When it comes to travelling long-haul, how to manage jet lag in babies and toddlers is one of the more common concerns of parents thinking of travelling further afield. I’ve written a blog post about travelling long haul with a baby during a pandemic which includes a packing list and flight tips, but now I wanted to focus specifically on jet lag.
I read an overwhelming amount of tips online before our trip and it did get me a bit worried. The most stressful piece of advice I read was: “If the time difference is 4 hours, it will take 4 days for your baby to adjust”. The time difference in San Francisco was 8 hours and we were only staying there for 7 so I had visions of absolute carnage.
It really wasn’t like that at all.
The first night
Flights to America from the UK are always daytime flights – I think that’s down to when the aviation authorities pay for flying slots, but don’t quote me on that.
Because we were delayed, we took off at 4pm UK time and arrived at SFO at 7pm US time. Our intention was for Isaac to have a shortened ‘night time’ sleep on the plane. In our heads, he would sleep around 3 hours into the flight and perhaps wake up 2 hours before we landed.
LOL. He didn’t sleep.
In hindsight, that worked to our advantage because as soon as we got to our friends apartment in San Francisco, he fell asleep in his cot at 9pm US time. I wouldn’t encourage you to keep your baby or toddler awake on a 12 hour flight, but if it does happen, don’t panic. Sometimes there’s too much stimulation on flights for little babies.
Let them wake up
That first night, Isaac woke up for the day at 3am and then had a ‘morning nap’ at 6-7am. We didn’t try to force him back to sleep at 3am. I can usually tell just by looking at Isaac whether or not he will go back to sleep, I’m sure many of you are the same.
We had an abundance of snacks available, so he had a snack and some milk to keep him going. We were quite aware that it was usually his lunchtime at home, so letting him snack to get him by until meal times was pretty important.
During that time between 3-6am, we did keep everything chilled, though, so he knew it wasn’t day time. We only had a lamp on and we played quiet games in bed rather than loud games with all the lights or the TV on.
Then, when he woke from his ‘nap’ at 7am, he would have his breakfast. This sort of pattern went on for a couple of days until he started to adjust and wake up a little later each day.
NB: I’m not a ‘don’t give your child the iPad’ kind of mum, but I wouldn’t recommend giving them an iPad in the middle of the night, it’ll only rile them up!
The importance of food
I mentioned that we gave Isaac his breakfast at the usual time of 7am, even though it was 3pm UK time. We decided to do this from the offset and offer him plenty of snacks to keep him going in between meals until he was settled into his new eating routine.
Isaac likes his food, and that’s an understatement. So, we had no problems in getting him to eat a full meal at a different time. If you do, I would just offer it but not put too much pressure on it. If they’re not hungry, they’re not hungry, but having plenty of snacks will help. Think: yoghurt, rice crackers with nut butter, fruit, cheese on toast. I’d go for filling things over sweet treats, so even if they’re not eating as much, they’ll still feel full.
Get outside
This is one of my biggest tips for how to manage jet lag in babies and toddlers. In the morning on the first day, we went for brunch and took Isaac to a park in the sunshine so he had plenty of fresh air. During the week, he had the majority of his naps in the buggy in the fresh air.
I think Isaac adjusted to day time quicker because he could actually see the sun. If you’re all hauled up in a hotel room feeling groggy with jet lag, they won’t really know what is night and what is day.
Don’t let them nap longer than they do at home
Isaac definitely didn’t sleep at the same kind of times as he does at home, but we just didn’t let him have more than about 3-4 hours in the day. He was 1 at the time. When we go to LA in March, he will be 17 months, so we’re going to try for 2-3 hours of sleep instead.
He tended to sleep in shorter, but more regular bursts and we just let him do his thing.
Don’t push it on the first couple of nights
As the holiday went on, we were able to take Isaac out in his buggy and let him sleep in it while we had a meal. We didn’t do this for the first couple of nights while he (and we) adjusted. He went to sleep in his cot at a reasonable time and we stayed in and got a takeaway. If you’re staying in a hotel room, you could always get room service or have an early night yourself. Don’t push them too far otherwise you could end up teetering on the edge of overtired, which is never fun in a restaurant.
Don’t overthink it
Travelling with a baby or toddler really isn’t as bad as you might build it up to be in your head. Remember, when they wake up because they’re not tired because of jet lag, you’ll be able to wake up more easily than usual because you’ll have jet lag too. James and I found it quite nice to have a cup of tea in bed and play with Isaac. If we were feeling really tired, we’d take it in turns to sleep while the other played.
It does work and it means you get an amazing holiday out of it.
Plus, and this is a big plus, if your baby – like Isaac – has had periods of sleeping badly, jet lag just does not phase you in the same way anymore. When you’ve been up every hour for months on end, a couple of days of disrupted sleep is like a drop in the ocean.
Both James and I commented on how refreshed we felt considering how long we’d been up, once again proving just how much your body adjusts to no sleep. The first time we went to San Francisco we could barely keep our eyes open, pre-Isaac.
And, what about when you get home?
Isaac had three nights of really pretty terrible sleep when we got home. Slowly, it started to return back to normal, but let me say it again; it’ll never seem that bad when you’re used to newborn levels of sleep. If you can get through the newborn phase, the world is your oyster.
Just go easy on yourself for those first few days back and slowly things will return to normal again and you’ll be left with the best memories from the best trips. Jet lag will be so low on the list of things you remember about your trip.
What do you think?
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