Dominican Republic

[momtoolliex]

Just booked Dominican Republic for next June - we will have an 11 month old by then! DR is 5 hours behind the UK

I'm just worried about the jet lag? Are babies usually quite adaptable to the time change? I'm scared we'll have no sleep and be miserable for the entire two weeks

Has anyone been to DR/any other part of the world with this time difference? What was your experience?

Anyone?

I did Trinidad & Tobago with my eldest when she was 6 months - I assume the time difference is similar. At 11 months they should be into sleeping for long periods so better than when tiny tiny! Personally yes I did find that DDs sleep pattern (at least for the first week) was completely thrown. Not only that, it was very hot & trying to keep her cool & out of the heat was also hard work. There was also the issue of trying to find things she would eat having had only homemade purées at that point.

To be fair, I was really badly prepared! Other people have suggested trying to adjust bedtimes before you go to help with jet lag. There is more gear for keeping babies and buggies in the shade & cool than when I went so I’d invest in some of that. I’d also pack tins of food that you have already tried at home and know they’ll eat.

We went to Cuba when dd was 3 months old and backpacked around Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil when she was 11 months old. I assume the time difference is similar. We all slept for most of the first day and then we were fine. She didn't have any problem adjusting to the different time zone.

I took dd1 to Oz at a similar age. She didn’t really sleep. But, did adapt in the end. They usually get tired from the travelling, so you’ll be ok. The first day or so is a bit for them, then they’re back on track.
When we moved to Oz with dd2 she was 3mo and quite easy going. She slept and adjusted to the time easily.
Anyway, it’s just five hours, so you’ll be fine.
We’ve dragged our dds everywhere with us on holidays. Don’t stress about it.

Ah Thankyou alll I am very well traveled but obviously I'm only used to looking after myself, not a small human! I suppose we'll know for sure how he'll cope once we go next year, defiantly looking forward to it though

My sil once said to me ‘make your dc potable’. Works for us 🤷🏼‍♀️

You would be gaining hours so would not get jet lagged. It may be a bit harder coming back, but 5 hours is nothing really.

My sil once said to me ‘make your dc potable’. Works for us 🤷🏼‍♀️ is that like the Kermit in a blender joke, but with babies?

We took DDs to see family in NZ often from early babyhood and they were fine re jet lag - in fact went down to sleep much better than at home!

Descending for landing can cause discomfort and some temporary pain for little ears - try to get them to suck something, even if it is just you making a funny little game of them sucking your finger. It’s the movement that helps clear the pressure .

Oops! Portable.

We have been to the DR several times. Our baby grandson first came along when he was 12 months old and at six months we had all flown to Brazil for his christening.
He was absolutely fine then and on his two trips since then to the DR and Brazil again.
You will be fine.Try to get seats on the plane with the fold down bassinet thing for him to sleep on.

Hi @momtoolliex I’ve travelled to DR last year with my DC alone. I would go for no less than 10 nights as it’s a long flight plus getting to the hotel. It’s definitely worth it. My DC was 4 though we experienced jet lag when we come home and it took a couple of weeks for me to adjust but I’d do it all again. At 11 months you should be fine and hopefully your child will have a sleep. DR is beautiful I loved it I hope you have a fab time.

Jet lag wasn't an issue for us. Trip was quite long door to door but we loved it. We were staying at the Barcelo Bavaro which at that time was a 5 hotel resort connected with a small train with a dozen restaurants including a 24 hours one.
Two comments:
be careful about bath water as DD drank some and was very sick and ants somehow made their way into her formula tin and we had to throw everything. So think about a type of container for the formula and maybe some medicine for vomit/diarrhoea. She was sick only for two days but losing two days of holiday stuck in an hotel room sucks.

We went this Jan, went our son was 13 months. Had an absolute blast, and any crankiness was worth it.
A few pointers though - are you in a hotel or self catering? We went self catering and were glad we did because the jet lag meant that he was asleep v early in the eve. If we were AI we'd have had to totally miss dinner and be stuck in the room but instead we were able to order take out and sit outside which was great.
On the whole though, he was much more adaptable than we thought. We went for 10 days and it was great.
Hope you have a lovely time!