If you are flying longhaul, don't forget to factor in the dreaded jetlag to your trip.
This might mean you choose to stay the night at an airport hotel before your set off on a long car journey, book a suite/2 rooms at your hotel so you're not all in the same room or even book an overnight flight instead of a day flight.
Flying West seems to be easier than flying East. I usually take an overnight flight from Hong Kong that lands 5/6am in London. I immediately try to get the kids onto a local schedule in terms of naps and feeds.
I often get asked for actual timings so here's what happened on this trip to the UK:
9.5 mth old baby (4 days to adjust)
Day 1 - landed 5am. Slept 8-10am then 1-3pm. Bedtime 7.30pm.
Day 2 - woke at 4am (heard her crying at 3 but held out) so I gave her a bottle. She went back to sleep until 7.30am. Nap times same as day before
Day 3 started crying at 4.30am so I gave her a bottle again. Woke up 7.45am. Napped 9-10am and 1-2:30pm
Day 4 Slept through night and woke up at 6:30am - result!
3.5 year old (3 days to adjust)
Day 1 - landed 5am, midday nap between 2-4pm and then bedtime at 9pm
Day 2 - slept through till 6.30am, midday nap 2-3pm, bedtime 9pm
Day 3 - woke up 7am, awake all day and bed at 8pm
I'm lucky in that as I'm at my parents, they are in separate rooms. I think if we were all in the same hotel room it would be a different story. But if you let that stop you from travelling then you'd never get anywhere.
For futher tips, check out this article by the fantastic Deborah Taylor, sleep expert:
http://sassymamahk.com/sleep-tips-for-jetlagged-babies-and-young-children/
No comments:
Post a Comment