Nicole Eli
I want to go to Europe next summer (not this summer) and my daughter will be 2 years old. I don't think hostels are a good idea with a child that young, so I know it will cost more than travelling without her. I plan to go to the UK, France, and Italy. Excluding the plane tickets to and from Europe, how much approximately would it cost? (Please answer in euros or Canadian dollars)
Also, which of these countries is probably the cheapest and which is probably the most expensive? (In case I have to bump a country or 2 off the list).
Answer
You will be travelling in the high season so everything costs more, including plane tickets: check with cheapflights.com for those. Also check with housesitting.com, maybe that will be for your (you get free lodging, in exchange for looking after the cat , the plants or whatever. UK France and Italy are all quite expensive. For lodging, local transport, food and entertainment - museums and such, figure a good 100 euros per day.
You will be travelling in the high season so everything costs more, including plane tickets: check with cheapflights.com for those. Also check with housesitting.com, maybe that will be for your (you get free lodging, in exchange for looking after the cat , the plants or whatever. UK France and Italy are all quite expensive. For lodging, local transport, food and entertainment - museums and such, figure a good 100 euros per day.
How do I get my toddler over jet-lag?
Anela Ange
We flew from the UK to the USA for two weeks and just got back 3 days ago. Now my 1 year old is awake all night and sleeping all through the day. How can I adjust her sleep schedule, and mine?!
Answer
I'm a former Flight Attendant and I fly with my children about twice a year between Europe and California, which is a 9 hour time difference.
Obviously, I had the jet-lag game down cold since I worked almost all international, long-haul flights, but it became a little more complicated when I flew with my children. As babies, I noticed they switched nights and naps. End of story. Easy. Once they hit toddler hood, it was a whole different deal. I had pleas of "Barney! Barney!" at 4am. Yikes!
First, remember that her stomach needs to adjust just like her sleep schedule. Be sure she's not headed to bed on an empty stomach, only to wake at 3am with hunger pangs expecting dinner. Get yourselves on the local eating schedule asap.
Adjust to your new time zone but be reasonable. My guidelines are bed between 8pm-midnight and up between 5am and 10am. Set your alarm if you have to. Once you are on something vaguely reassembling a normal wake/sleep pattern in your new location, you can then "tweak" forward or backwards to make it more sane. This will get rid of that "zombie" feeling and at least have you feeling normal when you're awake. Don't try to dive into exactly the same schedule you have at home or you may be paving the way to disaster.
Light is an important componant to melatonin. Look it up and read up on this important chemical your brain produces which aids sleep. Light supresses it while dark increases it. I used to take melatonin in pill form when I worked but I was hesitant to give it to my children. Don't give it to your daughter unless you discuss it with a medical professional first.
During the day, head outside and get in fresh air and sunlight. On a bad day, we would head to the mall. Being with other people, especially other children works well to keep awake in the day time.
I assume she naps but don't overdo it! Time it carefully and then wake her up after whatever is the length of a normal nap at home.
Before bed, turn off all screens, no games, computers or TV's. Even if the light doesn't seem bright, this kind of light going in the eye supresses melatonin. Keep lights low as you read a book or do whatever your bedtime routine is.
If she gets up at night
-Keep lights low, no computers, TV's or electronic games.
-Feed her a snack, if she's hungry of something not too sugary, salty or greasy. Something bready works well, like a bagel or roll.
-Skip the teeth for this special situation. Going in the bathroom, flipping on the light, etc. may wake her up more. Your dentist will forgive you this once!
-Head her back to bed as soon as you can manage it.
Keep well hydrated. Air travel is very drying and dehyration symptoms are very similar to those of jet lag. You end up with a double battle. I try to stay away from caffine, althought a little green tea during the day seems to help me. If your doctor has restricted bottles or milk, you may want to "liberalize" that a little while she's adjusting and then go back to any restrictions. Needless to say, this is not the time to get rid of bottles or pacifiers, if she uses either or both.
I used to call a friend who would say that the whole family got up at noon two weeks after getting back because they were "getting over jet lag". We were over ours' in 2-3 days tops, with two more hours of time change than they had (I'm from further away).
So just hang in there. A little bit of disapline will make things much more sane for both of you.
Good luck!
I'm a former Flight Attendant and I fly with my children about twice a year between Europe and California, which is a 9 hour time difference.
Obviously, I had the jet-lag game down cold since I worked almost all international, long-haul flights, but it became a little more complicated when I flew with my children. As babies, I noticed they switched nights and naps. End of story. Easy. Once they hit toddler hood, it was a whole different deal. I had pleas of "Barney! Barney!" at 4am. Yikes!
First, remember that her stomach needs to adjust just like her sleep schedule. Be sure she's not headed to bed on an empty stomach, only to wake at 3am with hunger pangs expecting dinner. Get yourselves on the local eating schedule asap.
Adjust to your new time zone but be reasonable. My guidelines are bed between 8pm-midnight and up between 5am and 10am. Set your alarm if you have to. Once you are on something vaguely reassembling a normal wake/sleep pattern in your new location, you can then "tweak" forward or backwards to make it more sane. This will get rid of that "zombie" feeling and at least have you feeling normal when you're awake. Don't try to dive into exactly the same schedule you have at home or you may be paving the way to disaster.
Light is an important componant to melatonin. Look it up and read up on this important chemical your brain produces which aids sleep. Light supresses it while dark increases it. I used to take melatonin in pill form when I worked but I was hesitant to give it to my children. Don't give it to your daughter unless you discuss it with a medical professional first.
During the day, head outside and get in fresh air and sunlight. On a bad day, we would head to the mall. Being with other people, especially other children works well to keep awake in the day time.
I assume she naps but don't overdo it! Time it carefully and then wake her up after whatever is the length of a normal nap at home.
Before bed, turn off all screens, no games, computers or TV's. Even if the light doesn't seem bright, this kind of light going in the eye supresses melatonin. Keep lights low as you read a book or do whatever your bedtime routine is.
If she gets up at night
-Keep lights low, no computers, TV's or electronic games.
-Feed her a snack, if she's hungry of something not too sugary, salty or greasy. Something bready works well, like a bagel or roll.
-Skip the teeth for this special situation. Going in the bathroom, flipping on the light, etc. may wake her up more. Your dentist will forgive you this once!
-Head her back to bed as soon as you can manage it.
Keep well hydrated. Air travel is very drying and dehyration symptoms are very similar to those of jet lag. You end up with a double battle. I try to stay away from caffine, althought a little green tea during the day seems to help me. If your doctor has restricted bottles or milk, you may want to "liberalize" that a little while she's adjusting and then go back to any restrictions. Needless to say, this is not the time to get rid of bottles or pacifiers, if she uses either or both.
I used to call a friend who would say that the whole family got up at noon two weeks after getting back because they were "getting over jet lag". We were over ours' in 2-3 days tops, with two more hours of time change than they had (I'm from further away).
So just hang in there. A little bit of disapline will make things much more sane for both of you.
Good luck!
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