How to Help Baby Sleep at Daylight Saving Time

Helping Baby Sleep at Daylight Saving Time

I love the whole “spring forward” part of Daylight Saving Time. The longer days are a sign that summer is on the way, and with kids around it’s so nice to have that extra hour of light to be able to run around outside. I think the only downside is helping those kiddos figure out their sleep patterns when the clocks change. It can really mess with their inner clocks, and definitely takes a few days (or even a week!) to bounce back to a good schedule. Probably, out of all of my mom friends, I’m the biggest stickler about sleep. I feel like a nerd about it sometimes, but I swear it’s been a lifesaver for our family! I’m a firm believer that sleep is super important for little ones — it lays the foundation for everything from good physical development, cognitive development, sociability, and more. And since we’re so big on sleep in this household, we’ve nailed down a few tips to help ease the Daylight Saving transition for little ones.

In researching the best way to help Hank and Maggie sleep better at the time change, I kept coming across info from Kim West. Have you heard of her? They literally call her “The Sleep Lady.”  I can’t tell you how many middle-of-the-night Google sessions led me to her online — she’s so much of the reason we have been able to get our littles the restful sleep they need. So lots of what we try with our kids comes from her mega-smarts about babies & sleep. Read on for our tips!

Ease Into It. We did this with Henry on his first spring forward and it worked really well. A few days ahead, we started moving his bedtime toward the time change, by maybe 15 or 20 minutes a day. When the time change actually arrived, he was already on the new schedule. Worked like a charm.

Keep Them Dry.  Henry wasn’t terribly concerned about wet diapers at night, but we are finding that Maggie is definitely pickier. She’ll wake up if she’s too wet. Our favorite nighttime diapers are the Pampers Baby Dry — they just work really well for us. I think we tried just about everything else on the market, and these are the ones that keep Maggie sleeping the most soundly. Around the time change, we take extra care to make sure that other sleep disruptions (like wet diapers) are minimized. These can keep her dry overnight (with 12-hour overnight protection) and I really feel like they do pull wetness away from her skin and into the absorbent core.

Get Those Naps.  I think any mom will tell you that an overtired kid is one of the biggest obstacles to good sleep. Missed naps = too tired toward bedtime = a messy time change = total disaster for all involved. Am I right?! So especially around Daylight Saving, we are careful to get in quality naps on a regular schedule for both kids. That way they get to the new bedtime without being exhausted.

Wake Them Up.  There was one morning with Maggie last month where she was sleeping so sweetly I just didn’t have the heart to wake her up. I let her sleep in and it messed with her schedule for a full 48 hours! Learn from my mistakes, people, and wake those babies up at the time change. If they’re sleepy at their usual wake up time, Kim recommends a “dramatic wake-up.” Sounds… dramatic, right? All it means is to open the windows, let some sunlight in, get the sounds of the day going, that type of thing. Set the stage for daytime so that baby understands it’s time to wake up; it helps reset their internal clock, too.

So gang, here’s hoping you and your littles spring forward without too much chaos. And now for a quick little giveaway — repin something from our Baby Sleep Pinterest board for the chance to win one of 10 coupons for $5 off Pampers Baby Dry diapers! While you’re there, check out the infographic from Pampers all about DST. For more information about their complete range, visit the Pampers site here. Sweet dreams! xoxo

This post is sponsored by Pampers. All opinions are my very own. Thank you for being supportive of the partners who help keep Lovely Indeed rocking!

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9 Comments

  1. Hah I usually LOVE daylight savings, and then squirrelly babe happened. It’s totally a different game with kids! I need to start moving his bedtime earlier tonight!

  2. I remember those days with my girls! Now that they are 5 and 7 it is really hard to get them to bed on a school night when it is still bright outside. They usually go to bed by 7:30, but after Daylight Savings time it starts creeping up later and later. This is a good reminder to keep them on schedule!

  3. Great tips! I so remember this when Harper was little! The easing into it was our best method.

  4. this time change is still messing with me (and im 29 btw) because i read Kim West as Kim KARDASHIAN West and was like what the heck did she do that was helpful!?

    blah.

    the last 2 days i was late to work because i couldn’t wake up to save my life and today i was early because i had to take my brother to work…which he didn’t even wake me up for. i woke up at 556 and i was like OMG! were all getting fired!!!
    i couldnt go back to sleep and now im at work fighting everything trying to stay awake. it doesnt help that i dont believe in coffee.

    im definitely on the dont mess with my sleep boat. and this time change sucks so kudos to all the mommas out there!!! i dont know how i’d handle it with a babe.
    for sure they’d be the ones trying and fighting to wake me up.

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