A fear of many (including me) when traveling with babies and toddlers is messing up their schedule. This especially includes dealing with time zone changes. Here are some things you can do to help your little traveler deal with jet lag.
Start adjusting your baby’s schedule beforehand. Anticipate the new time zone and shift your baby’s schedule ahead or back a bit each day. Put her to bed a little later each night and get her up later in the morning if you’re headed west, or put her to bed a bit earlier in the evening and wake her up earlier in the morning if you plan to travel east. Adjust nap times accordingly, too.
When it comes time to making travel arrangements, keep your baby’s sleep schedule in mind. A red-eye flight might work well if it’s long enough and your baby will sleep as usual during it. (Make sure you sleep, too!) Pull the shades, minimize sound and activity, and synchronize your watch with the new time zone. Traveling during sleep time will make the trip easier on you both and perhaps be least disruptive to your baby’s schedule. If you’re lucky, you may be able to pull off a similar scenario by booking a shorter flight during your baby’s regular nap time.
It might take a few days for your baby to adjust. (The more time zones you cross, the longer it will take.) Be flexible with the feeding and sleeping schedule. Coax your baby by giving her cues to stay awake, even while her internal clock is telling her it’s evening. One good cue is sunlight: Keep her busy in the daylight hours. Have her eat and play in sunny rooms, and spend as much time as possible outside. When it’s time to sleep, dim all the lights and talk very softly.
Your baby or toddler will be faced with much that’s new to her during your trip. She’ll probably appreciate it if you bring along some things that are familiar to her — a favorite toy and blanket and the lotion you usually use, for example (see here for helping baby to sleep in new places).
Of course, when you get home you’ll need to reverse the entire process. It may sound like a lot of work, but it will (hopefully) be worth it! Good luck and let us know how it goes!
