Sleeping Baby on Bike? The best seats and pillow hack

Living car-free makes us aware of many situations that most people don’t even think about: how to load a bike with groceries, how to avoid pinching chubby chins with the helmet buckle (still working on this one), and how to ensure we facilitate a good sleeping environment for a baby on bike. Thankfully, CZ is a very sound and reliable sleeper. She has been on the move since her first flight at 6 weeks, so she knows how to sleep in a carrier, stroller, and yes, even on a bike.

While we rarely have trouble getting CZ to fall asleep on the bike, we did trial several solutions to keep her neck stable during the rides. Without a pillow, her head rolled around, and I cringed every time it jolted with a bump or quick stop. As we have mentioned, we both mounted Yepp seats on our bikes. We love these seats for numerous reasons, but they are not designed for smooth sleeping. Before we discuss our ultimate Yepp hack solution, here are some ready-made sleeping baby on bike solutions.

Baby on Bike: Best Seats for Sleep

If sleeping on the go is a major concern, then a Bakfiets bike or trailer attachment might be best for your family. Both options allow the child(ren) to spread out and lie down/recline in a more natural position (or at least comparable to a car seat). However, if you prefer a front or rear mounted seat for any number of reasons, there are a few options.

Hamax Caress – This luxurious rear-mounted seat is top of the line in many aspects, one of which is the 20 degree recline option. It also has shocks underneath the seat, and a recessed helmet pocket which aid in creating a more conducive sleeping environment. My other favourite feature: all adjustments only require  one hand.

Some reviewers note that the recline depends on the mount for your specific bike and the amount of space behind the seat.

 Weeride Kangaroo – A top rated front mounted seat, the center mount contributes to the stability and control of this seat. The large hand rest prevents little fingers from becoming involved in the steering and gear-changing (two of CZ’s favourite riding activities) and serves as a pillow for longer rides. We have seen numerous kids snoozing away on this seat!

Shorter riders may have issues with their knees hitting the bottom of the seat during rides because this seat does encroach on pedaling space.

Baby on Bike – Yepp Mini

For those of us who have already purchased a bike seat, what sleeping options are available? The Yepp Mini has a compatible sleep roll and optional pillow, but our tried and true solution is a very homemade travel pillow hack.

When I decided on the Yepp Mini seat for my bike, I was hopeful that the compatible sleeping support would solve our sleeping woes. Unfortunately, it didn’t work quite the way we hoped for several reasons:

• Her rounded helmet facilitated rolling off the support during turns or fast movements.
• The pillow filled in the dip between her helmet and her head so the helmet was even more inclined to roll with the pillow than without.
• Without the pillow, the sleeping support has scratchy velcro where her face would rest.

We tried a few different scenarios with the pillow plus a travel pillow, alone, covering the velcro, etc, but never found an awesome solution. Her sleeping significantly distracted me to the point that we pulled over for the nap duration or moved her to JZ’s bike.

For naps on the go in the Kelty, CZ rests comfortably with a child-size travel pillow for a headrest in the Kelty, but biking proved a bit more complicated. We faced three main problems:

1. During the ride, she would shift until her neck fell forwards into the open section.
2. It did not easily attach to the bike, and we often stopped to retrace our steps to pick it up.
3. The pillow wasn’t thick enough to keep her head upright during rides.

Baby on Bike – Travel Pillow Sleeping Hack

After experimenting and online searching, I found a genius travel pillow hack. The basic premise is that by using a travel pillow like the one below, you can loop the clasp through the holes on the Yepp seat behind the child to provide stable and consistent neck support.

We did not have a travel pillow that fit the exact specifications, and we already owned three with no desire to add another pillow to the family, so we made the best of our current resources with some yarn (which, incidentally started life keeping her mittens secured to her hands, but they were no match for a furious and single-minded toddler).

By tying the yarn around each end of the pillow, looping it through the holes in the back, and pulling tight, CZ got the stability and staying power of the pillow. Even on slight bumps, the pillow remained in place, and turning it backwards around her neck kept her head fully supported. We swapped the yarn with a ribbon this weekend, and we make sure to pull out any stretch, before we tie it down. She managed to sleep this past weekend on an unpaved trail, but more on that later!