Take control over the festive season with the best baby sleep tips by our sleep expert, Jo Tantum
Well, the Christmas season has crept up on us again, with everyone wondering where this year went! Whether you love or hate Christmas, the one thing that we dread is our little one’s sleep getting worse – or if your little one sleeps well, that they will start to wake in time to see Santa, every morning.
Christmas and New Year is always the time when you try to catch up with friends and relatives you haven’t managed to see in a while, so often lots of car travel is involved, meaning your little one is likely to fall asleep in motion. This in turn can really mess their sleep habits up.
Top tips
- Try and organise your time so that your little one naps on the car journey. A few car journeys won’t alter your little one’s sleep that much.
- Make sure you have at least one nap a day in the cot, so he doesn’t get used to sleeping in motion.
- Take a travel cot or bassinet with you if you are staying all day.
Having a nap in the car ensures that your little one will arrive refreshed, so will be able to cope with all those cuddles and the noise and excitement that comes with Christmas.
When you have visitors, it’s really tempting to alter the timing of your daily routine (including naps) as friends and relations are so desperate for cuddles and to see your little munchkin but try to remember the following –
You have a window of 15 minutes from when your little one is showing the first signs of tiredness (like rubbing their eyes and yawning) to being overtired. This means there are more likely to get upset whilst trying to get to sleep. So try not to delay the nap, as you will spend most of the time they are visiting upstairs trying to get a cranky baby to sleep.
As it’s the holidays, people may pop in unannounced, which can you leave you in a flap and to temper tantrums and meltdowns from your baby.
Top tips
- Try to organise the visit when your little one has just woken from a nap, as he will be less likely to be unhappy.
- As soon as your visitors arrive, explain your little one’s routine, such as: “Henry is just about to have a feed and then you can have a cuddle,” or “Charlotte is just about to have a nap, so you have time for a few cuddles first.”
- To avoid the over-stimulation of having new people around, select a familiar toy or story; avoid something noisy, with flashing.
- Try and stick to your baby’s routine and let other people work around that. That way your friends will enjoy the time they have with your baby, however short, as he will be in a lovely happy mood rather than crying.
If you want your little one to stay up later on Christmas Eve or anytime during the festive period; if you are going out for lunch or the evening and you are taking your baby, here are a few things you can do.
Top tips
- Give him another nap late in the afternoon, which will mean he will be happier to stay awake rather than be miserable.
- Babies work on a 12-hour day and 12-hour night. If you have to wake your baby in the morning, let him stay asleep a bit longer and therefore he will want his bedtime later than normal.
- If you are out for lunch or dinner at a restaurant, make sure you take your little one’s sleep triggers with you. Blackout for the pram – a Snoozeshade is fantastic. Wave or womb sounds on an app on your phone (put on airplane mode!) this will drown out the merriment of you and the people celebrating around you and also great when you are having a party. Also make sure they have their favourite comforter or blanket.
- If you are staying out for dinner at someone’s house, keep to the same bedtime routine – you can top and tail instead of a bath, then PJ’s on and a final feed. Settle him in a travel cot as you would at home.
- When you get him home, you can give him a top-up feed if needed before you go to bed; hopefully you won’t be woken as often and you can enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Try not to get too wrapped up in your baby’s routine. If he falls asleep on you or relatives a few times, it’s not the end of the world – though you will quickly realise that making sure all your baby’s needs are met before he has to let you know by crying is much easier. When you are happy and feel in control, you are more likely to enjoy Christmas than dread it. Let the festivities begin!