How to Not Let Spring Forward Ruin Your Child’s Sleep

Hey mamas! It’s that time of year again…yep, time change is right around the corner! This year it is happening on March 10th, so it’s coming up fast! Before you panic, here is the good news….this time change is so.much.easier to deal with!! YAY!

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There’s a few different ways to handle this one, depending on your preference and lifestyle. Let’s break it down…

Style #1: Embrace the shift & go with it

Yes, that’s right… Do nothing! Some families simply have a fall/winter sleep schedule and a spring/summer schedule and adjust an hour forward/back with each time change. Instead of forcing a drastic change, simply stick to your usual routine and let things naturally adjust. Your baby or toddler will follow suit, shifting their schedule by an hour later.

If your baby or toddler normally rises at 6am, post-time change, they’ll be up at 7am. Naps would all shift an hour later. Bedtime? Just push it back by an hour too. So instead of a 7pm bedtime, we would push it back to 8pm. Easy peasy!

Now, I know this doesn’t work for every family, which is why we have……

Style #2: Adjust gradually

If you’d rather stick to your current schedule, I’ve got you, mama! You can adjust baby’s wake time and bedtime by about 15 minutes every night for four days, or by 30 minutes the 2 days leading into time change. I recommend going more gradually with 15 minute intervals, but if you forget (it happens to the best of us!) you can adjust the few days before the change instead.

Now, hear me out, because this plan does include waking up earlier for a few days. So, you will wake your baby up 15 minutes earlier than normal every morning leading into the time change, and aim for a 15 minute earlier bedtime as well. So, if your normal schedule is a 6:30am wake up, and a 7:30pm bedtime, the change is going to look like this:

Day 1: Wake baby at 6:15am, bedtime at 7:15

Day 2: Wake baby at 6am, bedtime at 7pm

Day 3: Wake baby at 5:45am, bedtime at 6:45pm

Day 4 (time change): Baby should wake around their normal time of (the new time of) 6:30am (this will FEEL like 5:30am..have coffee ready). Bedtime will be 7:30pm as usual.

This is great for those who love a gradual approach, but it is a lot more work than the next plan, which is….

Style #3: Go with it and adjust after, quickly

This is great for those who don’t want to spend a ton of time on the front end of things, waking up early and trying to adjust the schedule before the time change even happens. In this case, either the day after the time change, or the following weekend (when nobody has to be at work or daycare…), just go right back to your old schedule.

So if you followed plan number one and did nothing, and baby is now waking at 7:30am, but you’d rather them go back to their 6:30am? Wake them at 6:30am. Remember…this will feel like 5:30am to you (and to them!) so they will likely be a little tired. Try to follow their wake windows and keep them on their old normal schedule and bedtime. This may take a few days, but they will get it!

My final tip? Be patient, and give yourself some grace, mama.

PLEASE hear me when I say….this will go easier than you are likely making it go in your head right now. I know, this sounds stressful, and like a ton of information. But I promise, it will go so much smoother than you think. And if it doesn’t….I am here!!!

If you get into time change and realize how messed up your baby or toddler’s sleep is, and you need some help, I am right here & we can work through it together!! Schedule a discovery call with me to see how I can help your family come up with a schedule and plan that works for you!

You can also download my FREE ebook all about solving night wakings and having smoother days & nights.

We WILL get you sleeping again and on a good schedule, I promise!