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How to Spring Forward without Messing Up Your Child’s Sleep Schedule

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It’s time to spring forward this weekend. Saturday night, before you go to bed, remember to set your clocks forward one hour. It stinks to lose that hour of sleep, but it is just one more signal that Spring (and Summer!) are on the way.

If you have any children at home, you also need to prepare them for the time change! The following is an excerpt from The Sleepeasy Solution. This is the book that changed our lives and helped us get Layah sleeping through the night. I will most definitely be doing exactly what they suggest below, and wanted to pass it on to you so that you can do it, too!   

How to Help Children Adjust to Daylight Savings  

infant sleeping Before bed, turn clocks ahead 1 hour.  If your child normally sleeps till 6:30 AM, the next morning she will likely sleep till 7:30 AM.  Her entire schedule – naps and bedtime – will then shift one hour later.If you’re happy about this change, great!  Just protect her room from too much light in the early morning, and use white noise so she won’t wake with the birds.
If you’d rather help your child get back to her usual schedule, try the following:
1.  Put your child down at her regular bedtime, say 7:30 PM, on Saturday night.
2. Set your alarm for 6:30 AM (according to the new clock) and wake your child at this time.  To her, it will feel like it’s 5:30 AM, but don’t worry.  She’ll be tired, but she’ll adjust.
3.  If your child naps, put her down at her normal nap time according to the new clock and resume a normal schedule from there.  Don’t allow her to nap longer than usual.
4.  On Sunday night, put her down at her usual bedtime according to the new time.
For more information, check out The Sleepeasy Solution!
Shared with permission. No compensation was provided. Just wanted to share some great tips!

How We Established a Bedtime Routine That Really Works for Our Infant

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Recently I had a conversation with my older brother, who has an 18 month old son. His family has struggled and not yet had success getting their child to sleep through the night. My sister-in-law has been running a 102 fever for over 2 months now, and the doctors have simply concluded that she is so stressed out/sleep-deprived that her body just can’t recover from illness.

To say they are struggling would be a gentle way of putting it. And I know all to well how frustrating it can be to have other people who don’t walk in your shoes tell you EXACTLY what you are doing wrong and EXACTLY what you need to do to fix it. Ever notice how for any given problem there are at least 20 different solutions that other parents swear by, and sometimes those different solutions are even polar opposites of each other? It leaves parents utterly confused and doubting their instincts. Been there. Felt that way.

But I can also tell you that not every aspect of parenting is intuitive. Far from it! It is ok to be completely lost at sea and not know what to do. And it is ok to ask other parents for advice. You’ve just got to be prepared for folks to get their noses out of joint if you choose not to take their advice. Because that will happen!

Establishing a Bedtime Routine

So with all that said, I am going to give those of you who have a child who won’t sleep through the night some advice. You are free to take it or leave it. I won’t be offended if you aren’t interested in it! I simply want to share what is working for us. Maybe it will also work for some of you!

First and foremost, I recommend The Sleepeasy Solution, which is what helped us go from a baby who woke up every 90 minutes to a baby sleeping 11 hours straight, all within a 4 day time span.

Beyond, that, though, I want to recommend that you create and STICK TO a strict bedtime routine that your child will be able to recognize easily. We have found that “the routine” goes a long way toward helping our baby, Layah, get herself calm and ready for sleep.

how to establish a bedtime routine

Here’s the nighttime routine we are using:

1. Bath time! We show Layah the sign (we use some sign language with her) for a bath, which gets her VERY excited. She usually will crawl into the bathroom and stand by the tub, watching us fill it with water. She will also put tub toys in the bath while it fills up. It’s totally cute. Mommy’s Bliss Sweet Slumber 3-In-1 Baby Wash is what we are currently using, as it contains lavender, chamomile & ylang ylang in a very gentle formula.

2. To the room! After the bath, we dry her hair for about 30 seconds and then take her into her room to put on her diaper. After her diaper is on, we do a quick baby massage with Mommy’s Bliss Sweet Slumber Massage Cream. It is really amazing how quickly she will go from being very active to very calm. She knows that night time is near once her massage begins. After her massage, we put on whatever she is sleeping in that night. It is very important that all bedtime related activities (other than the bath, obviously) happen in her room.

3. Story time! Now it is time for 1-2 books. Darah often reads with us. Sometimes Layah sits attentively, and sometimes she crawls over to her crib, letting us know that she is ready for night night.

4. Bottle! This is Layah’s favorite part. Either mom or dad will rock Layah in the rocking chair and feed her a bottle. We also turn on some white noise at this point, as well. Layah holds onto her lovey (a small stuffed dog) while she drinks her bottle. The overhead light is off, and her closet light is on. At this point, if she is having trouble getting very drowsy, I will use the Mommy’s Bliss Sweet Slumber Mist and give a quick spritz to her bedding and her lovey. I don’t use it every night, just as needed.

Important note! We keep Layah awake during the feeding. Very important not to let her fall asleep while eating! Then we turn off the closet light and put her in her crib, drowsy but still awake. She usually rolls over on her side, cuddles on her lovey (a dog), and goes right to sleep.

What a dramatic change this is from just 6 weeks ago. Our lives are completely different! I’m enjoying using the Mommy’s Bliss products as part of our new routine. I feel confident about these products because they are made with essential oils that are historically known to assist with relaxation and sleep. Best of all, they are easy to find! You can purchase them at your local Walgreens (a place I shop at every week!).

 I’d love to hear if you are having trouble getting your little ones to sleep, or if you have a routine that works like a charm! Feel free to leave a comment with your concerns, questions or solutions! 

I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links at no cost to you.