You’ve had a busy, exciting day on vacation. It’s finally time to cozy up in that luxurious hotel bed and… Baby won’t fall asleep. Whether your infant refuses to sleep in her playard or your jet-lagged toddler won’t settle down, here are some reasons why your baby won’t sleep on vacation (and ways to get those eyes to close!) She’s slept all day in the stroller or car seat. On typical vacations, the baby takes her naps on the go: in the carrier, car seat or stroller. If long stints of walking, driving or flying are on your list, you can bet that baby will get way more sleep than normal. We all know that naptime is when the parents get to relax, so we’re often hesitant to wake a sleeping child. Rather than letting baby sleep for longer than usual, try to adhere to normal nap duration. She may need a little more sleep if your vacation days are packed with activities, but don’t go overboard. Too much stroller shut-eye can make your little one wild at bedtime. He’s had too much excitement and is overtired or over-stimulated.
Babies and toddlers who absorb everything around them are prone to this problem. They’ll act totally thrilled to be out and about only to crash when they finally make it back to the hotel. If you’ve planned a busy day, don’t try to go out to dinner too. Your baby needs some time in a familiar place to relax before truly winding down. Stop at a grocery store and bring food to your hotel or order in. You also have the benefit of not having to restrain and entertain your cranky child in a high chair. Even if you’re only staying a few days, it helps to treat the hotel as home where your baby can crawl, toddle or relax away from crowds or noise. She doesn’t understand the Pack ‘n Play is for sleeping, or worse, thinks it’s a prison. If you’ve only used the playpen to corral an unruly baby, she will feel like she’s being ditched for bad behavior. Also, you may love the feel of a clean, new pair of hotel sheets, but baby likes what she’s used to. Start early and get her accustomed to sleeping in her travel bed.
The playard does seem uncomfortable compared to a mattress, so make it more cozy by tucking a favorite (fleece is nice) blanket around the pad. Of course, if your baby has been rolling a lot or is very young, keep safety in mind first. For an easy solution, buy an extra mattress for the playard like the Dream On Me 3″ Playard Mattress or the MamaDoo Kids Playard Mattress Topper, which has the added benefit of being foldable. You didn’t follow something similar to his bedtime routine. Does his normal bedtime routine consist of stumbling back to the room at 10 p.m. and lying with mom and dad in bed while watching TV? Or do you usually let him fall asleep in the car seat or stroller and then attempt a silent transfer to bed? I didn’t think so. (Or at least, I hope not.) Some babies are amenable to changes, but many would rather have their early bath and read books before dozing off. It can be frustrating that your days of staying out late are over, but as parents you try to consider what’s best for your baby.
Maybe you could trade off watching the sleeping children with your spouse or travel partners. I read recently in On the Go With Baby: A Stress Free Guide to Getting Across Town or Around the World that she put her daughter to sleep in the hotel and then worked on her laptop using the toilet for a desk. We all have our ways to manage early bedtimes. She’s just a bad sleeper! Some kids are from the beginning. On our first trips with Baby J when she was an infant, she struggled to fall asleep, woke up a lot and demanded frequent sips of formula. Basically, she was the same baby on vacation that she was at home. It was just that since we were away, we expected her to relax and have a good time too! We made it through a few trips with her, each time cursing each other in the darkness for what should/should not have been done. Be reasonable with your expectations, and make sure you and your spouse are on the same page. If you’ve considered all the things above and you still can’t get your baby to sleep on vacation, remember: this too shall pass.
Each developmental stage is different and waiting a few months will bring the solution to that sleep problem (along with a new one to solve). Determined travelers or those needing to fulfill visits to the in-laws should prepare well and hope for the best. You may just have to allow some crying and drink a few more cups of coffee in the morning.Baby Getaway offers crib rentals for short term periods. The standard crib rentals are full size cribs and will feel just like home while you visit the Toronto area. We assemble and disassemble all Full Size Standard Crib rentals. Baby Getaway also rents wood cribs, cots, pack n plays and sleep accessories. Our unfold easily and require no setup . Sleep accessories, such as monitors and sound machines, are also available to ensure that sleep time away is just like at home. Baby Getaway Equipment Rental Inc. Toronto ON M9C 5C5 Pick up by appointment only Phone: +1 416 695 2345 Fax: +1 416 695 3444
To accomodate our customers' travel schedules, we have extended our hours and are open from 9am-9pm.Sewing for a baby is one of the easiest things. Make a set of burp cloths, a simple receiving blanket, embellish a onesie. It took me a while to realize, you don’t have to settle for what you see in the store. You can make almost anything. And this was one of those “duh“ moments when I discovered (after both kids had graduated from a crib) that you can make your own crib sheets! At least Owen’s still in a Toddler bed so he can reap the rewards. The concept is simple. To make this tutorial, I just cut up an old crib sheet and went from there. Here are the details, so that you can make your own……. Crib sheets don’t need to be plain and white. And if they’re for a boy, you don’t have to settle for teddy bears and baby rattle prints. Think outside of the box! Make your baby crib or toddler bed more exciting by creating your own sheets!
This is a great project for any level of sewer, especially a beginner. Okay, let’s get started! * 2 yards of fabric * 80 inches (204 cm) of skinny 1/4 inch elastic * Cut out a rectangle that’s: 45 x 67 inches (114.5 x 171 cm) * Fold that into fourths (fold it in half and in half) and cut an 8 x 8 in (20.5 x 20.5 cm) square out of the corners, so that your fabric looks like this: Another way to do this (if you’re making multiple sheets), is to cut out a pattern piece that’s 1/4 the size of your sheet. It looks like this (or the state of Utah): Then before cutting anything out, you can fold your fabric into fourths, lay that on top, and easily cut it out. Okay, with your fabric cut, let’s start sewing. * Take the two sides of one corner and bring right sides together. Pin them and sew down the side. This is creating a “pocket” of sorts, to go around the corners of the mattress. Do this to all four corners of the sheet: * Serge the seams, zigzag or leave the seams raw.
* Serge around the entire outside of the sheet. This makes is easy to create a casing for the elastic. If you don’t have a serger, just iron your fabric over 1/4 inch all the way around and then continue to the next step…. * Iron under the entire edge of the sheet. You are creating a casing, to string very skinny elastic through. * Sew down the casing. You don’t need to pin around the entire sheet before you sew (that takes too long) but DO pin a start and stop point so that you leave an opening to get the elastic In and Out. Start sewing from the START point, all the way around the STOP point: * Insert the elastic. Taking your 1/4 inch wide elastic, attach a safety pin to one end, and pin the other end to the sheet. Start stringing it through the casing, all the way around till it comes out the other side: * Overlap the ends and sew them together a few times with a zigzag stitch: * Then sew your casing closed. And then make them in all sorts of colors: