Holiday sleep tips for families


Holiday sleep tips for families

Summer is coming and most of can’t wait to get away. Those who are less keen have probably just got their little ones sleeping well at night and are loathe to change anything. But we all need a break, whether it’s to some far flung beach or a trip up the motorway to visit grandparents.

The idea of going away doesn’t have to fill us with dread – thought totally understandable given all the hard work it can take to get little ones sleeping well. Fortunately there are some things we can do to that can help maintain good sleep habits even when you’re away from home.

Holiday sleep tips for families

  1. First and foremost as much as possible stick to the same routine you follow at home when you’re on holiday – particularly at bedtime but also for naps if you can.
  2. If you’re abroad and the time difference isn’t too great and it’s convenient you may even want to stay on UK time.
  3. Spend a little bit of time with your child in the room they’ll be sleeping in before bed time so it’s familiar to them at bedtime.
  4. Also try to keep the sleeping environment as similar to home as you can – if your little one is usually sleeps in a cot in a dark room don’t expect that they’ll sleep so well in your bed with light streaming in for example. I usually go armed with everything I might need to block out the light including bin liners and tape!
  5. If your child usually sleeps in a sleeping bag don’t forget them, but you may need a lighter tog if you’re going somewhere hot.
  6. Something from home that smells familiar, maybe a sheet washed in your usual detergent can help children settle in an unfamiliar environment.
  7. Some children like a small light on at night, don’t assume your holiday accommodation will have something dim enough so if you need one consider taking one with you, perhaps the ones that are like enlarged plugs.
  8. And don’t forget dummies and any soft toys/blankets etc. that provide comfort, as well as anything else you might need such as milk cups and bedtime story books.

 

Have a great trip!

 

#SoTiredThat Competition

Win BlindSides & a SnoozeShade Original

Calling all weary sleep deprived parents!  Win fabulous sleep aids to enjoy optimum sleep conditions for your little one at home and out and about. A pair of BlindSides to cut out light sneaking in at the side of your blinds at home or elsewhere (they’re portable and come with their own bag) and a SnoozeShade Original to cover your buggy for great napping while you’re outside.  Plus, if you’re feeling creative and would like to share your tales of tiredness – unusual, funny or plain exhausted behaviour you’ll get 15% off BlindSides!

To Enter:

Facebook: Like the #SoTiredThat competition post

Twitter: Retweet the #SoTiredThat competition post

For 15% discount:

Post your own #SoTiredThat sentence on Facebook or Twitter using the #SoTiredThat hashtag to start your sentence e.g. #SoTiredThat I made cake with salt instead of sugar – it didn’t go down well!

Click here to read tired mum Claire Corner’s So Tired That… blog.

Terms & Conditions

Please read these competition terms and conditions carefully.  If you enter the #SoTiredThat competition, we will assume that you have read and agreed with them.

  1. This Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook or Twitter, they will not be held liable for issues associated with this promotion.
  2. Entrants are providing information to BlindSides and not to Facebook or Twitter.
  3. To enter this competition, you must be a UK resident and 18 years old or over (at the time of entry).
  4. To enter: On Facebook just like the competition post. On Twitter just retweet the competition post.  To receive 15% off BlindSides, complete the #SoTiredThat hashtag sentence and post/tweet on Facebook/Twitter, a discount code will be messaged to you via your chosen platform, this will be valid until August 31st
  5. Entries are not limited – entrants may enter as many times as they like.
  6. By entering your #SoTiredThat sentences into this competition you are granting permission for them to be used by BlindSides online at blindsides.co.uk and other online communications including Twitter and Facebook. All entries will also be stored and may be used for future marketing purposes.
  7. BlindSides reserves the right to use the image, photograph, name and likeness of the winner for publicity and in advertising, marketing or promotional material without additional compensation or prior notice to the winners. In entering the Competition, all participants consent to such use of their image, photograph, name and likeness.
  8. #SoTiredThat sentences must be posted on Facebook or Twitter and include the #SoTiredThat hashtag to be eligible.
  9. No responsibility can be accepted for entries that are not received for any reason.
  10. The competition will run from 1st – 20th July 2016, and BlindSides reserves the right to amend the competition end date at any time.
  11. Winners will be chosen by BlindSides. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  12. The winner will be announced on the BlindSides Facebook Page. The winner will also be contacted by Facebook message, or tweet depending on the channels they used to enter. If the winner does not respond within two weeks, BlindSides reserves the right to offer the prize to another competition entrant.
  13. If an advertised prize is not available, BlindSides reserves the right to offer an alternative prize.
  14. Incorrectly completed entries will be disqualified.
  15. All prizes are non-transferable and cannot be sold to another person. No prize or part of the prize is exchangeable for cash or anything else.
  16. The prize is as follows: A pair of BlindSides and a SnoozeShade Original
  17. BlindSides reserves the right to amend these terms & conditions at any time.

#So Tired That… Blog by tired mum Claire Corner

I didn’t know the true meaning of the word tired until I became pregnant and then a parent for the first time.  All those late nights for social or work reasons just didn’t come close.  Of course they felt pretty serious at the time, I might even have taken a few days to recover, but the point is I could recover, because I was in charge.  I could revive myself in any number of ways; rejigging my schedule, taking a day off, getting a few early nights, having a lie in, a massage etc., etc. if I felt like it.

Getting pregnant and then having a baby, was totally different.  It left me truly exhausted and without any real control over my situation.  Firstly, during the ‘trying’ stage, rampaging hormones (courtesy of IVF) plus a demanding job, a miscarriage and a big commute wore me out to the point where I resigned from work.  Then, becoming pregnant again (and enormous!) followed by an induced birth (which seemed to last about a week) sunk me further.  So producing a baby suffering from reflux, which made him scream all night, just finished the job.

I was totally exhausted, a long way past anything I’d ever experienced and there was no prospect of me ‘catching up’ anymore either; on-going breast feeding and my baby’s reflux saw to that.  Admittedly this is sounding like a pretty negative experience so far, but during this tired-to-the-bone stretch I also learned some useful things:

  1. My whole life had changed, sleep deprivation and exhaustion were part of this new reality and there really were no days off!
  1. Valuable areas of my brain that I’d relied on were barely functioning
  1. I was likely to forget pretty much everything (keys, phone, bag, locking doors, common words, names, appointments, articles of clothing, switching the oven off, where I parked, what I’d gone into town for etc., etc.) and I couldn’t make even quite simple decisions
  1. This was annoying to me and those around me, particularly my husband
  1. It was futile being upset by my new found incompetence (that just added a layer of distress I didn’t need)
  1. My sleep deprived mishaps could (on a good day) be seen as quite funny

So, rather than berate myself, I decided to see them as ‘tired tales’ to tell my son one day, the sort of thing he’d love to laugh at me for.  It would go something like this:

Me: “Oh sweetheart, you won’t believe this but once I was so tired that when I tried to give my sorry hair some shine by conditioning it with egg-white (which is supposed to be amazing), I used hot water to wash it off with and ended up with scrambled curls!”

Son: “Oh that’s funny, I wish I’d seen that Mummy, tell me another tired tale, pleeeease”

Me: “Well, you were still in my tummy and I was so tired that, when I shut the curtains one night I saw a strange space where our new car should have been.  I’d forgotten where I’d left it, so Daddy had to go out in the dark and search the centre of York.”

Son: “Ha ha Mummy you were so silly, I’m really glad you’re not like that now!’

And I had plenty of material for my tales too – a pan fire in the kitchen with impressive blue flames (which, in my defence, I dealt with very effectively), a cake made with salt instead of sugar, which didn’t go down too well and throwing baby vomit covered jeans into the machine to find phone wreckage when I pulled them out.  And many, many more.

As well as imagining my mini sleep deprived disasters as funny stories for children, I also comforted myself that some other new parents seemed to be on a par incompetence wise.  One poor mum threw her dirty washing into the toilet rather than the laundry basket – I rest my case!

Of course I was also hoping the situation was only temporary – my sense of humour has limits! – and thankfully, with the help of some very effective sleep retraining, it pretty much was.

So my message for anyone doubting their sanity due to sleep deprivation in this way is 1.  it can get better (once sleeping patterns are established/re-established) and 2. you’re definitely not alone!

 

Click here to find out  more about our #SoTiredThat competition to win BlindSides and a SnoozeShade original.