Reply To: 15 months old baby sleep issues

[Emma H]

Hi Elen,

Staying at someone else’s house can make it a bit tricky to follow your usual bedtime routine. However, there are a few things you can do to help her fall asleep more easily:

1. Make the room dark: When you arrive, check the room where she’ll be sleeping. Turn off the lights, close the blinds, and see if it’s dark enough. If there’s still light, use portable blackout blinds. I usually bring two portable blinds when I travel. Remove any light sources you can.

2. Bring her white noise machine: Try to replicate her home sleeping environment. If she uses a white noise machine, bring it along.

3. Follow the same bedtime and nap routine: If possible, stick to the same nap and bedtime routine. This will cue her that sleep is coming, which might make her less likely to resist when you leave the room.

4. Shift nap and bedtime slightly later on the first day: It’s not uncommon for toddlers to protest more when they are placed in an unfamiliar environment to fall asleep. One way you can reduce the likelihood that she will protest is by shifting her nap time and bedtime 15 minutes later that first day. This will just increase the chances that she will be very tired when it’s nap time or bedtime and she will fall asleep without much fuss.

5. Reduce Environmental Noise and Your Discomfort – On the first day, see if you can have everyone move to the room farthest from where she’s sleeping or head outside to the backyard while she’s falling asleep. This can be challenging, but if possible, it can alleviate your concerns about her being upset on the first day she gets used to the new sleeping environment.

I hope you enjoy your time at your brother-in-law’s!

Emma