sleep in different time zones...

[Scarlett175]

hiya all

We have planned to visit my brother in sanfran this christmas, staying for 8 days which i am very excited about as is DD's first hols, she will be 8 months by then, and as i am a retail manager the first time EVER i have been away over christmas, or had more than 2 days off.

Can anyone reassure/share with me how they coped with bubs sleep while they were away...and how they adjusted once home. We are having some 4 month blips at the moment.... so whilst i cannot wait for my brother to meet DD, part of me is already dreading any more sleep disturbance.....

thanks x

It's very difficult to know how your DD will cope with the changes until you actually go. Every child is different.
You can help a little by put her to bed and waking her up a little closer to San Fran time for the couple of days before you travel, but that can be easier said than done.

The best thing to do once you are there is to try to get her on local time asap. Get her out into the sunshine and fresh air as much as possible on arrival as this helps the body to adjust naturally.
Try to keep her nap times and bed times as close as possible to normal.
Make sure her room is dark when she goes to bed and take some familiar toys and bedding to help her sleep without feeling too uncomfortable.

Other than that, I'm afraid you'll just have to take it how it comes. Dealing with a baby with jetlag isn't fun, but it only lasts a couple of days and it'll be worth it to be with your brother.

I agree with RuthChan, and I would add (having now gone to the States from UK twice with my DD, who is now 9 months) that you may have to wake her to get her on schedule. You might be tempted to have her sleep as much as possible when she's tired from traveling but this will keep her from sleeping at the appropriate times. When we come back from the States and DD has her nap I can tell her little body is completely exhausted and thinks it's the night, but I wake her after 2 hours or so so that she'll be able to go to bed at the normal time for the time zone she's in. Doing this the adjustment has only been a day, but DD is generally an easy baby.

You can't force sleep so you have to force waking.

Make sure you book the cotbed! In my experience you have to call the airline for it. Have a good time.