When Daylight Saving Time kicks in, clocks spring forward by an hour. So, if your baby usually rises at 7 am, that day they'll be up at 8 am – awesome, right? But here's the flip side: their bedtime gets pushed later by an hour too.
Plus if your a family that needs to get out the door by a certain time, and you have to wake them, they've essentially lost an hours sleep overnight.
And trying to shift their entire routine in just one day can wreak havoc on sleep as your baby can feel a little jet lagged - their internal body clock is no longer in sync with the external stimuli.
They'll struggle to wake up in the morning, won't be hungry at their usual times and struggle to fall asleep at night as their body clock is stuck on the old timetable.
Luckily ‘springing forward’ is a little easier on their body clock than ‘falling back’, but it’s still best to slowly make the adjustment over about a week.
You can either prepare for daylight savings ahead of time, by waking them (and moving their daily routine) 15 minutes earlier every 1-2 days:
▫️ Monday wake 6:45am, bedtime 6:45pm
▫️ Tuesday as above
▫️ Wednesday wake 6:30am, bedtime 6:30pm
▫️ Thursday as above
▫️ Friday wake 6:15am, bedtime 6:15pm
▫️ Sat as above
▫️ Sunday wake 7am (6am old time), bedtime 7pm
Or you can choose to adjust their clocks AFTER daylight savings start. Why not enjoy the one day that parents get to sleep an hour later than the rest of the country!
Is your little one having consistent days yet? Check out our age-appropriate routines to help take the guesswork out of your days and set your nights up for success.
