Need Advice to Help My 5-Month Old Get over Jet Lag

We just moved back from Amsterdam after living there for 2.5 years. It took my now 7 month old 2 weeks to adjust. It just takes time. Sounds like you are doing everything right. Make sure you get outdoors whether the weather permits or not and surround him with loud noises. Also try not to sleep in which will further mess up his schedule. Awake at a normal time, nap at a normal time and go to bed at his usual time. Even if he cries for a bit at least it is retraining his internal clock. Again it just takes time and know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck!

The typical ratio for jet-lag is for every day they are gone (in a different time zone) and for every time zone it takes about 5 hours to get back to normal. For example, when we went to Russia we were 13 hours away and we were gone for 2 weeks (this was to bring home our oldest son). It took me about 2 weeks to get back to normal, my husband almost 2 months, and our son about 3 weeks to adjust to our time. So there is some variance, but your baby sounds normal. My suggestion (it worked for us) is to keep your baby up 15 minutes longer than he wants to. That way you can slowly readjust his time clock. Also, make sure he is good and tired. Play with him until you fall apart at the limbs and he gets all cross-eyed and head wobbly! Then keep him awake 15 more minutes. Slowly move the times back. Don't forget your bedtime routine! Good luck and know he'll eventually be straigtened out again.

We lived in Italy for a year when our daughter was 2yo. I did much as you did, keeping the room dimly lit all night and sleeping most of the day. It took her 10 (miserable) days to adjust to the time change.

My only advise is to have him be in direct sunlight (inside or out) as much as possible. My husband travels for work frequently now and says that taking a walk in the sunshine helps him with the jet lag tremendously. I would try putting the baby in the stroller as much as possible during the day. Even if he falls asleep, his body will be processing that it is daytime...

Do you have family, friends or a sitter that could help you out? They could take him for walks while you slept. :)

Good luck!

Hi G., whee we went to Asia and returned with my 6 month old and 2 year old I would limit them to a 2 hour nap during the day. It was torture waking them up from naps, but it was the only way to ensure they were tired enough to sleep during the day.

Call 1800HOMEOPATHY and get some Camomilla an ask them what they recommend. They have great Teething Tabs too. Its safe and easy for babies to take. Good luck

Please just be patient. We fly 2x a year overseas since my son was 8 months old. Coming to the USA is always better than flying to Europe, mainly because our routine is to wake up at 3am when our son is up, then go to Denny's for breakfast, then on to the many places that are open 24 hours a day. With us it takes about a week, and if we don't stress out about it, it can be fun. Every night we'll sleep an hour longer until we are back to normal. Hope this helps.