Daylight Savings will be on Sunday March 13. This means we will Spring Forward, and lose an hour of sleep; 7pm is now 8pm! As a parent you are losing sleep every night as it is. After another trip around the sun, we are back to this time change.
I will be right there with you. With a 2.5 year old and a 5 month old, I will be starting to adjust their bedtime and naptime schedule a week before daylight savings time even arrives.
In this blog post, we will review 5 secret tips our family will follow to make the Spring Forward transition less stressful on Sunday.
- Don’t wait!
- Help them settle for an additional hour in the morning
- Have a set bedtime, but slowly push it back
- Keep room dark!! *black out curtains*
- Talk about it (yes!! for real)
So if you are ready for a stress free daylight savings transition with a baby, or you are wondering if it is even worth preparing for, read along for some additional details for these simple hacks.
1. Don't Wait
Yes, Daylight Savings is a week away, but that means, START NOW! You can incrementally make changes this upcoming week, a little bit day by day. Naturally, your baby will adjust to the time change, but it will be a smoother transition if you adjust by just 10 minutes every day.
2. Help baby settle for an additional hour in the morning
If there is a ‘good’ daylight savings time for kids, it is this one. Your child will ‘sleep in’ an extra hour because of this change. You will however, want to still wake them up at the normal time you get your day started, to help get yourself back on schedule again.
So as you enjoy that feeling of sleeping in, don’t get your day too off schedule!
3. Have a set bedtime, but slowly push it up
7pm will now be 8pm, which means that your baby and toddler will feel like they are going to bed an hour earlier. This could be a fight if you don’t start now trying to get them to bed 10 minutes earlier each day until the big time change!
4. Keep the Room Dark
With an ‘earlier’ bedtime, it will be lighter, later. With that being said, those blackout curtains will be extremely critical in prompting that dark night time environment.
5. Talk to them about it
Absolutely talk to your baby and toddler about the time change. They might not fully comprehend what you are saying, but it will help prepare them as they feel the adjustment and change. Any communication you have with your children on transitions help!
I found this Pampers image that I thought had some interesting facts for Spring into a Better Night’s Sleep!
You may find that baby becomes fussy as you make this transition, and that is ok!! If you need a few extra tips on how to soothe your baby, download your free printable below!!
For more help surrounding infant sleep, take a look at our Newborn 0 – 14 week, Fourth Trimester course! Methods in this course have helped thousands of families regain their sleep!
