MORE SUN LESS SLEEP: Save your sleep schedule during Daylight Savings Time

Spring forward, Fall back. Pushing our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time (DST) gifts us more time. It gives us an extra hour in our day. An extra hour of sunshine. Longer days for playtime. More time for making memorable moments, bonding and discovering all of the beautiful firsts for our infant. 

With all of this more, don’t settle for less.

It is important to maintain a healthy sleep schedule for your baby. Just because the sun is brighter, doesn’t mean rest is less important. Don’t make the mistake of cutting down your babies down time. Sleep is super important for progress and development. If you have a newborn you are in luck. Newborns have not developed their circadian rhythm and have no ability to distinguish between day and not. Sorry you are too evolved for this. Invest in blackout curtains for day naps, not just for them, for you too.

Infants may however sense the change in schedule. This can cause some extra irritability. It is important to plan for the clock change in advance. Possibly introduce more naps into the routine. Adjust your eating and bathing schedule to accommodate the time as well.  A fifteen minute shift, over the course of a few days, may just do the trick.

As the Daylight Savings ushers in spring and the warm weather take advantage of the fresh air and tire yourselves out simultaneously. Outdoor activities are a wonderful nap time trigger. Neighborhood walks are not only beneficial for the little one, but they help get the pre-baby body back. If brisk neighborhood walks don’t tire you out you can always invest in a jogger stroller.  

Keeping your babies sleep schedule in tact will most likely maintain your sleep schedule as well.

No matter what you use this extra time for make it count.