“When we travel, my four year old has serious troubles sleeping in a different bed. Any helpful tips for me, so I’m not stuck lying with her for hours on end waiting for her to fall asleep?”
Taking along her blanket, pillow and favorite toy/stuffed animal is a must. I would also bring a few of her favorite bedtime story books so she can wind down to a familiar tale. And I would reassure her that traveling is always a big, fun adventure and her room will be just the same when she gets back.
-Despina Dumoulins is mom to a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl.
Okay, so I know this is going to sound a little over-the-top, but when my oldest daughter was younger (between one and four) and we would take road trips, we would take along her crib mattress with accompanying sheets, pillows, stuffed animals and white noise machine and try to set it up just like it was at home. She felt safe in her familiar surroundings and went to sleep just like we were at home.
For air travel, we would pack the things we could (pretty much all of it except the mattress) and do the same routine. Sticking to our regular schedule as much as possible always helped too.
-Christy Wood of Uptown is mom to a son, age 17, and two daughters, ages five and four.
Before a trip, my son will take a few naps in his pack-n-play or travel mattress while we’re still at home and he always has the same blanket which is in his crib/bed. We also have a sleepmate which is a sound conditioner. It helps him fall right to sleep no matter where we are. Hope this helps!
-Hannah Trahan Szubinski of Lakeview has a one-year-old son and is expecting baby number two this summer.