Is this still Jet Lag?? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Is this still Jet Lag??

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 November 2012 - 12:55

Hiya
We arrived back from the US 10 days ago (aside from the fact that we cut our first tooth the day after and the second one is visible under the gums) we are having some night waking issues. I'm getting really concerned!! Not to mention tired... I am not sure whether it is all teething or there is still some jet lag going on.

if I don't react FAST DD's waking at 9 or 9:30 is usually a total awakening and she wants to play, this is the same as the 3-4am waking though for the past two nights she has slept past the early morning waking either because i have given nurofen at the late evening waking or fed her back to sleep!! (I don't usually feed her to sleep, she self settles but we cosleep and she uses a pacifier/ dummy). She is quite fidgety at these times and just rolls and squeals, no crying, which seems like she is not tired. She rubs her eyes a lot but will not sleep so I think it is jet lag preventing her from settling. The awake time goes on for longer than her usual daytime waking and she then finds it hard to go back to sleep due to overtiredness. The late evening waking has lasted for up to 5 hours some nights and almost joined the next one so some nights he has nearly no sleep (maybe 3-4 hours tops as she has started to wake at 7am, tired but ready for the day). The only consolation is that her naps are regular, 90 minutes morning, 90 afternoon and 45 around 4:30!!

The only way we can get through the night at the moment is if I go to bed early or get ready for the waking times and run in and feed her to sleep, or settle with the dummy but it is less successful. So do you think this is jet lag, how bad was it for you when you came back from the US or similar timezone and how long did it go for? Or is this purely teething and I am reading this all wrong?

Hope for some similar stories :-/

157
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 November 2012 - 00:36
Hi Sparkly- I also got back from the states 10 days ago with a 6 month old. She has always been on a good schedule and slept through the night. It took her about a week to get back to her normal routine. After we arrived, she slept the first 2 nights around 12am and woke up around 11:30 am, so I thought she had already adjusted back to her schedule. The 3rd night she managed to stay awake until 8am and slept til 5. (Awake for almost 24 hours with an hour nap!) This continued for 3 nights. Each night she would sleep an hour or 2 earlier and I made sure she didn't take any long naps later in the day. Her schedule is finally fixed. I thought it was never going to end. just give it a few more days and I'm sure everything will be back to normal. Good luck!! <em>edited by Sal 123 on 17/11/2012</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 November 2012 - 19:14
Thanks Ladies!! Soooo much!! Just knowing what you thought helped me get back on track and treat the night wakings as jet lag. Last night was a heap better and I hope tonight will improve again. Just keeping lights extremely dim, if not pitch black and feeling my way through feeds and dummy runs, and it will hopefully be all gone within a week or so. X
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 November 2012 - 19:27
Yep, sounds like jet lag. It is truely hideous with babies. Came back from Toronto this summer and it took my LO almost 3 weeks to get through it. My older one (4 years) followed the 1 day for every hour pattern and was over it in about 8/9 days, but the baby took a lot longer. I think mainly because she still woke for feeds as per usual, but then didn't feel sleepy enough to resettle. Also when breastfeeding, your supply is on a different schedule too (if that makes sense!), so it also takes time for your body to readjust to new feeding times/requirements, which may add to the frequent waking too. It will sort itself out I promise but definitely takes longer for babies!
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 05 November 2012 - 14:24
Sounds like jet-lag, usually they can adjust back around an hour a day. Best way to combat it is to make sure to wake her at her normal wake-up time, take her straight outside to eat in the morning sun and have her be active, don't let her nap longer than she normally would, get as much daylight as possible by day and put her to bed slightly earlier than her normal bedtime. When she wakes at night keep the room dark, don't talk (or speak very softly) interact as little as possible.
 
 

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