This is my 4 year old. How did she sleep on our vacation?
This past weekend my family took a trip to New York City. I was raised in New York and going to the city during the holidays was always something I looked forward to doing. I wanted my kids to see the tree in Rockefeller Center and sit on Santa’s lap at Macy’s. and ride the subway. I wanted them to be able to wear a scarf and hat and be in weather lower than 70 degrees (that’s what it was in Austin yesterday!).
By now, my kids are seasoned travelers and since they are much older, it doesn’t take as many bells and whistles to get through a plane flight. Give them some apple juice, a movie, and a piece of gum on take off and they are pretty happy kids. However, this trip was a little different because we were all staying in the same hotel room for four days. Usually we visit family when we travel and everyone gets their own space to sleep. This hotel room (small being in NYC) had a king sized bed and a pull out couch. Kids on the couch, parents in the bed.
We arrived around 5 pm, went to our hotel, grabbed a bite to eat, greeted the other family members that met us in NYC (sister in law, brother in-law, niece, and my mom) and got the kids ready for bed. They were so excited for the next morning’s activities. We changed time zones and were one hour ahead and I think the kids were in bed with lights out around 8:15, which is later then their bedtime at home, but given the time change, we were still pretty much on target. My husband and I went to sleep a few hours later and I woke up to my daughter saying she had to go to the bathroom. She definitely was a little confused in her new surroundings, so I got her up, took her, tucked her back in and said goodnight. That was at about 2:45. For the next two and a half hours, I heard her sucking her thumb, thrashing around, exclaiming, “I can’t sleep!” She woke up my son and my husband. We played musical beds and she got into bed with me (something we never do). Then my son asked if he could get in. My husband ended up on the fold out couch. At some point, my son decided to join him because S was too distracting. Eventually she calmed down enough and fell asleep at about 5:15. She woke up at 7:30.
We didn’t let our lack of sleep keep us from seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center.
I haven’t felt so bleary eyed in years. You know, that feeling when your whole body just aches because it hasn’t slept? I know, many of you are thinking, “That’s how I’ve been feeling for months!” (hint, click the contact button!) But, we were in NYC, so I wasn’t going to let it get me down and analyze things too much. I admit, I like to analyze things, especially when it’s related to sleep :).
We talked to my daughter during the day about how we understood it’s hard to all be sleeping in the same room, but if she wakes in the middle of the night, she needs to be quiet. We asked if there was anything we could do to help her sleep better. She suggested sleeping with her cousin in a bed instead of the fold out bed because “that bed was just soooo uncomfortable!” I know we were near Broadway, but this was a bit dramatic. My sister in-lawa and brother in-law were willing to give it a shot, so we gave that a try. Simple bedtime routine, early bedtime, and the sweeties were out within minutes. Until….
One had to go to the bathroom…. the other woke because the other was draped all over them and they couldn’t get back to sleep…one had to go to the bathroom (again). Needless to say, the nonsense continued and my poor in-laws were the ones with the black circles the next morning.
Were we going to be without sleep for four nights?
Ironically, the window behind our three amigos says, “The night is full of dreams, little one. Reach up. Take one.”
One of the bigger problems, which couldn’t be avoided, was that the room was incredibly dry and was in need of a humidifier. But, since I couldn’t take that from home, there really wasn’t anything we could do, so I focused on the things I could control.
I showed my daughter my face and how tired it was. My sister in law did the same. Again, we talked about how important it was that we all got sleep because we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the activities we had planned the next day. We practiced getting out of bed and finding the bathroom. Once again, we asked what we could do to help her sleep better. She suggested sleeping in the big bed. She promised not to touch me, or talk to me, or poke at my head, or tell me that I’m pretty in the middle of the night. Once again, we did an earlier bedtime. And she slept through the night the next two nights.
Thankfully this was just a short-lived thing and when we came back on Monday evening, she went to sleep in her own bed and woke as if she had never been on vacation. I think this story could have had a different ending if she hadn’t been well-rested before we went on our trip and if she didn’t know that we expected her to follow her sleep rules when we returned home.
What’s the takeaway for you and and traveling with your little one?
- expect the unexpected and do the best you can.
- understand that sleep is not always perfect and things happen.
- try not to be angry with your child (especially if they are in a new environment)
- don’t try to sleep train when on vacation, but think about what may need to be changed when you get home
- talk to your child if they are old enough about what is going on; involving them in the process can be helpful in making them accountable
- have fun. you are on vacation after all.
- back to basics when you return
Hopefully, if you are traveling this holiday season and sharing a hotel room, you will not have to play musical beds. For more tips on traveling at the holiday, see my holiday travel tips post here. If you are that parent with seemingly permanent bags under your eyes and don’t want to feel that way anymore, please contact me. We can help everyone sleep better! To all, a good night!