Just what every mum wants on Mother’s Day…even less sleep! The bad news is Mother’s Day coincides with the clocks going one hour forward but the good news is we have tips to help you spring forward painlessly.
NCT member Miranda describes the dawn of British Summer Time in a way that will probably resonate with many new parents:
The lighter mornings have become household enemy number one.
“Whilst it feels like everyone else enjoys an extra hour in bed I have an emerging sense of dread as I long for a button that adjusts my child’s body clock as easily as my own alarm clock.
After years of embracing the start of summer now the lighter mornings have become household enemy number one.”
If that’s how you’re feeling, don’t panic we have tips to help.
If your baby or toddler is in a predictable sleeping routine, you might want to adjust it by 10 or 15 minute increments each evening and morning to fall in line with the clock change.
You could try to do this over the course of two weeks, one week or a weekend – changing bedtime by a little bit each day will help.
Your baby doesn’t need to know about British Summer Time. Keep the room where your baby sleeps darker so they are unaware of – and unstimulated by – the brighter evenings or mornings when the clocks change.
Dim the lights and close the curtains/blinds before bedtime.
You could also dim the lights and close the curtains/blinds before bedtime so your baby gets a sense that bedtime is coming; especially as spring evenings are lighter.
Many parents swear by black-out blinds. Miranda says: “With first light, my toddler likes to ensure everyone is up and ready for action.
This summer, I will march around my flat before bedtime, pushing black-out blinds into every window and closing every door from the horrors of the early dawn chorus. In one sleep deprived moment, I’ve even considered lining one of his walls with egg boxes to limit the noise from outside.”
Egg boxes might seem a step too far…but there are lots of options for keeping a room quiet and dark so have a look around to see what works for you.
Some people just keep to the same times and alter daytime naps or have lots of fresh air the day before the clocks change. This can help as we know babies sleep better at night if they’ve had some fresh air and sunshine during the day.
You could also try and plan days with more physical activity for the days on which your baby is going to bed earlier to tire them out.
It might feel like any plans for sleep go out the window as soon as you have a baby but it is important that you get as much sleep as you can.
Having your sleep disrupted or going without sleep when your baby keeps waking up can be physically and emotionally draining.
If you can arrange times when you can catch-up on sleep during the day and allow yourself to leave non-essential jobs undone in the early weeks at least, you may find it easier to cope.
If your baby is an early riser you may need to take a nap in the day or go to bed earlier yourself.
Preventing a tired baby from sleeping can be stressful in itself.
One thing to keep in mind is the amount of sleep your baby has in the day is unlikely to affect their bedtime.
Sometimes parents are encouraged to keep their babies awake during the day so that they will sleep better at night – but the results of this are variable – especially as babies change their sleeping and waking patterns as they grow, whatever you do.
Preventing a tired baby from sleeping can be stressful in itself, as they may cry and fuss, and drop off to sleep anyway.
Usually any disruption caused by the clock change will be temporary and even if you do nothing, your baby will naturally adapt to the new time over a few days.
We have lots more information about sleep, such as getting your baby to sleep and coping with tiredness, on our website.
