Springing Into Daylight Savings Time
Before you had kids, DST probably wasn’t even a blip on your radar! Either you got an extra hour of sleep (yay!) or you lost an hour and felt tired for a day or two. But back then, when it was just you, it wasn’t such a big deal. Because if you were tired, you could just, you know, take a nap!
Now that you’re a mom, it’s a different story, and sleep is precious. So, if you’ve just gotten it all figured out and you’re worried that this weekend is going to undo all your hard work - let me reassure you - it’s not. It may take your little one a few days to adjust, but they will, and everything will be back to normal before you know it.
There’s really no need to do anything drastic before the day gets here. Sunday morning, when you wake up and it’s now an hour later, get up and change your clocks, have your coffee, and start your day.
The best way to help your child spring forward is by doing it a little bit at a time and the easiest way to do that (for children 6 months and older) is to adjust their nap and bedtime schedule later by 30 minutes for a few days. This will feel like they are going to bed 30 minutes sooner, so it may take them a bit longer to fall asleep. After you’ve given it 3 or 4 days, and depending on how your child is doing, you’ll just go back to your normal time. This means, you’ll only have to adjust their schedule for a few days, and by the end of the week, everything should be back on track.
Babies 0-5 Months Old…
For babies in this age range, it’s more important to focus solely on wake windows, instead of trying to follow scheduled nap times. If you need to squeeze in an extra cat nap towards the end of the day to help you get to their new later bedtime, that’s totally okay!
0-3 Months >> 45 - 60 minutes awake between wake up, naps and bedtime
4 Months >> 1.5 - 1.75 hours awake between wake up, naps and bedtime
5 Months >> 2 - 2.5 hours awake between wake up, naps and bedtime
Babies on a 2 Nap Schedule
On Sunday, begin your baby’s day by putting them down 30 minutes later than you normally would. Remember this will feel 30 minutes earlier to them! This shouldn’t cause too big of a fuss before their morning nap because this is when they have the most sleep pressure during the day. As the day goes on though, that sleep pressure will diminish, so make sure to get in lots of sunshine and activity between naps and bedtime! Follow the adjusted schedule for 3-4 days and then resume normal nap and bedtimes.
Current Schedule Adjusted Schedule
Wake Up >> 7:00 AM Wake Up >> 8:00 AM
Nap 1 >> 9:30 AM Nap 1 >> 10:00 AM
Nap 2 >> 2:00 PM Nap 2 >> 2:30 PM
Bedtime >> 7:00 PM Bedtime >> 7:30 PM
Children on a 1 Nap Schedule
We still need to get a nap in, but since it’s going to feel 30 minutes earlier to them, you’ll definitely want to make sure to get in TONS of activity in the morning and afternoon! Then, adjust bedtime by 30 minutes as well. It may take them a little longer than normal to fall asleep but this is totally normal. Follow the adjusted schedule for 3-4 days and then resume normal nap and bedtimes.
Current Schedule Adjusted Schedule
Wake Up >> 7:00 AM Wake Up >> 8:00 AM
Nap >> 12:00 PM Nap >> 12:30 PM
Bedtime >> 7:00 PM Bedtime >> 7:30 PM
Children who are no longer taking naps probably aren’t going to miss a beat. You can jump into your day and change nothing or you can adjust their bedtime a bit earlier for a few days. What they need will just depend on your child and their personality. My advice to you is just play it by ear and see how they do. If they seem to be doing fine, roll with it!
You probably already know that sleep is not a black and white thing. It’s a very complex thing, with lots of variables, and what works for one child may not work for another. If your child is not sleeping well, this is a great time to do something about it!
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how everyone in the house can start getting the rest they need.
