Daylight Savings Time Change Sleep Difficulties

Hi L....
I'm wondering why you need to get back to the "old" way of doing things? It sounds like you've already found a *new* way that works - you sway and talk and then he's out. Just as the seasons are changing, your baby's rhythms are changing, too! Work with those changes, not against them, not against him! Instead of forcing *him* to stick with old routines that aren't working, open yourself up to *new* ways of thinking and find what does work! He's still such a baby! Children of all ages have a very strong need to be close to their loved ones, to hear that steady heartbeat, to feel that warm breath, to hear that sweet voice. Go *with* the flow, not *against* it! Your baby will be little for such a short amount of time. Bedtime seems to only present challenges for parents who feel they need to *force* their children to sleep. It is completely normal and natural for kids (the younger they are, the more it is true) to need lots of comfort and closeness at bedtime, and throughout the night. If there is something *you* are needing, figure out what that is and try to give it to yourself. As I wrote to Mena, be gentle with yourself and with each other. Listen to the wisdom of your own body, and listen to the wisdom of your son. Do what FEELS good...if his crying and wailing does not feel good to you, and I'm sure that certainly doesn't feel good to him, give him what he needs. Babies do not manipulate. They have needs, and when their needs are not met, they cry. The reason may not be clear, but a crying baby *needs* something. Don't be afraid to give it to him. It will not "spoil" him, it will comfort him and fill his heart with love and joy!

Many blessings!

I agree with the gradual changing of his bedtime, but be sure not to rule out a coincedence. He may be teething or coming down with a cold.

Hello. My suggestion would be to back his bedtime up by only 5 minutes a night till you get to the desired time. Also know that you can throw out almost everything you've read about most things regarding childrearing and do what naturally comes to you for your child. Then find stuff that matches your natural parenting style and child's personality. Putting a child to bed and letting him cry it out, even with assurances, can work for some children, but not all. And it actually can raise a parent's blood pressure and stress level. Plus cause a very vicious cycle where a child associates bedtime with not getting his needs met and therefore cries each night. I didn't let my child cry it out that young. I rocked him till he fell asleep and it wasn't till he got older that I started the whole sitting next to his bed and then moving further out each night. Took a week or so and he has fallen asleep on his own ever since. Babies are ever changing and as parents we get the "fun" responsibility of figuring out their changes, many times just in time for them to change again. It might be that you will need to hold him at night for awhile till he adjusts. And after reading your "a little about me:" I'd guess that you'd really be blessed by those close contact bonding times. And I promise, it'll last such a short time, you'll look back and long for those moments. Good luck

It may have nothing to do with the daylight savings time change at all. However, sleep experts tell us that you shouldn't try to adjust bedtimes by more than about 15 or 20 minutes per night. So, follwing this rule, it would take a few days of adjusting to finally get to the new bedtime.

None of my children ( I have 5) would ever just go to bed as you describe your child doing. I rocked all of them to sleep evey night. They are all well-adjusted people. The oldest is 26 and expecting his first child. Usually a crying child is trying to communicate something to you. Leaving them to cry is to ignore the only way they have of communicating with you.

Good luck!

It seems to work out best if you only try to change a young child's sleep schedule by 10-15 minutes per day. The 1 hour difference can be a big change for little guys, but spreading it out makes the adjustment much easier.

Try shifting his bedtime gradually to the new time. Put him to bed at his regular bedtime; not daylight savings time. Shift the time by 10 minutes or so gradually until he's used to the "new" time.

Daylight savings time is always hard. I have three children between the ages of 6-9 and they are having a hard time adjusting.

I remember when they were little we slowly got them to the normal time. Each night we put them to bed a little earlier. SO the first night it was an hour later than normal, the second night it was 45 minutes later than normal and so on. That seemed to work for us. It just takes a while for bodies to adjust to the time change, even in adults.

L.,

You could be talking about my 1 year old daughter. She's having a hard time adjusting too. I think we'll just have to keep to the normal routine, but with a little more patience and understanding for the next few days.

I know one thing that helps when my daughter is just plain tired is to have a stay-home/down day where there isn't a lot planned for the day and it stays pretty calm. That really seems to help us.

Hope this helps,
In the same boat,
Melissa

Hi L., You know, I think the time change affects everyone! And the smaller they are the harder it seems to hit. I have 3 boys, and bed time is always hard cause they still have all that energy. We have some play time before they go to bed, it usually involves some running through the house and some GOOD hard laughing. It just takes away that little extra bit before they go to bed. Baths work really well too. Something about the warm water. I've never been one to let them cry it out. It's just not for me, but I think you are on the right track with soothing him without picking him up. It's hard cause you don't want to start another habit that will have to be kicked later. He sounds like he just needs to be warn out a little more. Is he getting up at the same time in the morning? And afternoon naps, are they at the same time as before? Good luck, I'm sure he will find his way back to the way it was before the darn time change!
S.

My 21 month old daughter is having a rough time of it.Suddenly a lil milk in her sippy cup isn't enough and I just don't have the heart to give in and give a bottle back after we've made such progress to get rid of the things.
She too is just screaming when she's put to bed.She's all good for the first 5 minutes and then all of a sudden she's turned into a screeching montster.She was up until 1am last night!!

Remember you are trying to put him to bed an hour earlier then normal if you are reading the clock? try putting him down a little later for awhile remember he doesn't go by the clock only his own internal clock and not yours either! He sounds like such a sweet boy, try not to let him get hysterical, it is his way of saying this is not working please comfort me, when he gets hysterical it puts stress on his body and his immune system and will affect him in sleep once he has cried it out and in his mood and his trust of when you will finally pick him up. I really believe he is just trying to tell you he is not ready to go to bed yet and wants to be held instead. Even my sleep schedule and my kiddos are having problems too and they can read a clock! Just do your best, follow your heart in helping your son and it will work out, there is no harm in picking him up, that is what he needs. don't be afriad of being a hands on mom. He is at an age where he needs your reasurance that it is ok, because life around him is so big. Some books that really helped me are "The Vital Touch" by Sharon Heller, Ph.D. and "The Fussy Baby" By Sears
Maybe taking him to a infant sign class or a music movement class during the day would wear him out, or even a daily walk too. change up his day time schedule with the nice weather coming and summer around the corner.

Daylight Savings Time affects all of us. For me, it takes about a week to adjust, and the same may be true for your son. Give it a few more days and see how he does.

cj

I just put my boys to bed at the usual time but minus fifteen minutes. So, their bedtime is 7:30 pm but because of the time change the clock actually read 8:15 pm. They usually wake up at about 8 am - so I woke them up when the clock read 8 am. They were a little grumpier than usual because they hadn't gotten as much sleep but I was able to put them down at the "proper" time tonight without any trouble.

I have an 8 month old boy too. Sounds like he may be teething or just adjusting to a new internal sleep routine. Of course that always seems to come at the most opportune time (like daylight savings.) My son has been doing the exact same thing for the last couple weeks. He gets up in the middle of the night and the second I go to pick him up and sway,give him a little pat he's back asleep. I guess its a comfort thing. The inconsolable crying is difficult but it sounds like you're doing the right thing. Definitely stick to your routine, babies need that! Check for new teeth too, a little ibuprofen might help.

Yes, there are alot of people ajusting to daylight savings time. I was at MOPS(Mothers of Preschoolers) last night and every one was wiped out. I was tired. I remember when my kid was that age and would put some rice cearal in his formula and he would sleep throught the night. When I was breastfeeding I put the baby down stairs in the living room in a playpen. After taking care of all his basic needs(feeding,burping,and changing diaper) I would set the timer every 2 to 3 hours. Sometimes 4. I got solid uninterupted sleep. It was the only way to do It without going insane.

We usually start adjusting the time a week or so early - by 10 minutes a night. It's more gradual that way, and they don't notice it as much. It's 2 weeks early this year though, so it kind of snuck up on everyone!

You can still do smaller adjustments now - just do 10-15 minutes different each night - MUCH easier than a full hour!

Good luck,
J.

remember that if he's been going to bed at 7- it'll be 8, so putting him to bed at 7 now would mean 6- he's just not ready yet, which is probably why he's wailing. try putting him to bed 15 minutes earlier every night (ex. 7:45, then 7:30- then work your way back to adjust)- and make sure you're waking him up in the morning at a decent time instead of letting him sleep in. it works for us.

Instead of having him change the whole hour at once, try doing it in 15 minute increments. Takes sometimes a couple weeks, but it does work.

Could it be the light?? I have a 9 1/2 month old that seemed to have problems as well but I figured out it was because it was still sort of light out and that was keeping him awake so I put a blanket over his window to make it complpletely dark and that seems to help so far. Also, is he having a difficult time with naps?? Make sure your watching the daytime schedule and he's not taking a nap too late or he's not overtired. Good luck, you gotta love daylight savings!!

Ahhhh...bless the moms and dads and babies...when you mentioned "trying to keep up the same old routine", remember that he is trying to do the same thing, too! His body and psyche don't understand about the crazy "clock thing", and, his internal timing knows that something has changed, that, indeed, "the same routine" has changed! His body knows that sleepiness might be showing up in about an hour, though, the "big people" are trying to convince him that he "should" be sleepy an hour earlier, since some numbers say so. Our babies have such wisdom; perhaps you can flow with the natural rhythm of things, knowing that sleep will visit him at just the perfect time...good luck...V., aka "NanaBanana"

I am experiencing the same thing with my one and two year old boys. I think you are doing the right thing with the verbal reasuarnce and by keeping up the usual routine. They will eventually get used to the time change as will we as parents. I had to let my two year old whine hi,self to sleep after about ten minutes he was out. Since you are a stay at home mom and might have the time I suggest wearing them out durring the day and before bedtime with some fresh air or a short drive.

Maybe he's over tired? Seems unlikely because of what way the time change went, but if he's out after 2 minutes of snuggles, maybe he's over tired?

It's a pain to do this, but it helps with my kids .. try adjusting their schedude by only 15 min a day. For example if bedtime is at 8pm (before DST), then after the DST change try putting him to bed at 8:45pm for a day then wake him 15 min early the next day and adjust naps and feeding by 15 min that day. Then the next day move to 8:30pm, etc. until he is going to bed at 8pm again. If he has a hard time going to bed even 15 min earlier then do if for 2-3 days before moving it another 15 minutes. Good luck!

Put him to bed at the later time at first, but get him up at the new time. He will be tired enough that night to fall asleep earlier. It may take a few days to adjust.

It sounds like he isn't quite tired enough when you put him down. i have an 8.5 month old boy who had a very hard time with the last time change. this time i did something daring and skipped his afternoon nap. then i put him down at the 'normal' time and he fell right to sleep! perhaps you could try waking your little one up a bit early from his afternoon nap. i have never hating time changes more then this year!! i think it's time to join indiana and give up the silly practice!

try putting him down a bit later, working your way to the "correct" time. try 50 minutes, then 40, then 30. he just needs time to adjust his internal clock to this silly external change we do! Good luck!

I am having the same problem with my 8 1/2 month old. Last night we went through all the same routines but he didn't fall asleep until 9:15 (which, to his body was his normal 8:15). It doesn't seem to matter how much or how little he naps, he always falls asleep right at 8:15. But now of course, it's 9:15 by the clock. We sat up for an extra hour last night with him happily babbling and drooling away. And he woke up at 6:15 this morning, right on schedule because I think the heat coming on in the morning triggers his wakeup. Maybe tonight will be easier? I hope? And trying to wear him out a little more only makes him really cranky and harder to get him to go to sleep, not easier.