Adjusting 9h forward with littles is no joke. We’ve done this change 10 times with kids and this year has been so smooth for the first time ever. Let me share everything I’ve learned so far for BIG time changes:
1. Age matters: Babies are easiest to adjust because they sleep so much day and night. And now that my kids finally DONT nap it’s easier again (because as toddlers they took such late naps the first days… we ended up all night 😩)
2. Summer travel is easiest because there’s more daylight & more outdoor activities for the kids to get active and tired so we prioritize this season.
3. Having an apartment is easier than a hotel because you can cook late at night & have more snacks available since adjusting to 9h food schedule change also takes a few.
4. I don’t recommend less than 10 days of travel for such a big 9h time change with littles. Doable, but prob less enjoyable.
5. My goal with a summer vacay is NOT to adjust to the same 6a to 830p kid wake/sleep schedule than back home! Sun sets at 10pm and there’s children out till late here, so doing a 10a wake to midnight bed schedule is amazing to enjoy the sun and, the late dinners & sunset parks with cooler weather! This also makes adjusting faster & relaxed.
6. First thing when we wake, straight to the beach: sunlight & movement to adjust our circadian rhythm with grounding (feet on nature ) too!
7. Keeping a busy active schedule for the 12h of awake window (beach, bikes, pool, walking, parks…) with l breaks to reset.
8. Eating small healthier snacks through the day to adjust the food schedule is key & avoids crashes and tantrums.
9. Adults keep caffeine intake to 1cup/day and only 3-4h after waking.
10. Utilizing blinds is ideal to get a good deep rest.
11. The plane ride and schedule / landing time will change your expedience too be strategic if possible
12. I use magnesium (a natural mineral) not melatonin (a hormone) to help them fall asleep faster and sleep deeper to allow adjusting faster. Shop here.
13. Be on same page: go to sleep when kids go to sleep the first few days.
Here's exactly what I did:
Day 1: overnight flight, kids slept like a normal 8pm to 6am day on board (we slept what we could). Landed at 4pm local they were up till 9pm (exhausted from travel they wanted to sleep, so I knew it would be a nap). Us parents were extra exhausted since we slept less and so we all went to bed. Knowing we'd all get up around 1am. And sure enough we did. Then we were up till 5am: the kids went out with my husband on bike rides 3am to 5am, the key here is to get them tired as soon as possible to keep sleeping before the sun comes out. No screens is important too. They came back and we went all to bed at 5am until 1pm so we were feeling 100% caught up on sleep.
Day 2: after a nonstop beach and play day in the sun, they went to bed at 2am (hey did a normal 13h day) and we went to bed at 4am (2h later like we do back home, so we could unwind and work). Woke up at 11am refreshed and without jet lag and we already accomplished our 10am to 12pm schedule for the kids (2am for parents) that we wanted to keep on this trip! So easy.
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