DeafFlyer

We used a folding stroller that the car seat fit into. Then at boarding bring stroller up the jetway to the aurcraft door. There we pick up car seat with baby, fold the stroller, find the seat and strap car seat and baby in. (can't do that with lap baby).

We did same as others. However, once we made it to 8:00 or 8:30 pm we would let them sleep and they would sleep 12 hours! A 6 month ol though will probably sleep on it's own schedule, thouh. try to kep baby busy and only let it sleep as long as a normal nap would be at home, until bedtime. That's the idea but it doesn't always work in praticer.

hawaiifiveoh

There is a stroller which doubles as a car seat/infant plane seat that I often see other parents with. I don't know what it is called, but you should be able to find one online. These seem to work great.

pi4er

Rule of thumbs: kids do NOT get jetlag, they can only continue having a schedule, if you have enforced one on them. I'm amazed to seet this working even now that my son's 4. Ofcourse, stop the schedule and let kid have her own times for everything before departure. You will be amazed by the results upon arrival in new timezone.
I never cared for carseat. The free basinets on the planes are fine. They easily carry kids up to 2yrs of age no matter what FAs tell you. Just order bassinet in advance. If you rent a car, there are always car seat available, but sometimes they are far from free, maybe better to buy one. Airlines sometimes do have courtesy strollers/ car seats available for the period of your stay.

6453laura

My daughter has traveled with me before...but next week we'll be doing our first transatlantic flight and will have an 8 hour time difference to work with. My husband and I usually stay up as late as possible local time then crash and sleep as long as we like to get into the routine...

Any suggestions for helping kids with adjusting to the time difference?

thanks!

lfasgrl

I travel with a three year old we usually have to adjust about 3-4 hours depending on the trip . I have found the trying to change his schedule before the trip seems to work best , One week before the trip I changed his bedtime to be 1-2 hours earlier or later depending on the trip by the middle of the week I adjust again to match the hour of where we are going. I set my clock for the time that is there and we lived on the time for the last two days and the day of the trip. So far it has work pretty well.

fneumeier

Traveling with our 5 yrs. old daughter, she haven't had any problems adjusting to a time difference of 7 hours this summer. Just tried to keep her awake westbound for the whole flight and going out for early dinner after arrival kept her awake for another hour. Eastbound give the kids some extra workout while the day so they're tired enough to go to bed early.

It also seems to be good advice to give them as much bright sunlight after arrival as possible. When we had a time difference of 6 hours last November, she had much more trouble because late sunrise and early sunset ...

Wingman32

I remember when I was little I went through this all the time on the way to Poland (7hrs difference). I was usually fine, except for one miserable trip when I was five and ended up staying up until 300am b/c I couldn't get to sleep. I would honestly try (i know it'll be hard) to edge bedtime earlier, and get the kids up earlier in the morning. And then keep the kids up for as long as possible on the flight and the next day. It'll be rough for one day, but it'll definitely pay off.

W

6453laura

Thanks everyone for the ideas - should be fun!

carltoncl

We got back on 8/26 from a trip to the east coast of Australia and settled back in to Cleveland (Cleveland is 14 hrs behind Australian east coast time). Our just-turned 2 y.o. is driving my wife nuts because the kid refuses to sleep in her crib anymore, totally out of whack and my wife is desperate for a few Zs.

Literally the day before we left Cleveland the kid would sleep peacefully in her crib, never complained at all - ever. She'd wake up at 7:30am, nap at 12pm for about 2 hrs, then bed at 8:30pm sleeping through the night, very good routine, rarely a problem.

Now she screams like a banshee when we put her to bed, she won't sleep in her crib at all, wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, just awful. The kid gets so tired she just falls asleep instead of helping herself go to sleep like she used to do.

Anyone gone through this before? I am just shocked at how this change occurred - literally - from one day to the next. On the way out to Australia we spent the night in LA and we made the mistake of putting her portable crib in a dark corner of the hotel. I am thinking that, combined with the unfamliar surroundings, the darkness and everything have made her scared of going to sleep. Anyone agree or could offer suggestions?

Is it safe to give melatonin in small amts to toddlers?

Please, any help much appreciated, we're going nuts.

baccarat_king

I have had similar experiences when our youngest [now 3-1/2] has gone off schedule a few times. The ONLY word of advise I can offer is to be persistent. IMHO, as hard as it is sometimes, we have tried NOT to give in. [to the best of our ability] I have a number of friends that have, after a similar experience, allowed their youngest to change routine [like sleeping with the parents] and unfortunately, this routine change makes things even more difficult.

My wife and I have always endured the crying/screaming and sort of forced the routine back [and yes, our youngest is very stubborn] -- REMEMBER,
It might be 2-3 weeks of hell to get your 2 yo back on schedule,

but.... if you don't force it... and allow the routines to stay broken... it could go on for 2 years...

Also.. as parents of 3 [3-1/2, 8, and 11] -- we have always allowed our children to cry in their crib/bed if they are being unreasonable. I do know of some parents who will NOT allow their children to cry... If this is the case, unfortunately, get ready for the long haul.......

Also, vodka for the parents [preferably gray goose] works wonders.

Good Luck !

erik123

Also, you can't force yur kid to go to bed - I would change the routine more lowly - e.g. let her go to bed at 1 am or so if this works and then every day 1/2 hour earlier - and keep her awake for most of the day. They say jetleg takes one day for every hour of time difference to get over copmpletely - can you imagine how hard this must be for a kid. Also, an antihistamine/cough syrup (ask your pediatrician) work well to make them dorwasy (if you are up for that).

dhuey

The trip may have triggered this, but it is fairly normal toddler behavior. We had our kids sleep with us until they were three. Terrible parenting, many would say. Compassionate, loving parenting, others would say.

Keep an open ear to the ideas of others, but in the end, you call the shots -- do what seems natural for your family.

MarTN

I would go to the pediatrician and have her ears and throat checked. She may have picked up some type of infection.

Many 2-yo children are ready to move to "big girl beds. (either toddler or twin)" Try putting her crib mattress on the floor with cute sheets.

Keep her everyday routine calm and predictable with nutritious food and plenty of exercise.

My kids are now 16, 13, and 10. When we followed the "no bottle", "no spanking", "no leaving them to cry" parenting model 16 years ago, people thought we were nuts. Some probably do. But I have no regrets.

dhuey

Great call. Yes, that could well be the problem. It's definitely worth a quick check.

Analise

You just mention you wife but not yourself. Do you somehow sleep right through your child's "screaming like a banshee"?