This year, on November 3rd, 2024 daylight saving time will end once again. For anyone without children, this means you “gain” an hour of sleep. For those of us with kids… it means our 6am waker is now up at 5am. *yay*
The good news is, just a little preparation can make this change pretty seamless. Something to remember every time the clock changes, whether it’s from travel, or daylight saving time, is that our bodies are regulated by food, sleep, and light. We are essentially sophisticated plants. So when navigating these time changes, pay extra attention to those three things.
If you would like to prepare ahead of time do these two things:
- Begin pushing your childs schedule later by 15 minute increments.
15 minute increments are particularly important for children who are sensitive to being overtired like young babies with short awake windows. The families I work with understand that an overtired child will sleep LESS and wake up earlier due to the increase of cortisol in the brain. So avoid an overtired baby and gradually shift the schedule. If bedtime is usually 7pm, do 7:15pm for 3 days, and then 7:30pm for another 3 days until you land on the new time 12 days later.
2. Delay meals in short increments.
Again, allowing your baby’s digestive system to adapt without it being a shock. If baby normally eats at 6am, try to push to 6:15am etc. Continue this trend for the rest of the feeds in the day.
If your child is in full time daycare or preschool where you can’t request sleep and feed timings you will need to wait until Sunday and do a more reactive approach because they will likely continue their regular schedule until the time change. Come Sunday shift bedtime back gradually until you land at the “new normal” time.
Also important during this time is to check the room environment, particularly the blackout curtains so that your little one can shift to the new morning time with ease!
REMEMBER: People adapt ALL THE TIME to jet lag and much greater time differences. You can do this! Stay consistent and reach out for help if you hit a bump in the road. You can also download my early morning wake guide if you seem to be stuck. Those that hit a road block with the time change are usually responding to the early wake in a way that encourages them.
I am always here to support you!