Get Sleep Back On Track After Travel or Illness

[cs_content][cs_section parallax="false" style="margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;"][cs_row inner_container="true" marginless_columns="false" style="margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;"][cs_column fade="false" fade_animation="in" fade_animation_offset="45px" fade_duration="750" type="1/1" style="padding: 0px;"][cs_text][dropcap]T[/dropcap]here's one question almost every client asks me: now that my child is sleeping well, what happens when we go on vacation or she gets sick? Do we have to start from scratch afterwards?Many of us have worked hard to instill healthy sleep habits for our children. A lot of sweat and tears (literally) have gone into uninterrupted overnight sleep or a solid naptime schedule. So it's understandable to be nervous about changing things up, even for a good reason. [pullquote type="right"]After an illness or vacation creates havoc in your child's sleep, do you have to start over? Absolutely not. [/pullquote]There will always be times when life gets in the way of good sleep--and there are always times when it's perfectly ok to make exceptions to your sleep rules.ILLNESS. If your child is sick, all rules go out the door. Go into her room overnight, rock her back to sleep, bring her into bed with you... whatever you need to do to get through the illness. (Note: If your child is like mine, she may spend the entire winter with a runny nose or have a low-grade fever from teething. For minor illnesses, try to maintain your child's sleep schedule as otherwise it can become difficult to maintain her healthy sleep habits. As always, trust your gut.).TRAVEL. Sometimes it's not possible to maintain your child's sleep schedule while on vacation.  And sometimes you just don't want to -- there are pyramids to see and museums to explore. Especially if you're facing jet lag, it's inevitable that everyone's sleep will get a little wonky. Again, do what you need to in order to have a happy vacation for all. If that means naps on-the-go or the occasional rocking to sleep, so be it. Be sure, though, to explain to your child that these exceptions are just that--exceptions--because you're on holiday.[pullquote type="left"]Exceptions are just that---exceptions.[/pullquote]So after an illness or vacation creates havoc in your child's sleep, do you have to start over? Absolutely not. As long as you return to the normal routine as soon as you return home or your child is no longer sick, then she should revert back quickly to her old self. Kids are smart--they can differentiate between "home" and "away" sleep rules (or "sick" and "not sick" rules). So once it's time to go back to the normal routine, be sure to let your child know what's going on.Has your child's sleep ever gone haywire because of illness or a vacation? How did you overcome that setback?[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax="false" style="margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;"][cs_row inner_container="true" marginless_columns="false" style="margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;"][cs_column fade="false" fade_animation="in" fade_animation_offset="45px" fade_duration="750" type="1/1" style="padding: 0px;"][x_share title="Share this Post" share_title="" facebook="true" twitter="true" google_plus="false" linkedin="false" pinterest="true" reddit="false" email="true" email_subject="Hey, thought you might enjoy this! Check it out when you have a chance:"][cs_text][x_line][x_custom_headline type="left" level="h5" looks_like="h5"]Related articles: [/x_custom_headline] Where Should My Baby Sleep on Vacation?Simple Solutions to Conquer Your Baby's JetlagHow to Get Your Kid to Sleep on VacationToddler-Friendly Greece[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]