Clock Changes: How to Adjust Your Baby's Sleep
Remember the days before you had kids when the clock change meant having a wonderful extra hour in bed?
Now the thought of the clock changing sends most parents into panic.
It’s typical isn’t it? Just when you’ve got your baby into a nice little routine of going down peacefully at bedtime and waking up at a reasonable hour in the morning… the clock change comes around and panic sets in.
But don’t worry. Here are my top tips for helping you cope with the clock changed without disrupting your little one's sleep:
Spring Clock Change (UK)
- Make bedtime 15 minutes earlier in the 4 days before the clock change. If bedtime is usually 7pm, start on Wednesday and put your baby to bed at 6:45pm. Then on Thursday at 6:30pm, Friday at 6:15pm and by Saturday you’ll be on track for a 6pm bedtime, which when the clocks adjust on Sunday will be the new 7pm!
- Split the difference. Bring bedtime 30 minutes earlier on Friday and another 30 minutes earlier on Saturday.
- Go cold turkey. Simply put your child to bed an hour earlier on Saturday. This won’t make them wake earlier in the morning so don't worry about that. If your child is still napping during the day you just might need to adjust those slightly so that s/he is tired enough at the new bedtime.
For the Autumn clock change (or if you're on the other side of the world!) you can use exactly the same methods as above but move bedtime later instead of earlier.
It’s also a good idea to make sure the room is as dark as possible. The last thing you want is your little one being woken early by the sun! Stick-on blackout blinds are great, but if you want something very low-cost then tin foil stuck to the window works really well too! I often roll a towel up and place it by the foot of the door too to stop any extra light sneaking in.
What do I do if baby does wake early?
If you do find that your child’s body clock is a little out, then continue to maintain a predictable routine using the new times and within a couple of days things should settle themselves.
Whatever you do, don’t allow the clock changes to let you slip into habits that weren’t there previously. It’s tempting to bring your baby into bed with you because he’s risen early or give an extra milk feed to get your baby back to sleep but ultimately this could reinforce the early wake and leave you doing this every day.
If your baby does continue to wake early then the best thing you can do is maintain your designated wake up time and if they are happy then leave them to chat or play in their cot until it’s time to get up. Of course, if your baby is upset, comfort them as you would do during the night but try not to get them up and into daylight until the wake up time you desire. This will help their body clock adjust to the new wake time and after a few days they should start sleeping later again!
Of course, if your baby continues to wake early and you don’t feel it’s a result of the clocks changing, then get in touch or the early rises continue after a couple of weeks then why not check out my Early Rising Masterclass? The masterclass includes ALL my secret strategies to get your one sleeping later in the morning so you can finally get those lay-ins back!
If you're curious about my 1:1 services and would like to have a chat about your child's sleep, you can also book in a free 30min Discovery Call with me. Check out my availability here and I'll speak to you soon!
The strategies in my FREE eBook are FANTASTIC for getting your whole family a great night's sleep. Download NOW and watch your child’s sleep improve instantly!