Saturday, April 12, 2008

Jet Lag

Jet Lag is a physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to the circadian rhythm. The condition is generally believed to be the result of disruption of the "light/dark" cycle that entrains the body’s circadian rhythm. (reference: Wikipedia)

It is also said that jet lag is worse for women and even harder the younger someone is. And with that, I’ll tell you that Nathaniel has really bad jet lag. He wakes up 2 times at night and is awake for 2 hours a time just as he would during the daytime with his naps. I am the one who stays up with the bubba, letting Nick sleep and take over in the morning when Bubba wakes up. This is the 3rd night now-which I know isn’t horrible, but I am so tired and hope to get Nathaniel back to sleeping well for 12 or 13 hours a night. (No, he doesn’t sleep through the night yet-he gets up to eat, then goes straight back to sleep.)

He had a very short night on the airplane with only 4 hours of sleep in a little bassinet under our legs. He’s a good boy and enjoyed the adventure of being on an airplane, and was interested in everything. So interested that he spent 1 1/2 hours looking around and saying "ooh, ooh!"
Nick and I enjoyed brief naps of maybe 30 minutes each.

They say that since jet lag is your body being out of sync with the local time-is there any way to fix this quickly???
Sleep is so valuable to me that I am getting desperate. I am also worried that the Bubba will enjoy these night time awakenings to play and be with mom for a long time!

Any advice is appreciated.