by Jennifer Shakeel

Recently my family went on a much needed vacation. We were lucky and were able to get away for ten wonderful days. For some this would’ve been long enough, for me… I could still be sitting on the beach. Anyway, the vacation inspired this article. We just had a baby in December, and this was her very first vacation… filled with tons of strange people and strange places. Our biggest concern was how she would handle this. Overall she did wonderful, bless her little soul, and I am going to share with you ways to help your baby adjust to new environments, whether on vacation or not.

The tips I am going to share are great for babies of any age. As a matter of fact the older they get the more important these tips will become until they are about five or six years old. Children, especially infants are no different then you and I. They are comfort creatures, which means that they need the familiar in order to feel comfortable.

So let us say that baby is going to be babysat by a relative and they are going to have to be there for an extended period of time and they have not been there before. I strongly advise that you go into their nursery and pick up two or three things that they cherish. This could be the blanket that they sleep with each night, their favorite toy or book. Something that soothes them, make sure that it goes in the diaper bag for the visit.