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It's that dreaded time of year again, when we turn our clocks back and lose an hour. This year, the time changes at 2 am on Sunday, November 3rd.
So why is it so dreaded? When your baby's body thinks that it is bedtime, they will have another hour they need to stay awake to get to the new real bedtime.
Likewise, when their body feels like it's time to get up, they still have another hour they're supposed to be sleeping.
Don't worry though...I'm going to show you how to shift their schedule and make the change easier.
3 Options To Adjusting To The Change
Option 1: Starting the Tuesday prior, start your morning 10 minutes later.
With each day, shift everything by 10 minutes. The wake windows and nap lengths will stay the same, but the wake, nap, and bedtime will be pushed by 10 minutes. This will allow your child's body to make the shift without really feeling the effects of it.
If your child won't sleep until the goal wake time, support their sleep in the dark environment - white noise and blacked out. We want to reinforce that it is still sleep time.
Option 2: The weekend of the time change, increase their wake windows by 10-15 minutes.
This will help them to stay awake a little bit longer, so by Sunday night they will be closer to the desired bedtime. Remember not to push them too far! We do not want them getting into overtired mode. This will just lead to early wakings anyways.
If your desired bedtime is 7:30 and they only make it to 7, that's okay! It may take a few days to adjust fully, but they will get there.
Option 3: Do Nothing At All
Shockingly, you also can just do nothing at all! Personally, this is my chosen method, but only because I know my daughter will lay content in her bed and not scream.
For children with laid back personalities or strong sleep skills, they will probably do just fine by doing nothing at all.
Children more rigid or without a sleep foundation may cry when they want to get up and we don't want to leave them crying for an entire hour! Meeting them where they are at and adjusting gradually is best practice for babies with that temperament.
Does This Apply To Newborns, Too?
Nope! A newborn's wake windows are delicate at this age. They can go from getting tired to overtired fast, so stretching wake windows even just slightly too far can lead to poor sleep.
In this case, the clock is the clock. Continue to feed every 2.5-3 hours on demand, honor their wake windows, and support their independent sleep learning at night.
Adding an extra cat nap in the evening can help bridge them to this new later bedtime and get them adjusted. Contact napping throughout the day to get longer naps can be helpful as well!
Don't Forget The Foundation
The foundation will be extra important, because we want to make sleep as easy as possible.
The Bedtime Routine
Maintain the same bedtime routine they always have. This will cue their brain that sleep is coming and help make shifting into sleep mode easier.
Keep It Dark
Make sure their room is completely dark so any light coming in doesn't make sleep harder (leading to more crying!)
Expose to Natural Light As Often As You Can
Research suggests that exposing your baby to morning light can help them sleep better. This is because it helps to regulate the circadian (sleep) rhythm.
Don't Get Discouraged
Their body is in the process of adjusting how it releases sleep hormones. This is hard work! Have patience and with time, your well-rested baby will get right back on track.
But What If Sleep Was Hard Even Before This?
We are so lucky to grow up in a world where there are many experts in every field out there. You don't have to struggle alone. I have resources that can help you, whether that's looking for some free tips, a mini course to fix a specific problem, or coaching to get this figured out once and for all.
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