On 25th October at 2am, in the early hours of Sunday morning, the clocks will turn backwards by one hour. For adults, this might seem like great news (hurrah we gain an extra hour in bed!) However, young children can be more sensitive to the forced change in their usual daily routine and odds are that your baby will wake up at 5am instead of their usual 6am- and that is certainly no fun for you!
By preparing for the time change with a few simple actions, you can get your children ready. Here are a few tips:
In the autumn, you can use the reverse concept that you did in the spring. In the week leading up to the switch, put your baby to bed 10 minutes later each night for the six nights leading up to the clock change. You will see your baby adjust to these 10 minute increments and when the time change occurs, they will already be in a great sleep schedule without no fuss-hopefully!
With the clocks turning backwards, this means mornings will be brighter than usual. Room darkening can help with this, since it lessens the odds of the early morning sun waking your child before you want them to get up- and this means extra time in bed for us parents!
You might also want to pick up your baby 10 minutes later each morning for the week — but that, of course, depends on your child’s temperament and how comfortable you feel letting him hang out solo (if he’s a screamer in the morning, it just might not be worth it to you!).
Try eating later than usual. Starting on the Monday before, have your evening meals just a few minutes later every night. This way, if you usually eat at 5.30, by the end of the week, you might be eating at 6.30. Then when the clocks go back, your children will already be used to eating at 5.30 again!
During the autumn, the temperature can drop quite rapidly, and a cold baby or toddler will lead to disrupted sleeping during the night, so this is the perfect time to start adjusting their bedtime clothing. Switching to winter clothing will reduce the likelihood of your baby becoming too cold during the winter months and will help them have a more comfortable night’s sleep.
Slumbersac’s winter sleeping bag for babies and toddlers have long sleeves and are thicker so that they provide better insulation. Our winter bags come in either 2.0-2.5 tog which are suitable for room temperatures between 15-21 degrees centigrade or 3.5 tog which are suitable for room temperatures below 18 degrees centigrade. For more information on our winter bags visit our sleeping bag with sleeves.
