Holiday Boundaries: Your Permission to Prioritise Sleep

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You can feel them closing in. The relatives.

The outstretched arms. The chorus of "just one more cuddle" and "they don't look tired" and "pop them in the spare room, they'll be fine." You're holding your baby a little tighter, watching the clock, doing the mental maths on wake windows while someone offers you another glass of wine and asks why you're leaving so early.

This episode is for you.

Sally and Bec know that protective instinct. They've felt the pressure of being the one who "makes it difficult" by prioritising sleep. And they're here to tell you: you're not dramatic. You're not controlling. You're the one up at 3am if this goes sideways, and that means you get to make the call.

They share the strategies that actually work: hosting so you control the nap setup, wearing your baby in a carrier to manage who gets access, pre-setting departure times with no room for negotiation.

Plus personal stories including Bec's infamous Fiji wedding incident involving her mother-in-law and two ice creams.

Say it with us now...

• Prioritising naps doesn't ruin the magic (it protects it)

• Step up and set expectations with family before the day

• Have a carrier strategy for managing who holds baby and when

• Know what to say when someone insists they don't look tired

• Handle feelings when they get hurt by your boundary

• Embrace the 80/20 approach: when to flex and when to hold firm

• You're not neurotic for prioritising sleep

• You're not neurotic for prioritising sleep

• You're not neurotic for prioritising sleep

• You can leaving on time without guilt

Chapters:

00:00 Intro: your holiday boundary pep talk

04:37 The 80/20 lifestyle and when to flex

06:51 Strategy 1: hosting so you control the nap setup

08:48 Strategy 2: wearing baby in a carrier

11:07 Managing family expectations and comments

12:41 What to do when the plan goes sideways

14:43 Why someone else's disappointment isn't your problem

16:59 The payoff: well-rested kids everyone enjoys

19:51 When naps fail in front of an audience

21:07 Bec's Fiji wedding double ice cream disaster

25:51 The mental load behind every nap decision

28:37 Other boundaries: solids, kisses, and choking hazards

30:05 Scripts for setting expectations ahead of time

31:07 Wrap-up: Boxing Day rot and recovery

🎙️ ABOUT NAP TRAPPED

Nap Trapped is your weekly dose of sleep sanity from consultants Sally Woods and Bec Maher. They take the toughest baby sleep questions and turn them into practical, evidence-based solutions—no shame, just support (and Aldi chocolate).

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