Hola!
We recently returned home from our trip to Puerto Vallarta, and we had a lovely, beach-sand-sun filled time!
Highlights for me as a mom:
> No meal prep whatsoever
> No making snacks (French fries and fish tacos were always available!)
> No dishes!
> Hardly any cleanup and no laundry:)
>Lots of beach time, feet in the sand, swimming in the ocean
>Sun on my skin! Hello, vitamin D!
The thing about travelling with kids is there are always some challenges.
It's never a 'perfect' thing, and even if you know that, it's hard when it happens.
Now, my kids are 5 and 8, so the challenges we had were different than my sister and my 8-month-old niece.
And today, I want to focus more on the baby-sleep-travel challenges vs. the ones that I experienced so that hopefully it could help you on your next adventure:)
So, let's dive in!
1) Bring a bed for your baby!
When we booked our trip, my sister requested a crib, but it wasn't guaranteed.
The resort was a kid-friendly resort, and they said they had a lot available but again, wasn't guaranteed.
Pack 'n' plays are a bit of a pain.
They're not compact, they're heavy and kind of annoying to truck around.
BUT.
It's worth bringing one.
When we arrived, there were no cribs available, and my sister didn't bring the pack 'n' play for the above-mentioned reasons.
So, instead, they had to rig the pull-out couch for my niece (see photo below).
And guess what?
My niece didn't sleep well.
My sister didn't sleep well because she was constantly worried about her baby (hello, mom brain!).
Finally, mid-week a crib became available, and her baby slept much better in the crib.
I also was scoping out the closest big box store if we needed to go buy a pack 'n' play because it was getting a bit ridiculous.
The lesson here: Bring a bed for your baby.
2) Adjust expectations around what your day will look like
My niece takes two naps per day, and with a not-so-good night's sleep, naps started fairly early on in the day (~9 am).
As most of us know, if the baby doesn't sleep well for naps, it usually affects the night, which is exactly what happened.
So, my sister prioritized her baby's naps as much as she could.
This meant that they spent a considerable amount of time during the day, napping.
They would have 3–4-hour spurts throughout the day to be at the beach and eat, but it didn't leave a lot of time for long stretches of time to lounge per se.
The lesson here: By adjusting your expectations, and prioritizing your baby's sleep, you'll most likely enjoy your trip a lot more.
3) 80/20 rule
I read a post just before our trip that really helped to frame my mindset around how my family would behave.
To summarize it said that 80% of your trip will be the 'normal stuff': parenting, naps, bedtime duty, whiny kids, etc.
20% will be magical moments: the discovery of a seashell on the beach, joy while playing in the sand, the squeal of delight at the sight of a turtle or iguana.
This really helped to not put so much pressure on this trip.
It also helped me be more patient with my kids when they were tired or whining.
And I saw this for my sister as well: diaper changes, naps, bedtime calling, rough nights, etc.
The lesson here: think about adopting the 80/20 mindset on your next trip to help with overall enjoyment.
Traveling with your family is worth the experience and core memories that are made.
It's challenging to do so though if your baby doesn't sleep well before your trip as they may be lacking sleep skills (which tend to not improve on vacation).
So, if you have 3 weeks or more before a trip, it's worth working on your child's sleep ahead of time to have the best chance of sleeping on your trip.
Most families that I work with see massive improvements within 1 week of making changes!
If you'd like to learn more, book a no-obligation call with me to find out more about my program!
Here for you,
Melody Patton
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