Are you prepared for daylight savings?
It's that time of the year, you guys!!!
For anyone in the US, we are moving forward 1 hour on Sunday, March 13, 2022. So, what is now 7 AM will be 8 AM for you on Sunday morning.
Well, It wouldn’t even have bothered me before having kids, and I never really thought about it, I was like yeah, no big deal. This whole thing changed when I became a mom! Yes, no prize for guessing why? So, you have kids, and their sleep will be affected, these tiny human beings will need some support to adjust. No fun!!
But hey, that’s what I am for. I will give you three ways you can adjust , starting tonight!
So, it really depends on what kind of preparation you feel you need. Do you want everything planned , or do you want to go with the flow? There are few ways you can do it:
Tip 1: Prep ahead of time - if you have the time and you want everything planned ahead.
Tip 2: Start on Friday before the weekend of day Light Saving
Tip 3: Do nothing (this is my type) and for kids who are easy going.
Let's dive in your options
Prep ahead of time
This you can start 4 days ahead so on Thursday (starting tonight!!). If your child's usual wake up time is 7 AM, on Thursday wake them up at 6:45 AM, on Friday at 6:30 AM , on Saturday at 6:15 AM and on Sunday the time will be 6:00 AM (which will be 7 AM before time change).
So, we are moving gradually by 15 minutes.
You are going to follow the same process for naps also, so all naps will be shifted by 15 minutes accordingly.
Start on the Friday before the weekend of day Light Saving
This is kind of a middle ground when you don't have time to prep beforehand and your kids are into daycare and a long planned approach is not possible, so on the Friday before the 11th, you move the bedtime up by 30 minutes.
For example, if the bedtime is 7 PM on Friday do the bedtime at 6:30 PM, on Saturday bedtime will be 6:00 PM and on Sunday you will be adjusted to the bedtime.
For the wake-up times, on Friday wake them up on 6:30 AM ,on Saturday 6:00 AM, so, on Sunday you will be adjusted to the 6:00 AM time, which will be 7 AM now. Move the naps also accordingly.
Do nothing
This is like going cold turkey, when the clock says 7 AM and your baby's wake up time is 7 AM, (but you wake up the baby at 7 AM, which will be 6 AM)so your baby will lose 1 hour of sleep. They may be little crankier and seem tired during the day, if the bedtime is 7 PM (which is now 8 PM) but you can put them to bed 1 hour early.
The bottom line is do not stress about it, kids adjust, one week can be little rough, they may feel cranky, clingy, tired but it will pass.Choose the approach you are more comfortable with.