Jet lag= no fun for toddlers

Auckland is 19 hours ahead of the Midwest.  (Yes, it's mental gymnastics every time we pick up the phone to call home.)   Functionally, though, it means dealing with a 5-hour backward time shift when we travel.

A regular bedtime here feels like it's the middle of the afternoon on New Zealand time.  Afternoon naps feel like they're coming at breakfast-time.  As a result our little guys merrily stayed up past midnight for the first few days had have steadfastly refused to take any naps at all.  Between that and our not letting them sleep until noon, the poor little things have become steadily more and more sleep-deprived.  Toddlers were not meant to subsist on eight hours of sleep a day!  Not surprisingly, this has resulted in some spectacular hyperwhining.

But it all caught up to them today.  We took them for a ride in the warm car right after lunch.  They zonked out in about two seconds.   Hopefully this indicates that their internal clocks have been adjusted.  Hopefully this also means that everyone else in the house will be treated to a quiet night.

Okay, so this is useful information.  It takes four days to shift toddlers over five hours.