How I love the Christmas season! Are you as much of a Christmas lover as I am? The streets are lit up, everywhere you see beautifully decorated Christmas trees and you spend extra time with the people you love. What's not to love?
This year is the first year we will celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve with our baby boy, Lucas. Exciting! I am looking forward to it. But how do you combine celebrating and taking into account the sleeping habits of your baby, toddler or preschooler?
The holidays just happen to be a little different than usual. But with these tips you can keep it manageable for yourself and your child(ren).
Create a recognizable sleep environment
Sleeping in one's own familiar sleeping environment is always preferred. We chose to host the Christmas party at our house. That way Lucas can sleep in his own, familiar room. Maybe you would like to have the Christmas party at your place? Of course that doesn't always work out.
Do you have to travel? Try to take some familiar items and/or sleep aids with you. For example, you can take along your child's cuddly, the familiar sleeping bag or swaddle, the white noise machine and so on.
Extra tip: you can tuck your child's cuddly under your t-shirt or sweater during the day. That way it gets your scent and is extra recognizable (and comforting) for your child.
If there is no cot for your baby at the location where you will be staying, it is best to take a travel cot with you. You can choose to bring the used sheets of your child's bed so that the smell remains recognizable. Is your child not yet used to sleeping in a travel cot? Then practice on sleeping in this cot in familiar surroundings.
Provide a relaxing bedtime ritual
The joy of a party (with possibly accompanying gifts) can be very stimulating. Your child needs the chance to unwind before it can fall asleep.
A relaxing 1-on-1 moment should definitely take place before bedtime. You can use your regular sleep ritual, but make sure it is long enough. You could read an extra story or go over the day together. Questions such as "what did you like best today, what did you find very funny, ..." ensure that you end with positive thoughts.
Naps are life
Take your child's sleep needs into account and try to maintain the routine as much as possible. If you have to travel far, choose to leave when it is time for a nap.
The afternoon nap is the biggest nap of the day: that long nap ensures that your child does not become overtired as the day progresses. If this nap was shorter than 60 minutes, it's best to schedule an extra power nap if you expect your child to have a late bedtime.
Were the naps not great? Offer an early bedtime so you can avoid overtiredness as much as possible.
A bedtime around 6 p.m. is really appropriate.
Remember: a nap is better than no nap, even if it is short or interrupted. Does your child have trouble sleeping or won't sleep on location? Then try to include a contact nap. That means sleeping in the baby carrier, the stroller or in the arms of dear uncle Frank.
Overtiredness after the holidays
Sometimes things don't go as smoothly as you had hoped and your child is a bit overtired after all those parties and gatherings. Your child will then probably have more difficulty napping and will wake up more often.
Offer an early bedtime for a few days and stick to your routine from before, so your child will hopefully get rid of that overtiredness after a few days.
And now... the most important thing of all!
Above all, do not forget to enjoy yourself. The Christmas period is the ideal time to let yourself be surrounded by all those you love and to let those people take care of your little ones, so that you can recharge your batteries as well.
Lucas, Koen and I wish you happy holidays and wonderful sleep in 2022!
