Helping Your Baby Adjust to the Autumn Clock Change

Here we go again! That confusing time of year when we wake up on a Sunday morning not quite sure what's the correct time and what's the old time!

At 2am on Sunday 26th October (I always prefer to think of it as Saturday night) the clocks go back an hour which was delightful pre-kids, but can make for a slightly earlier rise on Sunday morning now that we have little humans to look after.

If you already have an early riser, don't panic! The thought of another whole hour earlier can be scary, but it will adjust and you may not even notice it if you adjust bedtime as per the below suggestions. If you can, I would suggest figuring out what's causing the early rise this week - access my Early Rising Guide to help you (please note this guide is for little ones that can already self settle).

Here are the different approaches to help your little one adjust to the Autumn clock change:

1. Gradual approach - works well for very young or sensitive sleepers

This is where you move your child’s bedtime later, in 15 minute increments over the four days preceding the clock change. Make sure to move any naps accordingly too!

It would look like this based on a 7pm bedtime:

• Wednesday night bedtime is 7.15pm

• Thursday night bedtime is 7.30pm

• Friday night bedtime is 7.45pm

• Saturday night bedtime is 8pm. (Then the clocks go back in the middle of the night)

• Sunday night bedtime is the new 7pm

2. Split the Difference - my personal favourite and seems to suit most children.

Put your child to bed 30mins later than usual on Saturday night. They may wake a little early by the new clock time but will get back into rhythm very quickly as you will return to their normal bedtime on Sunday night by the new clock time.

Remember, if little one still takes one or two naps, just nudge these later by 30mins on the Saturday too.

3. Immediate switch - works well for older children or those less sensitive to time changes

To save a week’s worth of confusing bedtimes just go straight to the new time on Saturday night - you can keep them up for an extra hour so when the clocks go back and they wake at their usual time, they've still have had the same amount of sleep.

You're straight onto the new time come Sunday morning.

If your child struggles to make it through to 8pm on the Saturday night without becoming too over-tired (which, beware, could potentially lead to night wakings or an unusually early start!) you can:

• Add in a short nap in the afternoon, if he no longer naps.

• Add in an extra catnap in the afternoon for a child who is napping anyway.

If all this just sounds too complicated, then do nothing! Acknowledge that Sunday may be an earlier start and just roll with it knowing that it will all settle after a while.

Key tips

Whichever plan you feel will work best for your child, make sure those bedtime cues in your routine (such as bath and story time) remain the same, as the familiarity of these will ensure that any adjustment is made with the minimum amount of fuss.

It's also great idea to adjust mealtimes on the Saturday to help ease into the new timings on Sunday.

My final suggestion would be to make sure you get out first thing on Sunday morning and enjoy the daylight which will really help regulate their melatonin levels and suppress that sleepy hormone. Once you're on the new time, try not to compare what the 'old time' is - just go straight with the new!

It can sometimes take around a week to be fully back into routine on the new time so you may need patience while everything settles.

Let me know if you'd like any specific advice on what would work best for your child.

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