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Long Flights & Time Changes. Help!!

post #1 of 13
Thread Starter 
We are traveling to Hawaii in a few weeks (my husband, myself and DD who is 13 mos). The flight with layovers will be around 14 hours. Once there, the time difference is 6 hours.
She is a very consistent twice a day napper and I'm so worried that her little internal clock is going to be all messed up....And I'm questioning when to try to get her down for naps while there.
We are staying with my MIL, and will be attending SIL's wedding (which will require DD to be out way past bed time!)
Any ideas or tips for making this easier? And what about the long flight? Any good ideas there? She's never been on a plane before.
post #2 of 13
We flew to Europe when our dd's were 5 and 2. The only thing you really can do is just go with the flow as far as when she gets tired. As far as the flight, pack a small carry-on with toys and snacks.
post #3 of 13
we are going to the middle east Saturday...
its going to be over a day with layovers and flights...ugh..
I hear you!

Get her up at same time when you are there she will adjust, take her outside to see sunlight, eat at same times (although don't expect her to eat a lot)

Also how long are you going for?

kids I find travel better than us, and adjust better.
we tend to get crankier, they will sleep, eat anywhere just about..

my advice...
1. no sugar on the plane, recipie for disaster.
2. bring activities, music, whatever can keep her interest.
3. take her for walks on the plane, bathroom visits...
4. you relax the more stressed you are the more wound up they get.
5. find her friends on the plane - little old ladies, other babies.
6. find out if airport has kid play place for your layover

have fun!
post #4 of 13
We've done a lot of traveling and moving with DS, though not such a big time change since we went to Germany when he was 5 weeks. I've found that he does a good job of adjusting within a day or two on his own to the different time changes. One of the best things I found was to expose them to a the sunrises and sunsets (this helps me adjust, too). Then let her tell you when she wants to nap. She'll probably get pretty close to her usual times, at least DS does.

As far as the plane ride, that can be really hard on little ones. Best thing is to bring LOTS of things that she likes to play with, and when the "Fasten Seat Belt" light is off, get up and let her wander. I had flight attendants tell me I shouldn't let my DS crawl on the floors since they're gross, but it was either that or he would have been crying in the seat. I chose to let him crawl! If she's walking, it's much less of an issue.

If you're worried about the pressure changes and her ears and you're planning on nursing, know that the decent is harder on the ears than the assent. Also, wait until you're actually starting to take off before nursing or she might be done before you actually get off the ground (this happened to us, though it was better than the first time we flew and he spit up everything all over me at the beginning of the 12 hour flight.) The pressure change has never been a huge problem with DS, though there have been other kids on the flight that have more problems with it.

You can see if there is somewhere at the place the wedding will be held where you could lay DD down where you can still see/hear her - if she can sleep with the festivites going on everywere. I've also worn DS in a sling or wrap and had him fall asleep there. She won't likely sleep really well, but for DS some is better than none since he'll still wake up at the normal time the next day anyways

Other than that ENJOY!! I love Hawaii!
post #5 of 13
Thread Starter 
We will be there for 10 days.
All this advice is WONDERFUL!!!! Thank you.
post #6 of 13
Thread Starter 
The idea of a sling at the wedding is a good one. Only thing, I think she is too big now for her hotsling, which she used to love to fall asleep in. I do have a Maya wrap that would probably work.
I may need to do a new post on this one, but I'm thinking of getting a new carrier for the purpose of hiking while we're there. I'm thinking of the Ergo. What do you think?
post #7 of 13
I love my ERGO for my year old 23 lber (I'm 105lbs and 5;4" and it's comfy on me!)
post #8 of 13
No good advice, but :

I am trying to read these threads whenever they come up - we will be traveling 8 time zones away when DS is 22ish months, and I am terrified. We last did that when he was 5 months and I regret ever having taken the trip. Granted, a lot of that has to do with him having hit a lot of milestones around that same time and the trip being short and our sleep being short as well. But that whole experience makes me wary of long distance travel with kids...
post #9 of 13
We just got back from a week-long trip to Maui with our 20-month-old daughter. We're on the east coast, so it was a 6-hour time difference. Here is our experience.

Going over, we left early in the morning--had to wake DD up at 4:45am. She didn't sleep at all during the first flight, but then she took her regular nap at the beginning of the second flight. We bought a seat for her and brought her car seat. As long as we were entertaining her, she was fine. We brought tons of books--a few old favorites and lots of new ones. I also bought her 3 new toys that we got out on the airplane. We also brought lots of snacks, which was fortunate because we didn't get any meals on our flights.

I didn't find we needed to have her walk the aisles on the plane; for her, it was enough to walk through the airports. We were all exhausted when we arrived, but we managed to keep DD up until a reasonable bedtime. She went to sleep with no problem at all because she was so tired.

She woke up early, between 5 and 6am, the whole week. We got to see lots of sunrises. She was always wiped out by her naptime, though, because of all the fun, sun, swimming, etc. She took better naps than she does at home, a combination of all the activity and the fact that the hotel room was so much darker than her room at home. We kept bedtime flexible, given that it was vacation, and we never had difficulty getting her to sleep at night. DD didn't seem to have a great appetite during the trip. I think she was too distracted with attention from her grandparents and uncle, and all of the sights to see during meals (as opposed to our boring old kitchen).

The flights going home were much easier. Our first flight left late in the evening, and DD slept the entire 6 hours. She then slept the first two hours of the second flight, but we ended up waking her up so that she would be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

She slept fine the first night we got home. Actually, she slept until 10:30 the next morning. We probably should have woken her up, but DH and I were so tired. Since then, her naps have been normal, but her bedtime has been a struggle. I'm not sure if we're trying to put her to bed too close to her normal bedtime. I'm going to try keeping her up a bit later tonight. She's been sleeping in about an hour later than normal, too.

We didn't use a carrier during this trip because DD pretty much refuses to be worn. But when we traveled when she was younger, our Ergo and mei tai were terrific--especially for getting through the airport. If you're bringing a stroller, you can pile your carry-ons in there and just wear your child. They've never made me take her out to go through security, although that might depend on the airport. Also, remember that things like diaper cream count as liquids, so you'll want to go through your diaper bag ahead of time.

I hope you have a great time!
post #10 of 13
check out inmotion entertainment. they rent dvd players at airports. each day's rental includes a free dvd. much easier than bringing your own player (if you have one) and it was a special treat for our dd who doesn't get to watch tv at home.

also, we found that having dd in her carseat for the flight was really good. she's used to relaxing, falling sleep, et al. in there and didn't get really anxious to get out and run wild around the plane (which we couldn't do anyways because we were stuck in the middle of a row!). good luck!!
post #11 of 13

travel anxiety

We are planning our trip to my cousins wedding in St. Louis in October, already bought tickets and will be holding our, then, 10 month old on our laps. I am feeling very anxious about this, because this will be our first flying experience with him. If anyone has ANY tips, they would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
post #12 of 13
When we took DS to Hawaii last year it ended up being a 24+ hour trip because of delays. He did great. DH and I were the ones who lost our minds.

PLENTY of snacks
Sticker books and surprise toys
something like a blankie to get some shut eye on the go
and get to the airport EARLY to let you kid run around like crazy and get the wiggles out. That way (hopefully) they'll be pooped and maybe sleep on the plane.

We've done many long distance trips with DS (Vancouver from the east coast, Mexico, etc) before he was 3 and the travel was never all that bad. I had more stress packing than being on the go.

Have fun!
post #13 of 13
I just got back from the UK with a 12 month old. 8 hour difference. Actually the flight was great and the least of my problems. I hadn't thought that much about jetlag beforehand and it wasn't fun. My only advise is to not plan anything for the first couple of days and just try to get back into regular naps and bedtime as quickly as possible. My DS is not a good sleeper so it was hard on him but he adjusted after about 4 days. Coming back it took longer for some reason. Good luck and have fun.
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