Tips for Daylight Savings — Springing Ahead
It’s that time of year! Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and the days are getting longer!
I don’t know about you, but this calls for celebration. I live in the Northeast and the winters are long, to put it gently. The first signs of spring are seriously exciting.
What comes with all of these wonderful seasonal changes…?
Yep, you guessed it daylight savings. This time change can be very stressful for parents… whether your little humans are sleeping well or not.
I am here to tell you that you do not need to stress, and I can help!
There are a few scenarios..
For the early to bed, early to rise baby
So your baby goes to bed at 6:30pm and wakes around 5/5:30 (eek, but hey, that’s actually great sleep.)
My advice… do nothing!
When the time change comes, put your baby down to sleep at what would have been 6:30pm (7:30 on the clock) and your baby will wake around their normal time which is now 6/6:30am.
That’s not so bad right?!
This is one of the reasons I love Spring ahead DLS!
For the baby who is sleeping awesome (No, please don’t change!)
Wake your baby at their normal wake time on Sunday. Your baby will be losing an hour of sleep, but that is ok!!
So, if your baby typically wakes at 7, get him out of bed at 7 (adjusted time).
Follow the same steps for nap and bedtime
Put your baby down for nap and bedtime at the same time. Again, your baby might be a little sleepy, after all, he did lose an hour, this is normal.
There is an overwhelming amount of information out there surrounding preparation for the time change. I totally understand why you may be stressing.
My advice.. Don’t do anything prior to the time change. In my opinion it makes the process more confusing for parents and babies unnecessarily.
Make adjustments accordingly and remember…
This is a big one… Remember, remember, remember, that this time change takes time. Roughly about 1 week to get adjusted to the new time. So it won’t be perfect right away, that’s ok, don’t expect it to be. Keep in mind that this is a transition and you and your little one will get through this in a few short days.
Daylight Savings Must!
Be sure to have your black out curtains in place prior to daylight savings. We are now going to be having a lot more hours of daylight (yay!!!) but that also means it is going to be brighter when your little one goes to bed and when your little one wakes up!
If you’re reading this, you’re already doing a great job. Hang in there, you got this!!
Your Sleep Bestie,
AM
AM Smiles is a highly effective baby sleep coaching service designed for busy families.
I help you harness the power of sleep training to improve the spirits and lives of you and your family through proper rest. I’d love to talk to you about your little one and help you get back to living life well rested! ❤️
