Hi there,
I just finished putting together an FAQ in getting back on track about travelling with a LO. Here is some info that may help you. x
Post-flight, on holiday:
At your destination you will probably have to play it by ear. especially in another house many babies don't sleep as well so it could be a very long night, or he could be exhausted. It depends quite a bit on the time difference too. i have found that with luke it often works very well when we travel east to west as he will just sleep hard and heavy when we arrive. the other way has been quite difficult for us. (if that's the case for you too then come find me on getting back on track when you get home )
While on holiday many people resort to a lot of AP as it is so different to home. I will not say don’t do this at all, because a holiday is still quite different from home. But I will say that some things are worse than others. For example, in our experience, having luke do some stroller naps on holiday or wearing him around for naps has been no big deal. Sometimes we’ve had to stay in his room to get him to sleep, which we pretty much never do at home. There has been little to no consequence doing this either.
Also we usually share a room on holiday. When he was young this was no big deal, but as a toddler it has often led to NW’s when we get home, with him wanting to hold our hands or just have us in his room.
Co-sleeping on holiday when you never do this at home seems to be one technique that gives many people problems when they get home and is very difficult to wean. Same with rocking for night sleep. If you can avoid these, I would.
As far as routine goes, try to stick as close to home’s routine as possible, but be flexible. I think avoiding OT is the most important. Also, gage this on your time difference and the length of your stay. For example, if you are going somewhere that is 2 hours later than home, you may just want to try and stay on that time the whole trip. But if you’ll stay for 3 weeks, you’ll need to get on local time anyway. A larger time difference, say 5 or 6 hours, probably needs to be adapted to no matter what the length of stay.
Also, try to bring as many things from home as possible, and make bedtimes familiar. You will also need to be flexible and still read lo’s cues. He or she will probably know they are on holiday too, or at least that it’s different from home, and may also be flexible – but give him or her some time if not. Often it just takes a little getting used to.
At home:
Something to remember: International travel and jet lag can often kick-start new development phases! So if you have a certain routine before leaving, don’t expect it is going to go back to the exact same thing when you are home. Your BW detective will need to come back out, and you will need to follow lo’s new cues to determine the routine they will settle into.
Be prepared:
after all this rambling what I really want to mention is that for the couple weeks before you leave on your trip, take a good log of your son's routine and natural rhythm. record things such as when he sleeps for XX minutes, he can stay awake for XX before getting cranky, but if he only sleeps for XX he can only stay away for XX. you get the idea. then on your flights and at your destination, just try to be careful about the awake times no matter how you get him to sleep. i can’t stress enough how helping him to not get too OT and wired will be a big help to all of you.
