Going to France..

This works really well....for babies and you...
This is the same technique that slightly modified can help almost all babies sleep through the night.

To prevent jet lag you are going to do 3 things.

Drink lots of water on the plane. For more info about drinking water go here. The plane dehydrates you so you need extra water to help you body stay hydrated. And the only thing that counts as water is water. Coffee, tea, alcohol etc. do not count as water. If you want to drink them you can, I am just saying don't expect to get rid of jet lag then. (as well as them being hazardous to your health)
Right before the plane is about to land (before the wheels actually touch down) you are going to gently pull the outside of your ears in all directions straight out from the middle of your ear. You will do this for about 20 seconds. Pulling down on your earlobes, out on the sides of your ears, up on the top of your ears, changing the angle like that all the way around the outside of both of your ears. Pulling away from the center of your ears. You cannot rub to long, so if in doubt, keep rubbing. AND after you do this
You will then rub underneath your left armpit, right in the middle of your side, or half way between the front and back of your body on your side, about one of your hand widths below your armpit. The area is only about the size of one finger tip that you actually have to rub. So if you take all your finger tips from your right hand and rub the general area, you will be fine. Just rub this area for about 20 seconds. Again, you cannot rub to long, so if in doubt just keep rubbing.
There is one thing. If you are landing late at night DO NOT DO THIS. You will be up for a while. Do this first thing in the morning before your feet hit the floor. It will work wonders for getting your internal clock on the same time zone you are in.

There is a whole song and dance using acupuncture and body energetics why this works. But the bottom line is it works. And if it doesn't, which it does, you lost 40 seconds of a plane ride right before landing. Oh well. Good Luck!!! Have Fun!

I went to England with my son when he was 9 months old so I will tell you my experience but keep in mind every child is different. We left at 11 at night our time (MST). And between flight time and a layover the trip was 15 hours. Then with the time change we ended up arriving there at night which I think was really important. He was so exhausted from the trip that he was able to go to sleep when we got there even though it wasn't necessarily his bed time back at home. Although he did sleep on the plane he only slept for little stretches so he was exhausted when we got there, so were we! So we all crashed when we got there and woke up the next morning and I kept him on his schedule of naps according to their time. He adjusted fairly easily, of course he wasn't a great sleeper at that age in general! I don't remember the adjustment when we came home but I think it was similar. I was surprised at how well he adjusted to the time change.
Also I would suggest if you are traveling on a foreign airline see what accomodations they have for children on the flight. Our flight from New York was on British Airways and they were SO great with children! They put all the kids in the bulkhead so you have more room and they also provided a bassinet that they could sleep in so I didn't have to hold him while he slept. It was SO great!
Good Luck!
M.

Hi J.! My husband is American and I am German. I have travelled with my kids back and forth numerous times. I wondered the same thing but it is defninately better to adjust the sleeping schedule when you get there. The time on the plane will help too. The natural rhythm of sunset and sunrise will help his body adjust. It took only 2 days for my then 6months old daughter to fully adjust to the time change (she had a couple of full diapers those nights, since her body needed to change her natural rhythm; other than that though she slept fine. My son, then 3 years old, never needed adjusting. He was fine right away. So don't worry, it turned out to be much easier than I thought! Have fun in France! H.

I only traveled to Philadephia and my son was only 3 months old but he transitioned fine. He kept to the same schedule. Even with the time difference he woke at 4 am and then slept until nine. I was lucky with him. I have heard that making the transition easier is the way to go. Good luck with your trip.

Hi J.,
My family lives in Germany and I have traveled back and forth with child(ren) four times now. The first time, I went with my then 6 month old son. My advice is to wait, since you will have jet lag as well. Besides, it is best to start your journey rested, so why start a week early? Nicolas is still taking naps, so the hardest part is to not let him sleep all day. You have to wake him up. It takes us about 5 days to acclimate, but it's different for everyone. Plan on taking turns with your husband, so you can both get some rest at night.

Another piece of advice: Depending on who your carrier is, you can request a bassinet. It made my flight much easier, especially since I went without my husband.

Good luck with your trip! Feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have.

I've traveled overseas with young children and I found that it's just easier to let them follow their own schedule. When it's dark--they slept and I let them nap throughout the day whenever it seemed that they wanted. It's also good for you--if you feel tired at the same time to take a quick nap!
My children seemed to adapt much quicker than I did.