Help your babies and kids adjust to the changing clocks with these five easy tips
WE'RE all looking forward to that extra hour in bed tonight.
But unfortunately, new parents may be disappointed when they discover their babies haven't got the memo.
Your baby works on its own natural routine and is likely to wake up at 5 am if their usual rise and shine time is 6 am.
But we have the answers to get your tots back on track.
This will be a marathon, not a sprint, so start by knowing you have to gradually ease your baby into the new schedule.
Nobody wants to be waking up earlier indefinitely, but if you suddenly try feeding and putting your baby to sleep an hour early, you are unlikely to have success.
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However, we have many tricks and tips we have to make the process as pain-free as possible, as explained in
Let sleeping tots lie
In the likely event that your baby wakes up an hour early tomorrow morning, give them a little lie-in. Just because your baby is awake does not mean you have to get up and start the day immediately.
An extra 10 minutes in the cot will signal to them that it is time to rest.
Adust their daytime routine...ever so slightly.
What you don't want is for your baby to get into a regime of falling asleep an hour early and having a new cycle that lasts months.
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Gradually adjusting their days over the week will mean that they get into the flow of the new routine.
This means letting them lay in for 10 more minutes, feeding them 10 minutes later than usual, and the same with starting the bedtime routine - delay this slightly.
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The next day you can do the same thing but 20 minutes later. This gradual change will avoid them getting a shock to their system.
Let there be light
You can use light to your advantage, by darkening the baby's room in the evening, which will increase melatonin (the sleepy hormone).
In the morning open up the curtains and let in the light to signal to your little angels that it is time to get up.
Also exposing your child to sunlight by going on walks or doing outdoor activities can be very beneficial and help their bodies sync up.
Winding down
It is likely that you already have a winding down routine with your baby in the evenings, but when the clocks go back is a great time to up your game.
Create a soothing environment for bedtimes, such as soft music and dimmed lighting.
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Your baby will learn to understand that it is bedtime after this routine has happened.
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Keep them snug as a bug
The weather has gotten a lot colder and that is not going to help your baby with sleeping.
Make sure your baby is very cosy with warm clothing and snuggly blankets.
Common mistakes parents make from an expert
Karen Miller, a Baby & Toddler Sleep Consultant at Asleep At Last shares her advice with Fabulous:
- Rushing in and disrupting a child learning to put them selves to sleep - Just because they make noise / cry out now and then doesn’t mean they need anything.
- Bedtime is too late - For most of my clients I recommend a bedtime of ssleep by 6.30pm because early bedtimes do not mean early morning wakes. They can actually mean baby is overtired.
- Engage with the child too much. - Especially with toddlers, loads of negotiating and seeing you is way too stimulating and will cause them to get a second wind / fully wake up and not go back to sleep.