Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely throw off the sleep schedule. Sleep and predictability are too important to me! If there’s a way to do the fun thing AND prioritize the sleep, I’ll find it, whether that means bringing along a pack’n’play and SlumberPod, or arriving at an event as early as possible in order to duck out in time for bedtime.
However, when that’s not possible, you still want the option to throw off the sleep schedule in order to live a little, and you can totally do that!! A well-rested child will be able to handle an off day, and you can recover sleep in other ways. Don’t tie yourself so closely to the crib that you never get out of the house, and especially don’t miss out on every single fun family activity for the sake of preserving the schedule. You’ll know when it’s worth it to you to throw off the schedule vs. when you’d rather prioritize good sleep. And when you do throw off the schedule, know that you can always get back to good sleep habits the next day or the next nap.
Here are a few tips for how you can have a fun Halloween AND get your child adequate sleep.
On-the-Go Naps
Are you taking a long drive to a relative’s house for a Halloween party? Or are you taking your toddlers out trick-or-treating, so the baby will be up late with the family?
Don’t hesitate to use an on-the-go nap! That means car seat, stroller, or carrier naps are all options for you. Use them if you’ll be out during naptime, or start the night sleep on the go and transfer to crib as soon as you get home.
Baby may only take a one-cycle nap (30-45 minutes) or she may struggle a bit to get back to sleep once you transfer her to the crib, but getting her some sleep in those pockets where she’d otherwise have none can help her stay better rested and prevent overtiredness.
Don’t Worry about Nap Cutoffs
If you typically wake your child up from her last nap in order to preserve bedtime, you may want to let the nap run long on Halloween. Letting the nap run longer can help Baby make it all the way to her bedtime if it will be later than usual.
Earlier Sleep
If your child doesn’t take a nap anymore or if she typically wakes up from naps on her own, you may just need to do an earlier nap and/or bedtime the next day. I wouldn’t do anything too drastic — usually 15 minutes early is enough to do the trick — but a slightly earlier bedtime or nap is often a huge help in recovering some of the missed sleep from the previous day.
Use Roleplay
There are lots of sleep situations for which roleplay can be helpful, and a fun event like Halloween is one of them!
If you know you’re going to be out late trick or treating or up late watching a Halloween movie together, roleplay with your child how you’d like the end of the night to go. If that means skipping the bedtime book, make sure to roleplay it! If you want to make sure your child goes to bed in her pajamas rather than her costume, roleplay changing from the costume into jammies.
If anything will be out of the ordinary, roleplay how you want it to go ahead of time, so that hopefully it goes more smoothly when it’s actually time.
If Baby’s sleep gets thrown off for a fun day/evening of family celebrations and traditions, just know that she can always recover that sleep over the next day or even the next few days.
So get her a little extra sleep on the day of if you can, but don’t sweat it if you can’t! Sleep is important, and so is living your life! Look for the balance between the two :)