Jet lagged Toddler - what do we do??

[sebmum]

Hi there

Has anyone else out there had to deal with a jet lagged toddler lately?

We returned on a flight from the UK that got in at 5am on Sunday morning. Every night since then has been an absolute shocker. DD (20 months) has been wide awake and screaming to get up and wants to eat and watch the Wiggles, etc. I realise she is totally confused, but DH is back at work and is so tired can hardly walk straight. I'm 25 weeks pregnant and finding it hard to get through the day.

Yesterday, after the worst night so far, I made her get up at 7.15am, then put her down for her usual nap at 12pm (2 hours I gave her) then put her down for the night at 7pm. We thought that this would be good as she'd hopefully be getting back to her normal routine. Wrong! She woke up at 9pm screaming to get up. Then again at 12.45am and was awake for about 2 hours so we brought her into bed with us. She's still asleep as I type this, but I will get her up shortly I think.

What can I do? How long do they usually take to get back to their routine?

She's usually quite a good sleeper and I really don't want to do the sleepless nights thing again as I'm going to be doing that in a few months time again anyway!

Can you help me before I fall asleep at the computer?

[jdsmummy]

Usually kids adapt better than we do and Im sure she will fall back into her old routine.
The only thing I can sugest is keeping to her rountine as much as possilbe.
When we came over from the UK in jan we found that ds woke early and ended up having 2 naps in the day for about a week. He then settled back into his rountine.
Hope this helps a bit.

[Refresh]

Hiya...we got back from Germany/Holland/Dubai a few weeks ago. DD was the same....she would wake up at midnight ready to party lol! It took about 1-2 weeks and she was totally back to normal though :) It took me longer to adjust....the boys were absolutely fine though:)

[sebmum]

Fingers crossed that she gets back to normal soon as we finally had her sleeping well before we left! :)

[Chickadee]

it usually takes DD about a week when flying to N.America, less when coming the return direction.

Other than what you're already doing, all I can suggest is that you absolutely exhaust her in the afternoon after her nap. Get outside, go to a playgroup or playground & wear her down. Then usual bedtime & make sure there is no other reason she might wake - like being cold.

Good luck

[surferchicksal]

Crikey

You have me worried now. Im taking my little girl back to live in Uk and worried about the flight there. She will be 1 year old and she has such a perfect sleeping routine. I dont want her waking up in the night! Im the worst person in the world when I am sleep deprived!!!

We are leaving Brissy at 23.45 I am hoping that she will still sleep when we get on the plane! We arrive at singapore at breakfast time then have a day flight and get into uk at 15.45 then by the time we get back to Nana's house it should be time for bottle and bed!!! I really hope this keeps her in her routine!

[Chickadee]

We are leaving Brissy at 23.45 I am hoping that she will still sleep when we get on the plane!
Our first flight with DD she was 10 months old and we had a similar departure time. She was asleep in teh car on the way to the airport, but then was awake during check in, the gate wait and boarding. She did fall asleep on the plane though :thumbsup:

I know of adults who take melatonin tablets before and after a long trip. It's meant to help with jet lag. but I have no idea if it's safe for kids and would be talking to my gp about it before trying it.

[red crayon]

in may, we got back from a couple of weeks in europe with our 3 year old and it took a while for him to fall back into his usual routine. he managed to get a few colds after getting back which made things harder. he was waking twice a night. the first time i'd lie on his bed with him until he fell asleep again and the second time we'd just stick him bed with use. very nearly killed us! all i can say is stick to your routine and ride it out. try and tire your little one out during the day. early dinners help too. good luck.

[Lastcenturymum]

It can take up to a week at least. Last time I got back I had no issues, went to bed at 10pm and slept right through and no jetlag, this time I was awake at 2-3am for about 3 hours for 5 days.

Hubby always wakes about 3am as well - he got in last night and slept all night, but tonight will tell, if he is up watching the Wiggles I will be really worried :laughing: He had acupuncture today, so I suspect he will be pretty much back on track.

It's so hard when kids get out of their routine, hope she settles quickly:fingerscrossed:

[sebmum]

I sit here with bleary eyes typing this......DD was up for about 4 hours last night. She was wide awake again and when we wouldn't let her watch her DVDs or have dinner she absolutely lost it......and so did we. DH and I were arguing over the best way to deal with this darn jet lag. She just doesn't know where she is. She was absolutely screaming her lungs out at one stage and we didn't know what to do. He ended up taking her for a drive to try to calm her down.

Whilst he was out I called the 24hr parent help line. They told me it can take longer than a week sometimes. I was blubbering away on the phone to her as I feel so useless at helping my little DD. :crying:

I think my problem too is that I am pregnant (due in Dec) and I'm already freaking out about if this next bub is going to be the dreadful sleeper that DD was for the first year of her life. We only just got her sleeping well at about 18 months and whilst we were over in the UK, she slept through EVERY NIGHT! OMG! I'm scared we've now ruined her by taking her on hols. Silly, I know, but I can't help the way I feel and the hormones racing through my body making me think this way.

I don't know how I'm going to cope with one more night of this......:confused:

And if one more patronising 'friend' tells me DD should be over it by now and how wonderfully they're children coped....I WILL SCREAM!!!!!!!! Well, more than I've been screaming already.

[Chickadee]

I'm scared we've now ruined her by taking her on hols. .
You haven't ruined her :hugs: but you know all the work you did to get her sleeping through at 18 months? You might have to do some of that again. Sticking to the bedtime routine she knows and is used to is absolutely the best thing to do.

I wonder whehter you and your DH could take turns getting up with her at night? So that at least one of you is getting a full nights sleep.

Otherwise, keep doing what you are doing. Don't let her sleep in in the morning or have longer naps, and tire her out as much as you can in the afternoon. Sunshine and getting outside in the afternoon is also meant to help reset your body clock and trigger you to sleep a few hours later.