If your adorable little “alarm clock” is waking you up every morning super early, the upcoming time change can work in your favor. When I talk about early, I mean the early riser that wakes at 4:30 or 5 AM. It’s painful. “Spring forward” can get you to a wake-up that’s 6 AM or later. Nobody should be waking before 6 AM, right?
If you don’t have an early riser but are looking for tips on adjusting to the new time, I’ve got that too.
After short naps, early morning wake-ups are one of the most common struggles for families.
OK, mamas of early risers, I’ve got a solution for your crack-of-dawn problem. Daylight Savings Time is going to save you. Due to the time change, your little one is going to be waking an hour later per the time on the clock. Take FULL advantage and get your little one more sleep and you get some time to grab a cup of coffee before you are abruptly awoken at an unacceptable hour. I know, 6 AM is still early, but it’s WAY better than 5 AM.
Make DST work for you with this fix.
Slowly move naptime and bedtime an hour later starting the day of the time change. Your child will wake up at their normal time, but the clock will say it’s an hour later. Lastly, they will be going to bed an hour earlier than their body clock, but the time will read the normal bedtime. The benefit here is not only the later wake-up time, but your kiddo will be getting an extra hour of sleep. This is helpful because I find overtiredness to be the number one culprit of early wakings.
Day 1&2- Shift naptime and bedtime 45 minutes later. It’s not much of an adjustment as it will only feel 15 minutes earlier for your child.
Day 3&4- Move naptime and bedtime 30 minutes later.
Day 5-6- Move naptime and bedtime 15 minutes later.
Day 7-Put your kiddo to be at the regular time.
Here is what it would look like if your child normally had a 1 PM nap and a 7 PM bedtime.
Day 1&2
Naptime 1:45
Bedtime 7:45
Day 3&4
Naptime 1:30
Bedtime 7:30
Day 5&6
Naptime 1:15
Bedtime 7:15
Day 7
Naptime 1:00
Bedtime 7:00
Here are 2 options to help your family stay on track when the clock changes on Sunday, March 10th.
Do nothing and simply enjoy a later bedtime and wake-up time. If your kiddo goes to bed at 7 PM and normally wakes up at 6:30 AM, the new schedule would be an 8 PM bedtime and a 7:30 AM wake-up. If your child still naps, a nap would be an hour later as well.
Split the difference. If your child does not nap and normally goes to bed at 7:00 PM, you would put him to bed at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday night, the first night of the time change. This will feel a little early to their body, but not enough to disrupt their bedtime routine. Do this for 3 nights, putting him to bed 30 minutes later than normal, then on the 4th night put him to bed at the normal time, 7:00 PM. or whatever is normal bedtime for your child.
Of course, always do an environmental checklist and make sure you’re set up for success.
Blackout blinds. You cannot make it dark enough for an infant as fear of the dark does not happen until around 2.5 or 3 years old. Most of the families I work with already have blackout curtains, but with light streaming in from all sides, it just doesn’t do the trick. Investing in great blackout blinds is a solid choice for a chunk of your budget. Another great option that you can use at home or when traveling is Sleepout (use ANDIMETZLERSLEEP for a discount). Even covering the windows with dark trash bags will do the trick. And you’ll find naps go down with a lot less fuss when there’s no light coming into the room.
Keep it cool! Studies show that babies, like adults, sleep best in a room that is kept between 68 and 72 degrees. Obviously, you should follow your baby’s lead on this, but a warm, comfortable sleep sack with a onesie or pajamas underneath is usually all you need.
White noise is great! It blocks out exterior noise so that pesky dog barking, squeaky door, or truck driving by isn’t going to pull the baby out of a sleep cycle.
And of course, don’t forget that we all take time to adjust to something new. So when the time changes, know that some kids take up to 6 weeks to really fall into step with the new time. Maintain consistency and you will get there.
If there are other sleep struggles contributing to your famili’s lack of restorative sleep, I’m here to help. Reach out and schedule a call. Sleep is my jam!