Daylight Savings & Falling Back

Oh, the joys of daylight savings. I remember the days when I used to look forward to the extra hour. That is no longer the case because I know that an extra hour means an EXTRA EARLY RISE for my kiddies. Their internal clock doesn’t change when we change the house clocks. So what can you do? Here are a few tips:

1. For some really flexible and easy-going babies, you may not need to do anything for daylight savings.
   
   
2. For the rest of the babies out there (mine included), you can prepare for daylight savings and start moving your bedtime forward by 10-15 minutes each night (or every three nights if your baby is really sensitive.
   
   You can then move the whole daytime schedule back by that same interval the next day. You will want to move EVERY part of their day – feeding, sleep, and any daily routines and activities.
   
   
3. Remember to use the light and darkness to your advantage and support this change. Keep the lights dark those extra 15 minutes each morning and lights on for those extra 15 minutes at bedtime.
   
   
4. For daylight savings to cause no disruption, try to remain as consistent as possible with your routines to help cue your baby.
   
   

And most importantly, know that daylight savings will cause a bit of distribution and plan for it. Count on your baby waking early and go to bed a bit earlier yourself. 

To learn more tips about your baby, check out our blog page.