Is the jet lag worth the trip for a 5 month old?

L

Liquorice

Registered User
Hi. I am considering flying back to the UK for 2 weeks with my baby boy who will be 5 months old when I plan to go.

The main reason for the trip is for him to spend some time with his grandparents. It isn't an essential trip, however, as we will be having a big family holiday 3 months later, but my mother makes me feel so guilty about depriving her of her grandchildren that I thought I would try and make more frequent trips (she goes on about how she is missing this important phase of his growth).

I have read posts on here that say it takes a week or more to get the baby over jetlag.

At the moment (4 months), my baby sleeps well generally during the night (waking up once for feeding after a 10pm dream feed) but naps badly during the day (max 3 hours if we're lucky).

Is the jet lag relatively easy to deal with or is it really unpleasant and difficult? Will my son just be miserable the whole time and/or sleeping all day so he won't get to spend time with his Grandma anyway?

Trying to work out whether it is a bad idea or not...

Any experience / advice welcomed...
 
I took my daughter to Ireland for two weeks when she was 4 1/2 months old. I booked a night flight, she slept for most of it which was a relief! We arrived into Ireland in the morning and I just followed her lead for a few days. She slept a lot during the first couple of days and would wake up in the mornings at about 5am so I would get up with her then. She was over her jet lag in about three days and was fine. It was well worth the trip for the grandparents to get to see her and spend time with her.
I fould the jet lag more difficult to deal with when I got bck to hong kong - that took her just over a week to re-adjust to hong kong time (My return flight was also a night flight so she arrived in hong kong in the evening - and her body thought it was morning!)
I would say go for it!
 
yes, going east is more difficult than going west. so, when i go to canada, it is killer for the kids, coming back to hk is not as bad...

honestly, to me, ANY trip home is worth it in my mind. i consider my mother knowing my kids to be one of the biggest problems i have living in hk.

if money/time is not a problem for you, then i would suggest you go for 3 weeks instead of 2.
 
It only takes my daughter a couple of days to adjust (about the same for me) but all children are different. I think it's a matter of you deciding what you're up for. Maybe your mom can agree to taking care of the baby while you get some much deserved rest :) Ultimately, take the trip for your own reasons and don't let your mother guilt you into it if you don't want to go. I do agree that the night flights (when your child is sleeping) is the best way to go. I made the mistake of taking a 15hour day trip and truely suffered! Hope that helps.
 
It gets harder as they get older, so definitely take advantage now.

I would also wait until you are back to start solids, if you were thinking of doing so before. As their body clocks are out of sorts, they of course aren't hungry at regular mealtimes for the first few days. For a 5-6 month old, you wouldn't be feeding them much anyway but it can be draining when you have gotten everything ready, organized your child and then they just refuse to eat! With milk, it never seemed like a big deal to gradually adjust the timing.

We go to the US and it usually takes about a week to adjust. Went to the UK this summer and it was just 3-4 days max.
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