Time Change and Sleeping

The time change is approaching and I am kinda stressing about how to adjust the kids sleep time.

Night sleep is great, from 6am to 6pm and then they will play happily in their cribs until 6:30 when I get them up. NOTHING i have tried changes their wake up time! which was fine but with the time change they will be up at 5am and I do NOT want to be up with them at 5:30!!!!!

(NOTES: naps are pretty good, 2 sometimes 3, most days the first 2 are a good hour or more. I have tried putting them to bed at night later.. it hasn't changed wake up time and only makes them crabby)

I am really dreading 5am wake up calls! Help!
Any suggestions welcome!

 

I'll be interested to see if anyone has some magic tricks for you. I have found with my older ones that the first week is a bit of a pain but things gradually iron out. As long as I also went to bed at the pre-daylight savings time then we were all getting the usual amount of sleep.

 

I've had good luck with moving the whole schedule by 15 minute increments every other day starting the week before. Then when the change happens you're back to your regularly scheduled program. :good:

That being said, I still hate DST & think it should be gotten rid of.

 

I've done the same as Rachel, except starting about 3-4 days earlier and moving by 15 mins every day, it's worked without a hitch the first two times. The third time (just recently, moving forward), I completely confused myself and ended up really mixing the times up. So I ended up just following the day as it panned, on the day of time change. And within a few days, they were back into it so I don't think I will prepare early next time (makes no difference I see now).

I worried too as we have early wakers but in less than a week they had fallen back into their routine - I think it's said that they fall into the natural rhythms of what everyone else in the house doing and pick up the cues from there, just simple nuances such as getting breakfast/dinner ready, running the bath, parent going to work/coming home, etc.

 

I tried moving their whole schedule in increments for 4-5 days before the time change when my kids were less than a year old. Honestly, it didn't seem to do much for us. The day of the time change, my kids were up about 45 minutes early, but gradually they got back on track. The next year, I decided to just deal with it. I think I put them to bed 20 minutes or so early the evening of the time change, and within a few days, they were back on schedule again. It was not fun for a few days, but we survived.

It won't really hurt to try preparing for it a few days in advance, but try not to panic if it doesn't work - things will most likely iron out in a few days or so.

 

I try to start moving their bedtime a few days in advance too. It's about a week of ugliness, no matter when you start the transition Last time change, in the spring, was pretty rough for us, but otherwise it's been fairly predictable for all 4 kids. Takes about a week to get back into their normal sleep groove.

 

I was never together enough to move my girls' schedule before the time change. Instead, I just adjusted it by 15 minutes every couple of days after the time change and by the end of the first week we were back on track. Don't over think it - it will probably be easier than you think!

 

This article reminded me of this post - thought you might be interested:
Weissbluth Comment

 

So for a week, i tried to push the time back a little each day. All i got were crabby babies with an earlier than normal wake up time (as described in my Sleeping... getting worse post).
I gave up and gave them an early bed time again. that seemed to fix the crabbiness problem but not the wake up time problem.
They have always been good sleepers, not because they naturally are but because i protect there sleep with gusto. Now i am faced with intentionally disturbing their sleep if we are going to have a reasonable wake time.

My question is for those of you who have babies that ALWAYS, ALWAYS wake a the same time...do i just do the new schedule with the later naps, feedings, bed time and refuse to go in in the morning before 6:00 (new time)? I know i have a week of ugly, but did you LOs eventually get a later wakeup time?
I have trouble believing this will work.. they have always been so consistent in waking up at 6 (now 5:00).

I hate that i am complaining because really I am the one messing up their schedule. And other than early wake up they are great sleepers, at least they were before i started messing around with their sleep.

 

Yup! Ours at the same age as yours, always woke around 5.30am every morning. I was so worried at time change - I did not want a 4.30 wake up. It was hard for the first week, especially as DH is awake early for work and found it hard to just ignore them until the new wake up time. But we persevered and they gradually got used to the new time and I don't actually recall that they woke at 4.30 anyway, perhaps the earliest they woke was 5.10am. And I just kept to my new schedule, perhaps a little earlier morning nap to begin with so that they are not too overtired for their first nap.

Try not to stress too much, just take it day by day and in a few weeks, you'll be congratulating yourself on making it through !

PS: remember the days are getting shorter now, it will start getting darker earlier at night and in the morning now, so this will help them readjust as well and they will take their cues from you. I've also regularly used the not going in until a certain time to fix our early wake ups and I still use it by going in later and later as they've got older.

 

How did everyone do? I got my kids back to their normal bedtime in a couple days but they seemed a little extra tired this week as naps were all over the place. However DS has slept late the past two days (til 640ish) and DD has decided to be an early riser (5 -530 am). Agh!!!!!

 

We did good! couple of days they were a little off (short naps, little cranky).
Don't know what happened when i tried to get them adjusted before. The only thing i can think (with the timing) is maybe Sandy messed them up?????

Now they are getting up a little early but they play happily until we go get them at 6:00. And their wake up seems to be creeping later. I am compensating for early rising by a slightly earlier morning nap, a slightly early or normal afternoon nap and then keeping them busy the last part of the day.
Oh, and in the middle of it all i think they are officially done with their 3rd nap. First two are slightly longer than usual and they will NOT go to sleep for the last one.
Well.. now i surely jinxed it.