If you have a baby and/or a young child, the holidays have the potential to feel challenging. If sleep or feeding has been difficult, often those issues are heightened over the holidays. For example, plugged ducts and mastitis often increase during the holidays and sleep issues are unfortunately very common.
Instead of focusing on those issues, focus on these tips instead to support the entire family this holiday season:
Quality time:
The holidays can be go go go running from activity to activity. We can get so busy that we forget or run out of time to have focused quality time with our children. Filling up their love tank helps calm and regulate their nervous system which can lead to better sleep and calmer households. Even 5 minutes of 1:1 play with your baby or young child can help!
Emphasize the wind-down:
It is always a good idea to have a distinct wind down time at the end of the day to ease the transition to bedtime. But, it is even more important to have this time during the holidays when they may be overstimulated throughout the day. Take 10-20 minutes before starting bedtime, dim the lights, play soft music, read books, do any activity that both you and your baby would find calming.
Manage expectations:
We often have very high expectations for the holidays especially after having children. We want the holidays to be perfect and for our kids to see all the magic. Our kids don’t stop being kids, though. They will still have meltdowns, become overstimulated, and act like kids! If we are flexible with our expectations, the entire holiday season will be less stressful for everyone.
Don’t engage with those who offer unsolicited advice:
Relatives always have something to say during the holidays about the way that we choose to parent. Engaging will lead to more stress. If you need support with how to handle unsolicited advice, check out this IG post here.
Focus on the addition of nutrient dense foods:
Cookies, chocolate, and mulled wine are everywhere during the holidays. You don’t have to be a robot and not indulge at all but focus on where you can add nutrient dense foods throughout your day. That will help your overall mood and energy levels. It will also help you deal with the stress that often comes with the holidays. If your child is eating solids make sure that they are getting nutrient dense foods as well!
One of my favorite hacks for holiday parties is making sure that your child eats before going. That way, if there is nothing that your child will eat at the party, they won’t have a meltdown due to hunger (they may have a meltdown for a different reason 🤷♀️)
Get out in nature:
Nature is so great for our health and our nervous systems. It helps us and our children regulate. Babies sleep better the more time that they spend outside, and everyone is happier after spending time in nature. Spending time in nature also reduces inflammation which can rise with all the stress and indulging during the holidays. Increased inflammation is one of the reasons why we see increased rates of plugged ducts and mastitis over the holidays.
Schedule in a few early nights:
Our sleep can get out of whack during the holidays for all sorts of reasons. To manage a little bit of this sleep debt, schedule in a few nights where you go to sleep earlier. Babies and young children USUALLY sleep the best in the early part of the night. Take advantage of that and go to bed at the same time as your child. Even if you don’t sleep, the extra rest will be helpful for your stress and energy levels.
Optimize your own sleep quality:
Your sleep will probably be disturbed during the holidays. Your baby may struggle a little more with sleep, indulging in food and alcohol may affect your sleep, or even just the stress of the holidays can influence your sleep. Even if you are getting interrupted sleep, you can influence the sleep quality helping you feel more rested in the morning. Three of my favorite tricks to influence sleep quality are:
- Get outside within 30 minutes of waking. Morning sunlight influences melatonin production and sleep quality
- Mindfulness meditation. Improves sleep quality similar to exercise.
- Exercise. Helps you fall asleep faster and improves the quality of sleep.
The holidays can be really tough with babies or young children. If you need support throughout the holidays, I am here for you. Check out my services at wholehealthbaby.com or send me an email at kate@wholehealthbaby.com to get started.
Dr. Kate Purvis is a naturopathic doctor, IBCLC, and holistic sleep coach. She supports moms and their children all over the world with sleep, lactation, and health. She also mentors other practitioners in sleep, lactation, postpartum health, and homeopathy.