Fall back survival guide
It’s time for everyone’s least favorite time change…Fall back. Gahhh. For my early rising babes, I’m sorry, but this one is NOT for you, I do, however, pray that you will cooperate with these instructions.
Read todays post for some practical tips to help you and your little ones get through the time change.
I’d like to point out that no matter how you choose to go about adjusting to this change, some babies/children do better just winging it and adjusting naturally, as they will eventually even without your efforts. I know quite a few people (myself included) who’ve tried shifting the schedule a week before the time change and there really was no major difference (I’m just being honest) and it really depends on your kiddo, too. Basically There’s no guarantee it’ll work, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. I personally like to wing it and take it as it comes. But for those who want to try and shift their child’s schedule, read todays post to find out how.
Here are three options for going about the time change:
Option 1: The week prior
Shift their morning wake time 10-20 minutes later each day to help shift the morning an hour earlier by the time the time change happens. The only thing you’re changing is the start time to your day. Nap length and wake windows remain the same. Gradually push your child's bedtime forward each night to help them adjust when the clocks to change. The reason for this is to prevent them from waking up 'an hour earlier' since we will be moving the clock back by one hour.
Option 2: The weekend of the time change.
Start your morning 10-20 minutes later and in addition to that, lengthen wake windows as well. Note: You don't want to push your little one where he becomes overtired. Push the wake window as much as he can handle and start with 10-15 minutes. It’s that simple.
Option 3: Wing it.
On the night of the time change, put your child down at their usual bedtime. Aim to keep them in their crib or bed until their usual wake time as well and use an ok to wake clock to help keep them in bed. Try not to take them out too early if you can help it or your day will start too early.
If you haven’t managed to shift the schedule beforehand, keep in mind that naps and bedtime for the very young babies may have to be slightly earlier for a day or 2 until your baby adjusts to the new time. Pushing them to their regular sleep times will help them adjust a lot sooner and this usually happens within 2-5 days.
Keep in mind...
That you are not really losing any sleep at all. You are getting the same amount of sleep you would on any other night, the only thing that's changing is the time on the clock.
Here is a sample of what bedtime should look like if you are planning to shift your child’s schedule. Whether you started the week before or you’re planning to start over the weekend, do it in small increments, as shown on the sample bedtime schedule so you can see what bedtime will look like nightly and when the clocks turn back. So Saturday night, your baby will be going to sleep an hour later than usual with the hope of shifting their wake time an hour later as well.
The goal with the shift is so that by the time Sunday morning November 6 comes along, hopefully you’ve managed to shift your little one’s schedule forward by one hour so that when the clock says 6 or 7 am, your baby’s body clock is ahead of the game and ‘sleeping in’ instead of waking up at their ‘old wake time’. You get me? I know it’s confusing sometimes!
But don’t worry, no matter what you do, whether you choose to prepare ahead of time or totally wing it, your child will adjust just like everyone else.
Now would be a good time to really use your blackout shades and making sure the room is dark in the morning to prevent early morning waking. It will start getting light out earlier (and darker earlier in the evening, too).
Does the time change affect newborns?
For the most part, the simple answer is not really, but there are a few reasons why the time change could affect newborns.
As I mentioned in the post, newborns are not born with any organized sleep patterns, they aren’t producing much melatonin until much later, their circadian rhythm is not yet established and they have zero concept of time!
So here’s how I break it down; for really young newborns the time change will have minimal to no affect, their sleep is anyway mostly erratic and probably isn’t organized yet even if you are implementing a routine for your little one. That being said, once they hit around 6-8 weeks (for some it’s around 2 months), the time change can start to affect their sleep-especially if you started implementing a schedule and a routine from day one, and yes, it’s totally possible to start this early.
So to simplify, if your baby is used to the schedule you’ve introduced to him and is used to waking up at a certain time in the morning and has organized feedings and naps, then yes, come the time change, and your baby will likely wake up an hour earlier that day. I say this from my own experience with my babies who have been affected at this age by the time change and my newborn clients who have experienced this as well.
What I will say is that if it does affect them, it’s not as severe as it is for older babies, children, and adults. They’re not as tired or out of sorts because of it (thanks to their immature circadian rhythm) and they’re easier to deal with because their wake windows are so short anyway that you can have them pretty much asleep for their naps whenever you want or need them to, so getting them back on track takes minimal effort.
Bottom line-it can affect them depending on what kind of schedule they have-if any at all, and no, there’s not much I would do but you absolutely can try and get them to their usual wake time, but I wouldn’t stress, they will adjust just like everyone else and probably a lot easier cause they’ll be minimally affected.
So there ya’ll go. Hopefully I have simplified how to hack the fall back madness. It can be super confusing with all this info, so if it’s stressing you out, just wing it! You will be fine!
You got this!