A week in Oz with 10-month old?

[DippyMummy]

Hello, dh needs to go to Sydney for just one week, on business. He wants to take our ds (who will be 10 months) and me. Feel we should be leaping with excitement at the opportunity, but I'm worried about how the time difference will throw ds's routine. Will I get to spend any time sightseeing or will ds be asleep all day? Dh will be working (though not all week), so I'll be on my own with ds a lot of the time. Also, is it really worth the long-haul flight for just one week? Any opinions? Thanks.

Personally I don't think it's worth it. I went with dp and a 3 month old and a 3 year old. The jet lag is a real killer if you can't just sleep when you need to but around your baby. On the foruth night I was crting into my dinner because I was so tired. Even though we were there for 3 weeks we were waking at 5 or 6 and going to bed about 6 and felt really tired by early afternoon. GOOD LUCK if you decide to go but I don't think it's worthwhile for only 1 week.

Could you not add on some holiday?

We took DD to Atlanta, Georgia (7 hours time difference) when she was 8 months and it took her a week to get used to the time difference there and 2 weeks to recover when we returned home (a month later).

If you're happy to go sightseeing and push/carry your DS around sleeping and have erratic sleep patterns it should be fine. It depends how you are.

I had DS who was then 2 to entertain too (he was fine withe time difference after a day) so I needed my sleep!

The jet lag for OZ seems to be really bad going to but easy to manage comming back.

i would not take a 10 month old just for a week - it really is a long way just for a week. Having done the journey myself a number of times - the jet lag is bad for an adult let alone a 10 month old. You will feel like you got there and then turned around and came home again. You are looking at at least 23 hours flying time if not more and then the same back again.....

We bought dd1 to Aus when she was 8 months old but we came for 3 weeks and it probably took the 1st week to just get sorted and feel somewhat human... then going back to the UK took probably about the same amount of time.

another round of
" You'd be nuts to do it"

It just in't worth it

I really wouldn't do it for only a week
It is just too long a journey and you will be knackered & jetlagged, and most likely won't enjoy yourselves at all

God, we did Mexico for only a week in February (couldn't be helped) and boy did it suck. That was only 6 hours out. But we were most of the way through the week before we started to feel human again, and then, whoops, back on the plane!

We've just come back from a fab three week holiday to Oz, but there is NO WAY I would do the journey for just a week. It really took us three days to get over the flight (which I wouldn't exactly relish with a 10 months old anyway TBH - mine are 3, 8 and 13). If however you had a chance to add on some holiday and stay longer, it really is a great place to go.

Thanks everyone. DH is now not going to Sydney, so no need for me to agonise about it any longer!