[smbcpc]

We have been home for three days and are going through major jet lag, especially our baby. She naps in the evening and sleeps for 6-7 hours starting 6AM. his means that she spends her entire night fussing and refusing to go to sleep even though we can see that she is very tired.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to get her used to our time zone FAST before DH and I pass out from sleep deprivation?

Also, has anyone used herbal remedies for their baby to relieve anxiety and help with sleep? We were thinking about possibly using chamomile or valerian.
Thanks!

[sak9645]

Two big keys to success are getting onto a fairly rigid schedule and getting outdoors; sunlight helps to re-establish the body's sleep/wake cycle.

The simple fact is that you need to keep your child awake in the daytime for a few days, even if it makes her cranky. In the morning, no matter how tired you are, start your day at about six or when you normally plan to start it. Get your child up, dressed, and fed.

Then, put your child into the stroller and walk to a playground or park. Talk to her constantly, showing her all the new things you see -- a doggy, a squirrel, a flower, etc. If she is walking, get her out of the stroller and encourage her to walk a little. At the playground, put her in the baby swing and let her swing for a while. And so on.

If you must, drive to the playground, but don't do a lot of driving with your child. She will just fall asleep in the car, and that's not what you want. Doing a short errand is fine. Again, drive to the supermarket or mall and keep your child as active as possible, mentally and physically.

Bring your child home for an early lunch. She may fall asleep in the high chair, but that's OK. Move her to her bed and start her naptime. Otherwise, tell her, after lunch, that it is naptime and that she will have to rest. If she fusses about sleeping in her crib, bring her to your room and lie down with her. Maybe you will both get some sleep.

Don't let your child sleep much longer than two hours or so. Get her up, give her a snack, and do some indoor play. Sit on the floor with her and roll a ball to her; teach her to roll it back. Show her how the stacking cubes or rings work. If you have time for a walk outside, great, but you may have to much to get done.

Encourage your child to "help" you make dinner. Seat her near you and give her a pot to bang on, or put a small bit of cooked potato into a bowl and encourage her to mash it, while you mash the rest of the potatoes. She won't do a very good job, but she'll have fun.

Soon it will be dinner time. Have a good, hearty meal. Then start on a quiet "glide path" to bedtime. A video/DVD of something very gentle might be nice, unless your child is visually sensitive, when visual images may provoke nightmares. Looking at pictures in a book or catalog might be pleasant.

Begin a formal bedtime ritual that you'll pursue every night. Bathe your child and make it pleasant, with warm water, plenty of bath toys, etc. If she likes the water, great; let her linger in it.

Read a book or two or three to your child after her bath, if she can still keep awake. If you are a praying family, say your prayers with your child. Give plenty of hugs, and put your child into her bed. If necessary, put on a "white noise" machine or one that plays tapes of water sounds or other soothing sounds.

By this point, your child should be very sleepy. Put her into her crib and say good night. Hopefully, she'll take the hint.

But if your child fights sleep, you might try lying down again with your child. Or you might have to come sit by your child and remind her regularly that it is good night time.

With plenty of sunlight and fresh air, as well as a regular schedule, your child should be able to get over jet lag within a few days. Until it happens, you'll all be tired.

Sharon

[sakelley]

We got home around 11 pm on a Thursday night and by Sunday our daughter was sleeping a regular schedule of 8:30 pm to 7:00 am. How did we do it? We slept for a few hrs at a time on Thurs night/Fri morning, Fri afternoon, Fri night/Sat morning and tried to stay awake rest of Sat. By that time, we were so exhausted that we slept longer Sat night. On Sun, we didn't let our daughter take any naps and spent as much time outside as possible. That night, we all got a full night's sleep and were adjusted back. I found that I had more problems adjusting to China time than I did to adjusting back to our time.

[copper653]

Dr. told us that it could be mths before jetlag is fully gone for Lian. She was getting up every three hrs so the other night we gave her some chamomile tea and she slept through the night for the first time since we've been home. We just make it up and since she likes to drink out of cups let her help us drink it.
A friend also told us like sak9645 to get her out into the sunlight as much as possible. Plus to keep her awake cold washclothes when she was falling asleep. Lian didn't like the washclothes too much, she would always cry like it was painful.

Good Luck!

[thundrrds]

you have to keep her awake and in the sunlight. That can be especially helpful in the late afternoon (with it being hot out that may be your real outdoor time right now).
Typically it's a day for every hour of a time zone change to just get 'on track' with the time change. That has nothing to do with how well your daughter will 'really' sleep at night in the long run but will get her body to be accustomed to the new time zone.
All the suggestions are great. Get people to help you with fixing meals and doing your laundry so you can tend to your child and nap when she does.
As Sharon said you may have a few rough and cranky days but she'll adjust fairly quickly.

good luck. We've all gone thru it too.

Joanne

[KarenInCa]

Hi Sue, it's probably a combination of jet lag AND the fact that in China she was awake during her night hours here.
For about two weeks, when we were first home with our first daughter, we would keep her up as late as possible by playing with her....11 or midnight, then let her go to sleep, and during the nap time, we would intentionally wake her to let her get accustomed to being tired at night.
It takes a bit of time, but I think it's something we all go thru. And just when you think that there's something wrong, and nothing will change, it all changes.

Good luck,

[oleson1]

WELCOME HOME!!!

I agree with Karen, probably more of the problem has to do with her sleep/wake cycle being totally backwards (due to the time factor) than jet lag.

When we brought Jasmine home, she was sick with a respiratory infection and slept for days, some medicated and some not, so we kind of lucked out (depending on how you look at it).

It will be a rough little bit, but tough it out. Keep her awake during the light hours until her internal clock gets reset. Allow her to sleep when you do -- and nap when she does! Take the same advice as parents of newborns. It is good for you!

[smbcpc]

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. We will try to break that cycle by keeping her up during the day as much as we can and take her outside for long periods of time. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the pediatrician so hopefully we can have all of our questions answered.

[ElectricGypsy]

Welcome back! I don't have any new advice to give since the advice already given was so great.

I just wanted to know how everything went on the plane trip. I know that you were really concerned about that. Hopefully that ended up not being too bad