Does your baby or toddler nap well at home, but not elsewhere? If you’d like your baby or toddler to nap well at friends, family, or hotels then this post will help.Â
You decide to go to a mom’s group. Or a family member’s home. Or a friend’s house.
You decide you’ll put the baby down as normal and give yourself a chance to visit and relax.
You put the baby down.
The baby fights sleep.
The baby cries.
You pick up the baby.
Now the baby is tired and fussy and you are no longer having fun.
And you are trying to roll a stroller around to get the baby to sleep and so you may as well be at home since, really, the whole reason you wanted to get out was because you never leave the house.
Ahh…. I’ve been there. At times, you can just hang out and not put your baby to sleep, of course. But if the baby is used to sleeping and you are away from home for a long time, he will need to nap eventually.
And so when that time comes, here are some tips to help your baby (or toddler) nap well elsewhere.
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Here are some tips on how to get your baby or toddler to sleep at someone else’s house
(Note: I don’t think it’s a great idea to put a baby down on a bed, even surrounded by something to prevent them from falling.
If you don’t have something like a play pen – that I mentioned in this post about using one baby item 8 ways – then I’d recommend putting them straight on the floor.)
Nap in another room in your home as a “practice”
One tip to help create a flexible napper, is to let your baby take one nap a day, or a few times a week if they are older, in another room of the house.
Whether you put the play pen in another room or let your baby sleep in the toddler’s crib, this will help your baby acclimate to putting themselves to sleep somewhere different than the norm.
Get white noise.
White noise is a positive sleep association that is not location specific. It will also help mask any unfamiliar noises the new location may have, so there will be less unfamiliar disruption.
Don’t skip the routine.
If you normally have a long drawn out naptime routine, you may want to shorten it. However, don’t throw out the entire naptime routine because that’ll also be a positive sleep association that’ll help your baby or toddler settle down.
Read: Wind Down Routines Babies Love
Get my cheat sheets and find your family’s groove. Chore, independent play, meal, nap, bedtime, and MORE routine ideas!
Bring familiar objects.
One thing I always do when I want my kids to nap elsewhere is to bring a familiar blanket, pacifier, and play pen. Normally at home, I’ll put a blanket over the side of the play pen to block out light and distractions.
I’ll bring the same blanket and put it at the bottom of the play pen because then, essentially, the only thing they’re seeing different is the ceiling.
Read: Common Habits That Help And Hurt Baby’s Sleep
Create sustainable sleep habits for your little lamb so the whole family can sleep peacefully without the stress, drama, and tears.
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Be Realistic
If you go to an acquaintance’s house that you hardly ever go to, baby just might not sleep.
If you go to a friend’s house once or twice a week, it will become more familiar in a way that allows baby to feel comfortable enough to sleep. Now, if baby is sleeping in your arms, they’ll sleep anywhere.
If you want to put them in a crib or stroller, certain babies may fight sleep if they are very routine oriented.
Read: How To Encourage Sleeping In And Longer Naps
Set the scene.
I close the curtains, hang up blackout curtains, turn on the white noise, and change the diaper.
Earlier this summer we stayed at a beach house and the rooms were a lot brighter than the kids were used to. We just took a few towels and hung them haphazardly over the windows to make it more dim.
You can’t transform your mother-in-law’s house into a nursery clone, but you can make it dark enough, cozy enough, with familiar sounds and smells, and this will go a long way.
Read: Foolproof Baby Sleep Tips – Routines, Habits & Strategies
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Mind overtiredness and overstimulation.
When napping at other peoples’ homes or locations, I usually try to put them down for nap right on time, if not a bit early.
Overtiredness + a new location = not good napping.
- Put baby to sleep before normal nap time instead of waiting until nap time because that might prevent some over tiredness.
- Try going to the other house before you’d normally put baby down, or while they’re still happy and not whiny.
Read: The Baby Sleep Myth That Backfires Every Time
What to do with your toddler when putting the baby to sleep
Give It Time
If you are going to be somewhere all morning, give the baby or toddler have a chance to nap even if they fight it for a while.
They might resist for 10 or 15 minutes and then take a good nap.
If they are happy enough in the crib (sleeping or not) then I’ll give it a bit extra time. They also may not take a full nap, but even half a normal nap will help prevent as much over-tiredness as possible.
Sources:
- Children with irregular sleep routines and durations are more tired throughout the day
- Longer sleep duration was generally associated with better body composition, emotional regulation, and growth in children aged 0 to 4 years. Shorter sleep duration is associated with longer screen time use and more injuries
- Adequate sleep in the first year is critical for optimal infant neurodevelopment
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Rachel, my name is Jenny and my family and I are missionaries in Central Mexico. We take the Gospel of Jesus Chris to the indigenous people groups of the area, which means we are in the jungle, sitting in huts on hard wood boards for hours, far from home and unable to carry around a lot of baby stuff, like a pack-n-play or sleeping cues.
I am so thankful that you are a visionary and a follower of Jesus. Here is something maybe you can pray with me about. I’ve read your blogs on sleeping because I am praying for advice on how to help my 16 week old daughter sleep when we are preaching and on visits, which can take all day. She sleeps well at home in her crib but no where else. She gets overtired and it takes a day or two to resolve. On days I stay home, we do white noise, close the curtains, and she gets plenty of rest. But that can’t be everyday because God has called us to “Go”.
If you have any suggestions how to help her sleep while out and about, please let me know. Again, thank you!
Jenny, have you done my free video course? Here’s a link to it! I hope it’ll help you. And bless your family for the work you do there! http://www.coostosnooze.com/free-sleep-tips
Thank you so much! There is someone out there feeling the same way as I do! So lonely. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I greatly need a mommy friend as we recently moved but it is so hard getting together, with nap schedules and colds!Wonderful! I love reading stories like this, you must have been so proud. Hope you’re all doing well now!
I’m no more proud than you should be. It can be lonely as a mom but I tell myself it’s a short season. I hope that’s true, ha :)
Hi Rachel, love your posts! I am trying to get my baby to sleep at other people’s houses occasionally. She is 4.5 months & sleeps great at home and is on a good schedule. My father and stepmother have recently purchased a crib for their house, placed it in a room with dark curtains, and I think she will probably nap there. My question is: do you think it’s ok to let her fall asleep there at her regular bedtime then pack her up later in the evening and take her home? If so, any tips for making this work? (They have mentioned they’d like us to do this from time to time, like holidays, but I’m just not sure if it would throw her off course…it would be nice if we were able to do this once in awhile.) Thanks in advance!
Victoria, I think that’s a great idea. If she can keep her bedtime all the better, she’ll be drowsy when youw ake her but it shoudln’t be a big deal on the occasional evening. And a blessing to grandparents too!