Maintain the sleep routine

How do you let your little one know it’s time for sleep? You might read a book, sing a lullaby, have a cuddle or boob / bottle. This 5-10 minute routine should be consistent before each sleep.

This cues your bubba’s brain that it’s time to slow down and go to sleep. It can take a couple of weeks to set a routine so if you don’t already have a pre-bed routine, get started before heading away.

Consistent sleep environment

How do you feel sleeping in another bed? As an adult it's a challenge to sleep away, so no wonder kids also struggle.

Quiet background noise and dark room can make a massive difference.

You can use an old phone to play waves, white noise or gentle lullabies. If you do use an old phone or tablet, turn off the wifi to save battery life and reduce electromagnetic radiations in your child’s room. You can also buy machines that play sleep noises as well as a night light.

When travelling you can bring cut up cardboard boxes or garbage bags to stick on the windows or  purchase portable blinds like this one.

If you use calming scents at home, bring these along as well as any nightlights with you too. Bring your own cot sheets from home to bring the homely scent with you. You’ll soon have an extra bag just for child’s sleep set up!

Plan ahead for temperature changes. Bring a variety of sleep suits, pjs and layering options. Overheating doesn’t only disrupt sleep but it can also be dangerous for young babies.

Pro Tip: If you use a streaming service, make sure you pre-download the songs for when you are out of range! Added bonus to have a few backup options too- an annoying wiggles song might come in handy.

Time Zone Changes

This all depends how big the time difference is. And honestly, it's not an exact science so use these recommendations but do what works best for your family!

If it's 30 minutes, then for an older child, just adapt your schedule once you arrive in the new time zone like you would traveling across the globe.

If the time difference is one to three hours, then you’ll be able to slowly transition to the new time zone a week before leaving. This will save it being too dramatic and overwhelming (and exhausting) a change.

For example, if traveling from Melbourne to Auckland, there’s a 2 hour time difference. A week before leaving, bring the bedtime back 15 minutes every 1-2 nights, also try to push back naps and wake up times too. By the time you arrive in Auckland, you’ll have a quicker and easier transition to get on local time.

If a long haul trip is planned, the first day you should get on normal schedule and adjust an earlier bedtime if getting overtired. For example, for a usual 6:30am wake time at home, you’d wake the baby up at 6:30am local time on the first day.

Nightmares

Different shadows and noises in a hotel room. Cultural sculptures seen during the day. Overstimulation and over-tiredness. There’s many reasons why your little one may have some bad dreams.

Nightmares typically happen later in the night and are more likely when we go to sleep over hot. Dress your child appropriately to prevent on future nights as well as searching for any potential causative culprits.

Provide all the support your bubba needs when they wake up. Just don’t overstimulate your child and confuse them that it’s morning time.