First off, does everyone know it’s Daylight SavinG Time? NOT Daylight SavingS Time? Also, does everyone know that the only time you denote time as say, 9 pm PST, Pacific Standard Time (or Mountain or Central or whatever), is after DST ends until it starts again (so between the months of November and March)? You’re actually supposed to say 9 pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) for the majority of the year. Okay, now that that little rant is over, let’s move on with my advice on how to adjust your little one’s sleep with Daylight Saving Time ending…
Photo Credit: Enikő Tóth
This Is the “Easy” One
So many parents, especially those with babies under 9 months, are terrified of Daylight Saving Time ending. Particularly when DST ends, or we “fall back.” Different sleep experts have different methods they recommend to deal with the time ending. I know some who like to prepare for it a few weeks ahead of time by gradually moving the schedule later or earlier. This way when DST starts or ends, their kids will be used to waking and sleeping at their regular times.
I like to be pretty laid back about DST. I treat it the same way as I treat sleep when traveling. Studies show that it takes people 1 day to adjust for every 1 hour they need to adjust to. For example, let’s say you are traveling from one coast to the other and you are three hours ahead or behind. Then, it will be about 3 or 4 days until you’re back to waking and sleeping at your typical times. So with babies, the one-hour time change should only take about 1-2 days to adjust to.
Adjust Your Schedule By 30 Minutes
I recommend that you split the difference by 30 minutes. Let’s say your baby typically wakes up at about 6 am. You would get up on the day of the time change, look at your clock, and wait to go to your baby until 5:30 am (which really feels like 6:30 am). If you’re the type of parent who has a baby that typically wakes at 6 am, but you wait to go to them until 7 am, then I would do the same thing. Go to them at 6:30 am, which will only feel 30 minutes later to your baby than it normally does.
From there, you just go on about your day like normal. You’ll be about 30 minutes behind your schedule all day. Bedtime will be 30 minutes “earlier” (by the clock) than normal. So if your baby normally goes to bed at 7 pm, on the day of the change you would put him down at 6:30 pm (which will feel like 7:30 to him). So it’ll be only 30 minutes later than he normally goes down. The next day, you forget about the time change and just go on with your regular schedule at the regular start time.
It sounds incredibly complex to me, but just remember that you want to try to ignore the fact that the time has changed. When DST ends, that first day you go completely by the clock, and do everything 30 minutes earlier than you normally do. Then the next day you do everything completely like normal. Simple!
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Sharing with all my mommy friends 🙂 XO
I know this is late, but Thank You Stephanie! <3
So my problem is that my 2 yr old and 4 year old share a room and are now waking up at 5:15am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed despite having been put down at 7:30/8pm respectively. The 2 yr old (who normally woke at 6:30 and let her sister sleep until 7 or 7:30) is waking the 4 year old up at 5:15 who then proceeds to let the two yr old out of her crib and both come in Mommy & Daddy. The 4 year old hates going to bed in a room alone, so I hesitate to separate them. What you said in your book about them going to bed later and still waking up at the same time is in play here and I feel like I’m just robbing them of their sleep since it does not seem like they will let each other go back to sleep between 5:30-6:30. Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?
PS Your book was a godsend and I wish I would’ve had it before my girls were born. Thanks for making bedtime/nap time so easily full of smiles, kisses and love instead of tears and frustration.
Hi Lindsey!! Feel free to tune into my free facebook Live Q and As!! I do them the first/third Tuesday every month at 7:00 pm PDT. http://www.facebook.com/babysleeptrainer you can ask this question there and I will answer live 🙂
Hi, I am just wondering, so the day before fall DST adjust the whole schedule by 30mins or just bedtime? My 1yo goes to bed at 730pm so do I put her to bed at 630pm, wouldn’t she wake up early? I am just wanting to clarify.