Sleep regression: Getting baby back on track after the holidays

The holiday period is likely to be full of excitement for you and your little one. While it can be a magical time, the amount of activities and travelling that goes on during this period - a lot of which is outside of your usual routine - can be disruptive to your baby's sleep, as well as your own.

That doesn't mean you're bound to experience a complete setback though! Maintaining some consistency can do wonders when it comes to ensuring your baby sleeps soundly, which will also help keep your stress levels low, so you can sleep soundly as well.

With the right tips and tricks, you and your baby can make it through the festive period and get back on track afterwards, even when facing a holiday sleep regression. To that end, we've put together some helpful suggestions in this blog!

In this article:

Staying on track with sleep routines through the holidays

Getting sleep back on track after the holidays

Holiday sleep regressions - FAQ

How to stay on track with sleep routines through the holidays

During the holidays, all of the excitement, travelling, and general lack of routine can make it hard for babies to calm down, which can result in there being disruption to your sleep routine, or sleep training method.

The following tips should help your baby sleep more peacefully during this busy period!

Ensure you plan ahead

Planning ahead is essential to ensuring your baby gets enough sleep during this hectic time. Here are a few tips for being proactive over the holidays, which should help you stay on top of things:

Plan to fit in as many naps your baby needs, and be ready to make adjustments to their sleep schedule if you need to - more on this later!

Late nights tend to be unavoidable, especially if you're having to travel. If possible, bring your baby's sleepwear, and plan to travel home at a similar time to when your baby sleeps - hopefully they will fall asleep on the journey, and can be put in bed once you arrive home.

Once you've prepared for your late nights, try to have a quieter day afterwards. This is very useful in preventing your little one from becoming overtired, which can disrupt their sleep schedule even more!

If you're going to be spending nights away from home, bringing along everything you need for their usual routine at bedtime, including sleepwear, toys, blankets, sleeping bag, and anything else they need to fall asleep.

It's also worth ensuring that your baby can have their own place to sleep if you're away from home - even if you're in the same room - if you don't usually co-sleep.

Letting your baby sleep with you, if they usually sleep in their own bed, can result in them wanting to do the same at home. If this isn't the norm for your family, and you don't want your little one making new sleep associations, it's best to plan to avoid it!

Make the most of naptime

Napping is one of the best ways to make up for lost sleep. It's crucial to fit in naps for your little one over the holidays, as their normal routine will probably be affected in one way or another. Their regular sleep schedule may suffer, and their bedtime routine might shift around, beginning earlier one night, and later the next.

When you can, make naptime a priority - but be prepared to be flexible, as you never know when you might need to adjust your schedule. If you need to travel at a time when your baby usually naps, it can be a good idea to let their morning naps be a little longer, so they can fall asleep and have a shorter nap on the journey.

If that just won't cut it, it's worth simply explaining to whoever you're visiting that you'll have to be slightly late. At the end of the day, a well rested baby will make a much better house guest than a tired and cranky one!

Dress your little one in our Zen Sleepwear

Dressing your baby in the right sleepwear can be an important part of maintaining good sleep habits. Our Zen One™ Classic swaddle is gently weighted to soothe just like your touch, and also features removable sleeves - meaning it's also a safe option if your baby can roll over by themselves!

Maddy C. left this review for our Zen One Classic:

"The best purchase I have ever made for my baby! The first time he wore it he slept 5 hours without waking up, which was a huge win for mom and dad!! Definitely recommend this for your little one!"

How to get your baby's sleep back on track after the holidays

It's very common for a baby's sleep routine to take a hit over the holidays - so don't fret if it happens to your little one!

If your attempts at sticking to a good schedule didn't quite go to plan, there are various steps you can take to get back on track after a sleep regression during the holidays.

Make sure to keep to your schedule

With the holidays over, it should now be a lot simpler to keep up with your normal routine. Maintaining a routine brings stability to a baby's life, helping them stay calm - which is why it's so important for their sleep!

A consistent sleep schedule and routine for both naps and bedtime works wonders, as babies eventually learn to recognise their sleep cues, which lets them know that it's time to start getting ready to fall asleep.

Speaking of bedtime...

Stick with a consistent bedtime routine

Getting into a solid routine for bedtime is an incredible way of letting your little one wind down before they fall asleep, and maintaining a bedtime routine throughout their early childhood is a great way of giving them that much needed stability we mentioned earlier.

Here is a suggestion of what a bedtime routine could look like for your baby:

• Bathe your little one, and brush their teeth if they have any.
• Change them into a new diaper and some clean sleepwear.
• Set a relaxing atmosphere - you can do this by dimming the lights, before doing some gentle activities such as reading to them.
• Calmly kiss them goodnight, and quietly sing them to sleep, before leaving them alone - make sure you don't make noise on your way out!

Consider trying our Zen Sleepwear

As we mentioned in the bedtime routine, changing your baby into fresh sleepwear is a must - so why not try our Zen Sack™ Classic? It's a sleeping sack designed with self-soothing in mind, and is safely weighted to mimic your touch. It's an essential for sleep training, as it helps prevent sleep regressions!

Krystin S. had this to say in her review for our Zen Sack Classic:

"We love this sleep sack! My baby went from waking every couple hours to sleeping 4-6 hour stretches. It’s soft, seems comfy, and he seems to really like sleeping in it!"

Though the prospect of the holidays disrupting your baby's sleep can be daunting, the steps we've listed can help you and your baby get through the festive period, and get back on track if you have any issues along the way! Being consistent in your schedule and maintaining a bedtime routine can help your little one sleep easier, as well as helping your whole family keep calm at this busy time of year.

Holiday sleep regression - common question

• What is a sleep regression?

  A sleep regression is a period of time in which a baby suddenly has issues getting to sleep, or sleeping the night, when they previously slept soundly.

• What causes sleep regression in babies?

  Sleep regression is usually caused by discomfort, which can lead to babies becoming restless or nervous. This discomfort can be caused by numerous issues, such as: Having their usual routine disrupted Travelling Reaching a milestone in their development Illness or pain, such as an infection or teething Growth spurts

• How do I stick to sleep routine over the holidays?

  Over the holidays, make sure you plan ahead while allowing yourself some flexibility, in order to minimise disruption to your child's sleep. Planning ahead can allow you to get a head start on adjusting your schedule according to when you're travelling, when you'll be having late nights, and when you'll be staying somewhere away from home. Make sure to also fit in as many of your baby's regular naps as you can, so they get enough sleep during the day. This may mean prioritising their naps over being early for a party, but the end result - a calm and rested baby - is worth the potential stress caused by a tired and restless one. You may also want to dress your baby in the right sleepwear to soothe them to sleep - we'd recommend our Zen One Classic swaddle. Not only is it safely weighted to mimic your touch, it also has removable sleeves, keeping it safe if your baby can roll themselves over.

• How do I get my baby back on sleep schedule after the holidays?

  After the holidays it should be simpler to get back into your usual routine, and continue to sleep train your baby. A consistent schedule is very important for babies and younger children, as the stability of a regular routine keeps them calm as they learn to know what happens during their day. A crucial part of any sleep schedule is a bedtime or evening routine. Following a routine at bedtime allows your baby to recognise their sleep cues so they know it's time to fall asleep - an essential part of becoming sleep trained As part of a bedtime routine we'd suggest dressing them in fresh sleepwear, such as our Zen Sack Classic - our gently weighted sleeping sack, which self-soothes your little one, helping them fall asleep.