I had the opportunity to speak at a couple of New Mama groups last week about traveling with a baby.  Some great questions came up including how to deal with time zones.  When Mack was an infant, it wasn’t as difficult to get him on a sleep schedule wherever we were.  He was a terrible sleeper no matter what but he was super easy to get to bed.  Now that he’s a toddler, we’ve really made an effort to stick to a routine wherever we are.  Below are the things we do, but I’d love to hear what works for you!

Travel with a couple familiar bedtime items – we bring Mack’s sheepskin, his lovey, and his flannel blanket on every trip.  The cushiony sheepskin is great to have for cribs that may not be as comfortable as the one at home.  It was also perfect to have in airports for tummy time!  We also bring a book to read that way if we’re on a plane we can still do our somewhat normal routine.

Play time – I always try to give Mack some time to burn off energy no matter what time we get to our destination.  Even when he was an infant, just having a little time to kick his legs and wiggle his body seemed to make bedtime so much easier.

Bedtime – Mack goes to bed between 7:30-8:30 in whatever time zone we’re in.  When we fly to Europe, we try to get him to sleep on the plane through the night and keep him up with regular naps during the day.  Once 7:30 in Zurich rolls around, he starts his routine.  This doesn’t always work, but we do our best!

Routine – Stick to it if you can!  Having a routine at home that you can travel with helps!  Ours is bath, teeth brushing, pajamas, bottle (or nursing when he was younger), a couple stories and a song.  If you always do a bath and stay somewhere without one, don’t panic, a shower or just a little splashing time works too!

Bottles – If you give your little one a warm bottle at night, consider asking for a microwave and a glass mug if you’re in a hotel.  I’ve also used coffee shops and hotel restaurants to get a nice steamed milk for Mack when I can’t get to a store or I don’t have a way to heat a bottle.

Be flexible – making the time zone transition doesn’t always work perfectly!  Be willing to adjust and go with the flow.  For example, we used to co-sleep with Mack and then stopped when he got to the wiggley toddler phase. When we make drastic timezone jumps, sometimes co-sleeping with him is the only way to get him to sleep through the night.  Also, be prepared from some early morning wake ups!

Hopefully these tips help!