Time zones and babies | ExpatWoman.com
 

Time zones and babies

117
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 09:07

Hello. I am flying with my 8 month old, shes in a really good routine and i'm not sure how to approach the 4 hour difference when we fly home. We will land at 1pm, she normally goes to bed at 7 and sleeps till 7. Should I try and keep her up till 7pm UK time (11pm UAE) and hope she sleeps through, maybe give her an extra nap inbetween? Or do you generally put them to bed a bit early, presuming they will be exhausted and suffer an early morning wake up? any help appreciated!

2782
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 15 December 2012 - 00:35
move their routine straight into local time, maybe with a slightly earlier bedtime the first night or two to allow for lost sleep while travelling, don't let them sleep in and don't let them take longer than usual or extra naps during the day. Adjust mealtimes to local time too and get as much daylight as possible as as soon as they wake. Treat nightwakings as you normally would. You do need to accept that they will feel hungry at odd times for a week or so and they will take around a week to adjust but the more consistent you are with sticking to their routine the faster it will happen.
59
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 December 2012 - 11:07
I travelled to the uk with my baby, she was 12weeks. We flew at 8am. I got her up for the airport from her cot, directly into the car seat in her pjs, she only woke when I had to get her out of the seat to go through security at the airport. In the uk she wanted to go to bed at around 430pm and she woke earlier but I fed her and then put her into bed with me and she slept for an hour or so. She was fully adjusted by day 5. We flew back on day 6. The return was harder, but, that was due to a delayed flight, delayed baggage, a 30min bus ride to the terminal from the aircraft, the fact that they didn't put the prams through until all the luggage had come through. She had just had enough, as I had,by the time we got home. It took a few days to normalise and now she is back to 630pm through to 7am....good luck!
186
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 14:40
you will find baby will probably have a sleep before bedtime anyway, in the car from airport etc... i am heading back also with a 7 month old and when i went in august (3 months old) i put him down as near to his bedtime as possible but obvs if he was really tired id put him down but no earlier that 6pm. he settled into a routine very quickly, the first few mornings he was awake around 5 but then he was fine.
117
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 12:53
Thanks Daza, I'll hope for the best
117
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 12:53
Thanks Daza, I'll hope for the best
4062
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 10:32
It depends on how they are, if sleepy I'd try to get them back to sleep but if they are up and bouncing about then it's up for the day.
117
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 09:43
Thanks Daza, when they wake early do you behave like its a night wakening and try and get them down or just get them up for the day as you would normally?
4062
Posts
EW MASTER
Latest post on 13 December 2012 - 09:23
It varies a bit each journey but I generally put my children to bed a bit early and have a few early morning wake ups. They often sleep a bit longer than normal anyway as they are worn out by travelling. If you keep them up late (11pm UAE time) then you run the risk of them waking up at their normal time (7am UAE) time anyway and then not only do you have an early start you have an extremely tired grumpy child. Each child is different but mine normally get in to the right zone within a few days, even when flying to NZ.
 
 

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