Spring Forward: Your Guide to Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings Time is just around the corner! Did it almost sneak up on you again this year? I feel like it always does for me! There are a few different ways to approach the time change. Follow my guide to get your babe ready, without missing a beat.

Option 1:  Do nothing

Your baby will be going to bed an hour later, but this also means they may be waking up an hour later.  If this sounds great to you, then change nothing!

For example, if your child is currently waking at 6am, and you would love for them to sleep in until 7AM, this time change will be perfect for you!  Just remember that your baby will also be going to bed an hour later.

On the night prior to the time change, put your baby to bed at their normal time.  The next morning, they will wake an hour later.  Continue to follow your normal wake times for naps. If your baby is on a 1 nap schedule, put them down for nap an hour later than you were previously (so if nap was at 11:30, it’s now at 12:30).

This is also the option for you if your baby is less than 4 months old. Newborns don’t care about the time change!

Option 2:  Prepare a week in advance

If you want to keep the same bedtime, you can prep your child for the transition a week prior to the time change.

Starting the Monday prior to the time change, move your child’s entire schedule by 10 minutes earlier each day.  This includes your baby's nap schedule.  If your baby isn’t sensitive to change, you can go a little quicker by adjusting by 15-20 minutes each day and start a few days prior to the time change.

So, if 7:00 is your child's normal bedtime, this will put you at a 6PM bedtime by 6 days prior to the time change.  On the day of the time change, 6:00 will now become 7:00!

Example:

Option #3: Prep right before

This one is for those of you with kids who do well with change. It’s also for those of you who forgot about the time change until the day prior.

The day prior to the time change (Saturday), put your baby down for their naps 30 minutes early. Move bedtime 30 minutes earlier, as well. The next morning (morning of the time change), get them out of bed 30 minutes earlier than normal. Now you can put them down for nap at their normal time (even though it’s technically 1 hour earlier than they’re used to), and put them to bed at their normal time as well.

Some things to remember:

Keep your baby’s bedroom dark

This will help to remind your baby that it’s time for sleep.  You don’t want light streaming through the window early in the morning to wake your babe up!

Keep your bedtime routine consistent

You want your baby to expect to go to sleep when bedtime routine is complete, even when the time you’re putting baby to bed is different.  Bedtime routine doesn’t have to be long or complicated, but it should be the same each night.

For some babies, these changes are hard

Give yourself and your baby some grace.  It may take more than a week for your baby to get adjusted.  Stay consistent with your plan.  Your baby will adjust with time.

I hope that you found these tips useful.  If you need more help with sleep, book a free evaluation call to see how I can help you!