Before you have kids, Daylight Savings Time isn’t something you think about too much…just a simple move of the clocks. Other than a day of adjustment, it doesn’t effect your life too much.
Once you have a baby, it’s different. This weekend is the first time Abbie will really experience DST. Of course, we went through it in the spring, but I was still on maternity leave and Abbie wasn’t on any sort of schedule. Now she is.
In preparation, we’ve started inching her bedtime routine back by 10 minutes each day. I was curious if there were other tips to help, and I found a few!
- Adjust nap times in response to the impending time change.
- Tire your child out a little more than usual. Try new things, go to new places, and get plenty of fresh air.
- Start the time change on Saturday rather than Sunday. This gives families (especially working parents) an extra day to adjust.
- Once the time change takes effect, be consistent about bedtime and your routine. If your child is exhausted, it’s ok to adjust the time be 15 minutes or so and continue to adjust from there on subsequent nights.
- Remember every child is different and will adapt differently!
If you have any other tips, let me know! I’m a little nervous and could use them!
Part of the Baby Talk Linkup!
8 Responses
Eek. This makes me nervous. I’m still on mat leave so it should be fine this time around…but still! I always ended up working night shifts on the DST days. UGH!! Nothing better than a 13 hour night shift! Good luck with the impending change!
I never thought of this…how the time change can really affect a baby on a schedule. Good luck! I like the idea of starting it a day early. I think I may need that for myself actually!
Came over from the link up! I honestly forgot all about dst. Thanks for sharing!
i only adjusted K’s schedule during “spring forward” when we lost an hour but for fall back where we get one more hour of sleep? YES PLEASE!!
Thank you! I’m hoping that the 10 minute change per day will help!
Thanks! I always thought of “fall back” as a treat for myself, but now I have to think about it for her…and me not wanting to be up at 5am because she thinks it’s 6!
True…except my daughter would totally get up super early as a result – no extra sleep for me!
Thanks – glad to have you!