The importance of the 5-o'clock nap

It's been a week since we arrived, and we're tired from our vacation
already. Heh, no... it's not because we've been out exploring every
day and partying every night. Well, let's just say, vacationing with a
baby is an oxymoron. We have to do everything on Kai's schedule, and
we're fine with that. However, things get a bit tough for everyone
when Kai's schedule's all messed up.

Ever since Lisa told me the horror story of (then-5-month-old) Jordy's
jet-lag when they went to England, I've started reading about helping
a baby deal with jet-lag whenever I thought of it because I knew we'd
have to face it sooner or later. Generally, the best strategy is to
stick with your baby's sleep schedule in the time zone that you're in,
but respect your baby's inner clock even if it means longer/shorter,
fewer/more naps throughout the day.

That's what we've been doing, and it hasn't worked.

Kai's bedtime used to be 8pm, and he got up around 6 or 7 in the
morning. Since we arrived on this side of the ocean, he's been going
to sleep around midnight and getting up at 9 or 10 in the morning.
"Well, he's still getting at least 8 hours of sleep," you might say.
Yeah, but getting up late pushes everything back, which means he goes
to sleep late and gets up late the next morning. The vicious circle.

So we've been trying to make him go to sleep earlier, and we haven't
had any luck. Every evening he gets so tired that he passes out around
7pm, "naps" for a couple of hours, and he's ready to play until
midnight. I'm totally exhausted by then and have very little patience
for his "sleep is over-rated" bedtime struggle. Luckily, after a few
days of close observation, I finally figured out the source of the
problem: it's the missing 5-o'clock nap.

Back in Taiwan, our dinner time was 7, so Kai could have a nap at 5
and wake up just before Daddy got home. Over here, Daddy's work
schedule is reversed; he has to be in meetings from 7:30 on. So we've
been busy at 5 -- preparing or going somewhere for dinner. Missing the
5-o'clock nap means that Kai stays awake from about 2 all the way to
after dinner. No wonder he passed out cold in the car on the way back
from dinner in the last few days. So he's been taking the 5-o'clock
nap at 7, and bedtime got pushed to midnight.

Traveling with a baby IS challenging, and we are reminded (message
sent loudly and clearly) that babies need routines and stability.
However, I wouldn't go as far as saying that people shouldn't travel
with their babies though. I mean, it's a delight to see how much Kai
has learnt and developed already just in the last few days, and we
think i's important for Kai to have new and different experiences.
It's good that we now know what to expect being on the road with Kai
'cause we'd like to continue traveling with him to different places
(to Thailand or Australia in the winter, for instance). After all, it
would be a shame not to make good use of his 3 passports.