Making Sleep Happen at Christmas!
We all remember how exciting Christmas is as a child. There is so much anticipation leading up to the Christmas Day and Santa’s visit! With Christmas being just 4 short days away, I want to give you some tips to ensure that your kids are happy and well-rested for the most wonderful day of the year 🎶
Let’s start with Christmas Eve! While this day has its own excitement, we want to save most of their energy for Christmas Day.
🐑 Stick to your routine! Do your best to be stay consistent and as close to their regular schedule as possible me. 🐑 Don’t keep them up late! I know Christmas Eve is a special day and you may be tempted to keep them up, but it likely won’t be worth it! 🐑 Communicate! Tell them the plan well in advance, like today! Keep telling them what is going to happen so there are no surprises on Christmas Eve or Day. Be specific, kids react best when they know what to expect. 🐑 As always, limit screen time before bed. I recommend turning off the screens at least 1 hour before bed, so that the blue light doesn’t interfere with their melatonin production.
Hopefully they get a good sleep and wake up ready to take in the magic of Christmas Day! I am sure it will involve a lot of extra stimulation, and probably less focus on naps, and routine. Likely your day will include opening gifts, brunches, lunches, dinners, extra sugar and late nights! So how can you help them adjust?
🐑 If possible, try to have at least one nap in their crib (if they take several naps)
🐑 For naps or bed away from home, be sure to have a play pen that you can set up in a dark, cool space. A SlumberPod or cot tent would be ideal! (Use code COUNTINGSHEEP10 if you purchase a SlumberPod!)
🐑 Don’t forget about wake windows (WW)! Christmas Day doesn’t mean that we can keep them up extra-long, I promise you that will backfire! Keep their WWs in check and be mindful of their schedule. You can still have family time, go skating or sledding, just try to work the fun around nap times. Otherwise, you will have one very tired baby on your hands come bed time!
🐑 If you happen to be at someone else’s house on Christmas night, that doesn’t mean you need to go home at 6:00pm! Just bring the playpen and put them down for bed at the same tie as normal.
🐑 Be sure to plan ahead! Know where they will be sleeping and bring everything you need for bedtime (PJ’s, sleep sack, white noise, bottles/pumps, pacifier, lovey, etc). Put them to bed and go enjoy your evening! A simple transfer to the car seat, then to their bed, should result in a good night’s sleep.
I suspect that most of our children will have a day or two of sleep regression after the Holidays. It will be a lot of excitement and extra stimulation (and probably some more sugar than normal!), so I would expect them to take a couple days to come off of that “high” and get back into their regular routine. Be patient and consistent, and they will get back to sleeping well for you quickly.
If you found this helpful, please SHARE with your friends and family who have young children! We can all enjoy and partake in the festivities of the Holidays, without losing sleep.
-Jane Anderson
