Jet Lag is for real

It has taken us about 4 days (not considering the day we lost traveling)to adjust to the time change. One would think that considering how exhausted we all were from traveling, sleeping would come easy.

Jet lag is real and, like flying long distances, you just have to go with the flow. France is 9 hours a head of California. So when it is 8:00 pm in France (ideal bedtime), it is 11pm in California (lunch time). France’s sun sets later as well (9pm). These little and big changes take days for families to adjust. Luckily we take this into consideration and are fortunate enough to be able to not plan anything the first week we are in France. I recommend doing the same if you can, because over tired children = insanity = an awful visit.

Adjusting takes time.

Day 1 and 2 is pure confusion. We seem to have the most energy around 2 am and ready to go to bed at 11 am. I even went on a 3 mile run at 4 am one day. But that motivation never lasts.

Our advise during these first two days, set realistic changes. Such as staying in bed till 4 am the first night and 6 the next. Adjusting to the actual eating schedule is helpful as well. Which is easy in France because they eat at precise times. =)

Day 3 is another story. Chloé seems to do the best, when she finally falls asleep, she is OUT for 8-10 hours straight. However, Luca is a light sleeper and any little noise (which isn’t hard to create in our small quarters) he is up and wanting attention. There is a lot of whining and this drives Sebastien to the breaking point. I am being real. We always seem to loose our heads with each other on day 3 or 4.

But like most parenting milestones, after the breaking point comes the calm. There is a light at the end of the tunnel on day 4/5. Resorting back to the “cry it out” method makes all the difference (for us it takes about 10 minutes of whining and he gives in to sleep).  By day 5, we are finally on Central European Time. =)