how do you cope with time differences?

[calcium]

we are travelling to Colorado and then California with our then 18 month old from UK I am really concerned about her adjusting to the time changes with her sleep pattern which are not good at the best of times. Do any of you out there have tips that would help with going out and coming back? also with the flight she is a real wriggler and will be sharing our seats, I don't like flying either so we could be having the nightmare flight! I have written down some of the Mumsnet tips for travel which are great but none seem to mention the above

I have travelled a lot (often to calif) with my ds (now 2.5 yrs) and my dd (now 9 mo.) and have never had a problem with jetlag with either of them. They're usually over it before me. I try not to let them sleep too much more than their nap time during the day and let them get into bed with me when they wake up at night (this helps them get back to sleep when they're feeling wakeful). I've never had it take more than 2 or 3 days to get over the time change. I find that eating takes a little longer. I just let them eat when they are hungry (carry snacks with you during the day) and don't get too worried if they're not eating much at official meal time.
Not much you can do with a wriggler while flying. Don't bother with lots of toys, as you'll have lots to carry already. Make sure you bring extra clothes and nappies. And take non-messy snacks with you (raisins, crackers, bread, grapes, etc.). Bring several sippee cups for milk and water...it's important they drink a lot. And brink a sports bottle for yourself as you'll have a tough time keeping a drink from being spilled. Good luck.
You'll have lots of fun when you get there. And don't forget you can buy everything in america for a lot less money, so pack empty suitcases.

Have flown to the UK and back to Hong Kong in the last couple of months with DS (on my own). He coped really well with the time differences. The key is to get them into the new time as fast as possible and take themm out a lot. The more sunshine they get during the day the better as daylight helps them readjust. As for wriggling agree with SofiaAmes - there's not a lot you can do. I was lucky to have an empty seat next to me both times but in future will have to book a seat for him. Worst bit was trying to get him to go to sleep on the plane. What a nightmare! But he did go off eventually and woke bright as a button upon landing. Good luck and have a good trip.