar scents at the hotel can be helpful to lull them into a sleep.
6. Relax. It’s a new environment and things may just not go as planned. It happens, no matter how hard you may try. Try to breathe big and remember that ‘this too shall pass.’ When we are stressed out our little ones begin to feed off that energy and it can have a negative effect on their sleep and relaxation as well. Sometimes bedtime may be a tad bit later than regular time or you may find that you even get some more zzzzz’s as you turn the tv off and catch some extra sleep with your littles.
7. Still need a little help? Try our top yoga postures to help settle into a sleep filled night!
What are your tips for sleeping in new environments? Share them in the comments and let’s help everybody get as much sleep as possible!