“Early Bird Gets the...—OMG give it up, already!!!
My heart goes out to all the sleep deprived parents who are struggling to get their children (and themselves) more zzz’s. I have a particularly special place in my heart for those parents who have an early riser — and when I say an “early riser”, I don’t just mean a babe who wakes up at 6:00 AM…
No… I am talking about those parents who have children waking up in the 5 o’clock, or even the (sigh) 4 o’clock hour.
I firmly believe that no one should have to wake up before 6:00 AM, especially not parents — Lord knows we need our rest!
If you are a lucky parent with children who sleep past 6:00 AM, read no further and check out my article about how to acclimate your child to Daylight Savings Time →
If you are the not-so-lucky parent of an early riser, don’t fret. Help is on the way! Read on…
Let’s Talk Strategy
You, my friend, are going to take FULL advantage of the upcoming change to Daylight Savings Time and nip those early wakings in the bud once and for all. Hooray!
Spring Forward→
When the clock springs ahead, it means your child will naturally wake up 1 hour later according to the clock. Just think: 6:00 AM instead of 5:00 AM!
To make DST work to your advantage,
you have two options:
OPTION 1
Starting on the first day of the time change (Sunday), you will gradually move bedtime, nap time, and the feeding schedule earlier by 1 hour using the plan outlined below.
At the end of the process, your children will be going to bed at their usual “clock time,” but it will feel like 1 hour earlier to their body.
Furthermore, their body will still wake up at their usual time, but the clock will say that it is an hour later. Better still, they will be getting an extra hour of sleep at night as a result.
This is my preferred option, as most early wakings are caused by over-tiredness:
The Plan
DAYS 1 + 2
Put your child down for their nap(s) and bedtime 45 minutes later. This will only feel 15 minutes earlier to them. For example, if they typically nap at 1:00 PM and go to bed at 7:00 PM, their timing on Day 1 would be nap at 1:45 PM and bedtime at 7:45 PM.
EXAMPLE
Regular Naptime: 1:00 PM → becomes 1:45 PM
Regular Bedtime: 7:00 PM → becomes 7:45 PM
DAYS 3 + 4
Put your child down for their nap(s) and bedtime 30 minutes later than their regular timing. This will feel like another 15 minutes earlier again to them. For example, if they typically nap at 1:00 PM and go to bed at 7:00 PM, their timing on Day 3 would be nap at 1:30 PM and bedtime at 7:30 PM.
EXAMPLE
Regular Naptime: 1:00 PM → becomes 1:30 PM
Regular Bedtime: 7:00 PM → becomes 7:30 PM
DAYS 5 + 6
Put your child down for their nap(s) and bedtime 15 minutes later than their regular timing; this will “feel” like another 15 minutes earlier again to them. For example, if they typically nap at 1:00 PM and go to bed at 7:00 PM, their timing on Day 5 would be nap at 1:15 PM and bedtime at 7:15 PM.
EXAMPLE
Regular Naptime: 1:00 PM → becomes 1:15 PM
Regular Bedtime: 7:00 PM → becomes 7:15 PM
DAY 7
You’ll be back to your normal “clock schedule,” but will technically be waking up an hour earlier (according to the clock).
OPTION 2
If you have tried an earlier bedtime in the past and it only resulted in an earlier wake time, then you’ll want to shift everything — bed time, nap time and the feeding schedule — by 1 hour. This way, your child’s body clock doesn’t change, but they will be sleeping later according to DST.
For example, if your child’s schedule is…
5:00 AM — Wake-Up
8:00 AM — Nap 1
1:00 PM — Nap 2
7:00 PM — Bedtime
Then your child’s new schedule after the time change would be…
6:00 AM — Wake-Up
9:00 AM — Nap 1
2:00 PM — Nap 2
8:00 PM — Bedtime
(I know this it isn’t rocket science but, if you are sleep deprived, this little gem may have slipped your mind).
You Got This!!!
Hopefully, one of the plans above helps your little early bird sleep until an appropriate hour. If not, don’t give up hope. Sleep is very complex and that is why my team and I are here. Let’s talk it out! Schedule your complimentary 15-minute discovery call here→
