We’re all going on a Summer Holiday!

With lockdown easing – woohoo – many families will be on the move for a well-deserved little break.  For many of these families it will be the first time they will be travelled with a baby. The good news is, with a little bit of planning to protect your little one’s sleep on your travels, it doesn’t have to be a stressful affair.

Recently I received lots of questions from families looking for some travel tips, so I made two short videos to share my tips and tricks from my experiences.

Your baby is not super sensitive to location; they are comforted and reassured by your presence and consistent sleep cues and associations. Remember: a dark room is a dark room, and a flat mattress is a flat mattress.  You do not have to bring the entire nursery with you on your travels – your playlist, or four favourite bedtime stories, your sleep bag and snuggie teddy is plenty. Yes, the hotel bath may be bigger than your bath at home, it doesn’t matter, your child is more aware of the act of the routine rather than the location of the routine.

For many years I spent time travelling with families whilst working as a maternity nurse and nanny, whether it was a short drive to their country house or a long-haul flight to another continent. There are no books that tell you how to easily move through time zones with little ones and the internet can be a minefield of different suggestions and options. What I have learnt over the years is that children are very adaptable, once you are consistent and reassuring. Before lockdown I would often be on several continents during one month and staying in different villas, hotels and yachts every couple of days and the children I cared for never experienced any major distributions to their routines.

No matter where you decide to go and for however long it will be, enjoy it, take lots of pictures … and don’t forget the sun cream … and snuggie teddy. 😊

I hope you find this useful, please share with your friends.

Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MPlTQoVG7k&t=2s

Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCoMNWcXoHk

Sweet dreams

Kelly,

Sleepy Stars