Naps While Traveling
I recently had a client who was going to be flying during baby’s nap time.
She asked me if it would be better to try an earlier nap at home OR keep baby awake in hopes they would be tired enough to fall asleep on the airplane.
My advice? An earlier nap at home.
More Restorative Nap
But why?
Stationary sleep (in a crib) is more restorative than sleeping while in motion (on a plane). In other words, a 1.5 hour solid nap at home is going to be more beneficial than a 1.5 hour nap on a moving plane, car, stroller, etc. (if your baby is taking short naps, CLICK HERE for my FREE short naps guide so we can fix that!)
Don’t get me wrong, moving sleep is better than no sleep at all and I’m not saying moving sleep is bad by any means. In fact, sometimes sleeping in motion is your only option and that’s perfectly okay!
However, if you have the choice, aim for a good, stationary nap at home. Then plan for an earlier bedtime that night to make up for a missed or shortened afternoon nap.
Tricks for Napping On-the-Go
If you do need to have your baby take a nap on the go, try using a sound machine app on your phone. You can also bring all their sleep triggers to let their brain know it’s time to sleep!
And if you do your best but your baby misses their naps, stays out late, or sleeps all day with zero wake time, don’t stress about it! If you’ve taught your baby how to sleep, they’ll get right back on track when you reach your destination.