You’d think a six-day mini-holiday to the UK shouldn’t take six days to recover from, but somehow this whole week has been all about getting back into the swing of things.
The time difference and arriving back in Dubai on the milk flight at 5am meant the boys then slept until past midday, setting me up for a particularly trying problem in small children: INSOMNIA. The Scrooge of Christmas travel.
Because it’s not like you can just tell them to count sheep, is it?
No, no, that would be far too easy. Instead, for several nights, between the hours of 9 pm and 1 am, the boys pummelled me with all kinds of strange symptoms, from “I’m scared, stay Mummy, please!” to “I’m going to vomit!” (Son 1), singing for two hours straight (Son 2), hunger pangs and even sleep walking (Son 1).
Trying to count sheep with Son 2 just turned into bonus stimulation time
Son 1 would have re-set much quicker if it wasn’t for the fact that Son 2 was adamant his insomnia should be shared.
“Are you AWAKE?” he’d bellow at his brother, nearly raising the roof of his bunk-bed (and I couldn’t separate them because they’re really dependent on each other and hate to sleep alone).
“WAKE UP!”
Then Son 2 got his hands on the duck clock in their room and set the alarm off: “QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK QUACK!”
I’m surprised you didn’t hear the racket going on in their bedroom.
DH was safely ensconsed on the other side of the world (in Australia and New Zealand) for the first two days of their nocturnal shenanigans. Happily, he returned on the third day, only to fall fast asleep at 8.30 pm with jet lag of the polar-opposite kind.
Oh the glamour of our jet-setting ways!
Oh dear, not good. How does DH cope with constant jet-lag?
He is really good at it! I guess he has to be! What he can do, which I can’t, is plough on and go to bed at a proper time, whereas I just find myself giving up and taking a nap, then unable to sleep later. He’s also REALLY good at getting up early, even if he’s jet-lagged. But it certainly takes its toll.
I suppose he has had to get used to it – can’t have pilots falling asleep! From my own experience, I find I can usually struggle on until a normal (if slightly early) bedtime, but then I wake up very early the next morning!
Argh. There’s just no good way to deal with it, is there? I was always a proponent of books on CD for my boys – I’d pick something sort of dull and soothing (Wind in the Willows, say, or Beatrix Potter) with a sort of droning narrator and no peppy music or voice actors. It kept them mildly entertained, made them feel like they had a little company, and often put them to sleep! Good luck, though – I’m sure they’ll be back to normal much more quickly than an adult would be!
That’s a good idea! I will try that next time. Thankfully, they’re back to normal now, due to school starting back. And you’re right, it takes me longer! I guess that by the teenage years, their jet-lag isn’t so much of a problem for mom – other than getting them out of bed for school maybe!