How to Prepare Your Baby for Daylight Savings Coming to an End

It often feels like JUST when you are getting into a good routine with your baby and they are sleeping like a little angel, BOOM here comes another time change. It can often lead to a lot of stress for parents in terms of how they should handle the time change. Will it impact my baby's sleep? Will they fight bedtime? Will they start waking early? These are all extremely valid questions! The great news is that you have options but the BEST news is that there isn't anything to stress about. Remember that your baby is resilient and will adjust to any way that you decide to approach the upcoming time change this fall. There are two ways that I suggest to prepare yourself for the time change. One is to create a plan and prep your baby's sleep schedule ahead of time as the time change approaches. The other is to follow the clock and leave your baby's sleep schedule alone!

Adjusting Your Baby's Schedule Ahead of the Time Change This Fall

As we head towards the time change which takes place on Sunday, November 3rd, 2024 if you plan to alter your child's schedule then I recommend starting the week before. What some parents find super helpful is waking their baby earlier in the morning and then moving their bedtime up by 15 min increments every other day until you get to the time change. Doing so means that if your baby's wake time is 7 AM and bedtime is 7PM, and you are slowly pushing them closer to a 8 AM wake and a 8 PM bedtime, their body's internal clock will be prepped by the time the clock falls back an hour. The same thing can apply when the clock springs forward in March and you are aiming to push bedtime out so that you ultimately end up where you need to be when the clock pushes forward an hour. A lot of parent's do find this sleep routine tweak useful for daylight savings.

Example of a Tweaked Time Change Sleep Schedule for Your Baby Might Look Like This

Sunday, Oct 27th:

• Baby wakes at 7:15 AM and goes to bed at 7:15 PM
• Continue for two nights

Tuesday, Oct 29th:

• Baby wakes at 7:30 AM and goes to bed at 7:30 PM
• Continue for two nights

Thursday, Oct 31st:

• Baby wakes at 7:45 AM and goes to bed at 7:45 PM
• Continue for two nights

Saturday, Nov 2nd:

• Baby wakes up at 7:00 AM and goes to bed at 7:00 PM
• Continue for two nights

By the time your baby wakes up the next day, the clock would've turned back an hour and you should have a baby that is waking at the desired 7 AM. Then you can go to your regularly scheduled programming. This is just an example of a child that is on a 7-7 sleep routine but you get the idea. Feel free to adjust to your own times/routines for the desired outcome.

You Can Also Just Do Nothing When it Comes to the Time Change

The time change comes twice a year and it can feel like a lot to constantly be having to change your baby's sleep schedule. Especially because you are likely to hit other sleep disturbances through the year like travel, teething, milestones and sickness that will force you to adjust your routine when it comes to sleep. If you don't want to put the effort into switching it up before the time change, you don't have to! I often work with parents that don't want to go through the effort of changing the routine and stick to the clock. I myself follow this mantra of just going by the clock, and for sleep trained independent sleepers this works pretty well. You may see a week or two of adjustment time where they may take longer to go to sleep or wake a little early. But stay consistent with them and your sleep training methods and they will be just fine!

If you are going with this method, simply just follow the clock and keep your routine. If you typically are on a 6:30 AM - 6:30 PM schedule, keep it! If you run into any issues with their sleep after the time change happens, you can always try and adjust after the fact.

Adjusting Your Baby's Sleep AFTER the Time Change

If you find that ignoring the time change Isn't working and your child's sleep is struggling after the clock moves back, you can still get sleep under control. Simply start implementing the previously mentioned adjustments. For example, if your child typically goes to sleep and wakes at 7 AM and goes to sleep at 7 PM, but you're noticing they are having early wakings and tired and cranky ahead of their 7 PM bedtime then you can adjust the schedule slowly:

Day 1 & 2

• Wake at 6:15 AM and goes to bed at 6:15 PM
• Continue for 2 days

Day 3 & 4

• Wake at 6:30 AM and goes to bed at 6:30 PM
• Continue for 2 days

Day 5 & 6

• Wake at 6:45 AM and goes to bed at 6:45 PM
• Continue for 2 days

Day 7 - Onward

• Wake at 7:00 AM and goes to bed at 7:00 PM

Still Need Help? I Love You More Sleep Solutions Is Here to Help!

If you are still struggling with sleep around the time change and looking for help getting back on track then I am here for you! Schedule a quick 1 hour ask me anything call or a custom sleep plan to get your child back on track!