flying to australia with an 11 month old 3.5 hours later than her bedtime

[sarahb1983]

Has anyone done this? And if so, should I delay her bedtime in the weeks leading up to the flight, or should I drive to the airport at her bedtime, so she'd have a half hour nap then be awake for three hours before the flight takes off? Any suggestions gratefully received!

Last time I flew Oz/UK/Oz my little one was 10 months. We just rolled with it and sorted her sleep out afterwards. Night departures each way but the reality was she snoozed enroute to the airport, was wide awake until well after departure, dinner etc, sleep reasonably, wide awake in Dubai, then repeat on the next leg.

Honestly, I find it easiest just to go with it. They will sleep on the flight, but they will be jet lagged for a while. Don't know anyone who found a perfect solution.

No don't delay bedtime you will be aiming for an earlier bedtime when you arrive!

I agree with the pp - I would just go with the flow and accept it is going to be an interrupted night for you all. Your baby may surprise you though - the white noise from the engines can work wonders.

Yep. Go with the flow. When I first took dd1 she was 13mo. We just went with it. Then with dd2 she was 14mo. Routine went out the window, and we just went with it.

We had a 1030pm flight when DD was 4mo, so quite a bit younger, but I though it worked out quite well, we left home at her bed time, she slept in the car, had a good time looking at everything in the airport, then went to sleep again on the plane.

I agree with the other posters. Any routine you have will be shattered by the journey and jetlag. It took dd a week both ways to adapt to the time difference. During the journey there will interuptions due to boarding, food, other passengers, getting off, transfers, customs. Not to mention the hassle of actually getting through the airport in australia (although the aussies are very good and do try to make it easier if you've got kids). Just try to catch and maximise any sleep for either of you when it happens. Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised how well your daughter manages to sleep on the flight. I'd strongly recommend a carrier. At nearly 3 dd is to big for one (comfortably) and i really miss how much it made flights for us.