Time zone traveling

[AmyG81]

My nine month old has been sleeping through the night since he was four months old thanks to BW techniques. Next month we are traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast for a six day trip. Any suggestions for how to prepare for this three hour time zone change?

[Katet]

3 hours time difference isn't that much. My Sister did quite a few trips from the UK to Australia  & vice versa  (9-11 hours difference depending on season) & she said her children ALWAYS did better than she did. She found that it would take her one day for each hour difference in time to adjust, but one sleep for every hour for her children so if they were on 2 naps a day, they'd be adjusted in 3 days while she was still struggling much longer.

With a 9mo I'd probably try to shift his bedtime an hour later before you go & then see what happens when you get there, you may find that it's easier to only shift 1-2 hours later & have an earlier morning/ bedtime while you away & then have less to change when you go home again.

[AmyG81]

Thanks! That seems doable. My brothers wedding is at 5pm which will feel like 8pm, one hr after bedtime, and he would like the baby at the wedding. I'll work on a later bedtime to make this work.

[aisling]

Hi there. I disagree, 3 hours may not seem that much but I find the east/west coast time change annoying, more so then when we travel to Europe.  So be prepared to just go with the flow.  3 hours is just enough to make things silly and out of whack lol.  We travel Toronto to Vancouver (EST-PT) a lot and it takes a few days to get used to it and then you have to turn around and come back lol. First time we did it with DS he was 1 yr old. 

How far in advance will you be arriving before the wedding? What time is your flight, so your DS will nap on the plane right, or at least on an airport journey?  I would see if you can get your DS to have as late a nap as possible before the wedding so as you say 5pm which is really 8 pm won't be so exhausting for him.  Be prepared, you all will wake up early the first few days when you get there.  Your body clock and bowels lol will wake you at 4-5am our time. So not sure where you are staying but when we stay with family, we quietly go to their living room and do some quiet activities and then head out for a coffee at Starbucks as to not wake the westcoasters lol.  Sorry, not being doom and gloom, it's not that bad and you will adjust, it's more annoying.   Coming back home I don't mind so much but you will be going to bed later and waking later so be prepared to have your DS sleeping in for a couple days. 

I think it is best to just get him to sleep where you can get it.  I don't really think you can do much to prepare and your DS has such a good base and sleep habits that it will be no probs getting into the swing of things once the body adjusts.  have fun!!

[AmyG81]

We arrive three days early. Flight is early, so we'll basically fly all day. I'm hoping maybe I can sneak in an extra nap or a power nap to buy more time. He's an easy going baby so we'll hope that gets us through it!

[aisling]

Super!