Going to Australia

[ellasmum]

Hi..

I feel like I am being very organised writing this, but I want to be prepared.

We are going to Oz at Christmas - DD will be 8.5 months by then. My big question is, how do we get her to keep to her routine in the complete opposite timezone?? Do I need to prepare her in any way?

Also - any tips for babies on longhaul flights? We have reserved the bulkhead which is one bonus I suppose - we havn't flown with her before so I have no idea what to expect.

Hope someonw has some top tips for this already worried Mum.

No advice but lots of empathy - we are going to NZ at the same time, and DS will be 13mths. In theory if you go straight into her routine on "local" time you may find she adapts more easily than you sounds good, doesn't it. Plus lots of exposure to sunlight (but don't forget the hat and suncream) - shouldn't be difficult in Oz at that time of year.

On the trip, I found on our previous trip to Naples, DS was very hard to get to sleep at his usual time, and he just screamed and screamed for a couple of hours, then collapsed as soon as we got off the plane. But getting DS to sleep has been a rather difficult exercise generally (has to be in his cot, he is a terrible buggy sleeper) - is DD a good sleeper??? The cot may help, plus the first leg is usually at their bed time, so they are quite sleepy - also maybe start using a sleeping bag beforehand (if not already), so they get the idea that they are meant to go to sleep when they get put in it. Mixed views on using drugs - some people think it just makes it harder for them to adapt when they get there, others swear by it (use an antihistamine like Phenergan or Piriton - but you need to check beforehand that your child is not one of the few that become completely hyper on).

Good luck and think of us - our trip will be just that bit longer! DH is already dreading it....

ellasmum, there are a number of threads with helpful advice, there's a recent one here and I'll see if I can find some of the others for you.

And here

Twink - thanks for the links. Will read them over the weekend.