Daylight saving is approaching quickly. On the 6th of November at 2 AM you need to turn your clocks backward by 1 hour. I wouldn’t say I liked daylight saving even before having a baby, but it has been even more awful for me ever since. I do want to keep the day between normal wake-up time and bedtime, so I brought some tips for those who are also aiming for a smooth transition.
1. In baby steps
If you want to go slowly with this transition, start to move bedtime by 10 minutes later each day. For this, start on Monday and try to leave your little one asleep by 10 minutes and continue the day in this 10-minute delay. The next day wake up the baby 10 more minutes later and so on. With this method, your little one will sleep 1 hour later than usual by Saturday - which we can enjoy only for a day, but at least you won’t wake up too early in the morning on Sunday. If you were not able to keep your little one in bed for 10 minutes more in the morning, try to squeeze that 10 minutes into their daily schedule at any time. From Sunday onwards keep your usual schedule as you used a week before.
Sample schedule: wake: 7 AM, nap 1: 10 AM, nap 2: 2.30 PM, bedtime: 7.30 PM
I recommend this method to those, whose baby is still on 2 naps or very sensitive to changing waketimes.
2. Weekend shift
If you were not able to push the schedule during the week or you just realized that daylight saving is on the corner, this method is for you! Push bedtime later in a little bit bigger steps than in the previous method. Try to squeeze in 1 hour by Saturday evening by adding 30-30 minutes both on Friday and Saturday changing your child's wake window as little as possible.
Sample schedule: wake: 7 AM, nap 1: 10 AM, nap 2: 2.30 PM, bedtime: 7.30 PM
I recommend this method to those whose kid is on one nap or still sleeping twice a day but not that sensitive to changing wake windows.
3. Did something happen overnight?
It is also possible that you totally forgot about the whole daylight-saving thing and just realized in the morning that something happened. Totally fine, don’t worry. You don’t need to wake up 1 hour earlier until the next daylight saving. If the whole family woke up 1 hour earlier, try to catch up with time during the day. Squeeze in 15–30 minutes to your child’s wake windows throughout the day and try to keep bedtime at the same time as before (even if it means having 1 more waketime during that day). From the next day onward (no matter when your little one was up) try to keep the usual daily schedule, they will get used to it in just a couple of days.
Sample schedule: wake: 7 AM, nap 1: 10 AM, nap 2: 2.30 PM, bedtime: 7.30 PM
Again, I recommend this method to those whose kid is on one nap or still sleeping twice a day but not that sensitive to changing wake windows.
4. Winter-summer schedule
It is also possible that you don’t change anything, just leave your schedule in a winter mood. Your usual wake time and bedtime will be 1 hour earlier. This is also a perfect solution even more if you want to go to bed earlier in winter.
Usually, I don’t recommend stretching wake windows by more than 15-30 minutes for days, not to mention putting your little one to bed after 8 PM. The next week is an exception and don’t worry about these changes. Try to be flexible - this is a big change even for parents. No matter which method you choose, give it a couple of days, you all will get used to the new schedule very soon.
If you feel that you need help with getting your little one sleep - apart from daylight saving - and you would like to change it, I am happy to help. Check out my packages HERE. With your personalized plan your child will learn how to fall asleep on their own and sleep all night long.