sleeping in new places

[Spiket77]

So, this is a Mommy question...
My little man is sleeping great at home. After lots of trial and error, he takes two naps a day and sleeps through the night from around 6:30pm to 7...even 8am if I am lucky! I know I am blessed but believe me, we worked hard to get him to sleep well. I have no sleep complaints at home anymore. He is 11 months old. But, he has a very hard time sleeping anywhere but home.

Over Thanksgiving we rented a beach house. He hardly napped without a full on fit and lots of singing and rocking. And at night he was up a lot! He was not his usual happy self. Today I tried to get him to take a nap at his grandmother's and it was just not happening. So he was fussy till we got home this evening and finally crashed.

Do any of you all have tips for helping him sleep in new places? I tried just playing with him in the room where he would sleep for a while today. It didn't really help. Is it just something that comes with age?

I'm concerned about the holiday traveling coming up. He is a lil' bear without his naps and it really screws up his sleep through the night if he doesn't nap well. The selfish part of me doesn't want to spend hours of the day worrying about his sleep while on holiday vacation.

Bring on your wisdom.
Thanks!

[Spiket77]

HaHa! I tell my husband when I finally get him down in new places "I bored him with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on repeat"

[Ashelen]

ah my kids are the same....just gotta put him down, turn off the light, and bore him to sleep then. LOL..that's what it usually comes down to for my kids when we're somewhere different that they want to explore.

[Spiket77]

Thank you ladies.
No, we do not co-sleep. I did that briefly from 4 months- 7months but nobody was getting good sleep. From birth to 4months he was in a co-cleeper beside my bed but then I gave up and him in our bed because he started waking frequently. I was all for the natural parenting methods but they proved bad for my kid. He prefers to sleep alone. Once we moved him to his crib he slept so much better...we all did. I had to do a modified Ferber method to get him to sleep thought the night. Now, he basically crawls up leg when he wants to go to sleep. He has come a long way.

He sleeps in a pack-n-play when we are somewhere without a crib. I always have his blanket and 'frog'. His frog is a wubbanub. A pacifier with a frog attached to it. I usually bring a monkey that he sleeps with too. He sleeps with  a sound machine at home but I haven't been bringing that. Maybe I should. I do think one of the issues over Thanksgiving is that he had to sleep in our room. I think he can smell me and wakes up if I am in the room ??? But when he is at his grandparents...they have a room set up for him with a crib.

I think it has to do with his curious nature. When we are somewhere new, he wants to explore and see whoever new is around...even if he is exhausted. I just wish he had a button for sleep mode when we are out of town.

[steph_ut]

I would echo the other comments that maintaining the ritual is important. Depending on how old he is, he may or may not be attached to certain toys. There is a specific blanket and teddy bear my daughter sleeps with every night. If we bring blankie and teddy, we can get her to fall asleep under almost any circumstance!

[Ashelen]

Keeping the home routine in the new place is MAJOR...but does he co-sleep or sleep in a pack'n'play when you're away? my suggestion would be to get a pack'n'play and have him take his naps in there during the day at home....so when you leave, he's got somewhere comfortable and familiar. Even if there's a crib where you're going, letting him sleep somewhere he's familiar can be a huge help!

My daughter co-slept with us for 17 months and even so we always put her in a pack'n'play when we traveled so she could be comfortable and familiar AND safe so she didn't crawl out or fall out of bed in an unfamiliar place!


also make sure you're recreating the sounds he's familiar with. does he have a fan on at home? will the place he's sleeping over the holiday have a fan? if not, consider buying a small portable fan or a white noise machine.

does he have a mobile? try to bring it with you...that kinda thing can make a huge difference :-).

[Lesley27]

Well my daughter is 17 months... our routine is i hold her and she drinks her milk, then i give her her suckie and put her in bed, shut the door and thats it... ive done that for a while now im sure she was less than a year old when i started, then she sleeps from 830-9-930ish... and she has a nap around 130-330... BUT when she is at my moms with me we have to share a bedroom and if she is stirring and hears me at all she crys and wants me to let her sleep wiht me and then we both have horrible sleeps! so if i hear her moving i try my hardest to be really quiet and let her fuss back to sleep... i think it would make such a big difference if we had a separate room for her but i gotta do what i gotta do... at nap time i do the same routine... she drinks her milk, give her her suckie and walk away! if she fusses i let her, it doesnt take much for her to give in...sometimes she wakes up early and then falls back asleep in my arms in the living room and i just let her as she needs her sleep but i completely understand your frustrations... also i think the playpen isnt as comfy as her bed but there isnt much i can do about that... lol so basically i would let him fuss it out... but that depends on how bad he fusses... like i said my daughter doesnt last long at all...

[Spiket77]

I wanted to add that at home the only sleep ritual we have with him is reading a book to him. I then simply put him in his crib (while he is still awake but drowsy)and he goes to sleep on his own.