I always look forward to the Spring clock change when we officially welcome the spring! Lovely as that is, an hour is a big amount of time in our baby’s lives. I know many parents worry about how to manage their baby’s sleep around it, . 

But there’s no need to worry! There are a couple of ways to handle the spring clock change. I’ve listed them here so that you can decide what will work best for your baby.

What changes can I make in advance to help my baby cope and so that I know what I’m doing timing-wise?

So 8 am will become 9 am. It takes a few days for our body clocks to adjust to this and babies and children are the same, taking up to a week to adjust. To support your little one you can adjust the timing of your little ones’ naps, meals, and bedtime in advance. This will start preparing them for it. Here are your options;

If you can, start 6 days before the spring clock change and move your baby’s routine by 10 minutes a day. But here’s the trick- our body clocks are set by our whole routine, not just when we sleep. It’s best to make adjustments to their whole routine. Everything from meal times to naps, bath time, and bedtime, all move 10 minutes earlier each day.

So for example on day 1, your 9 am nap would happen at 8.50 am

8.40 am on Day 2

8.30 am on Day 3

8.20 am on Day 4

8.10 am on Day 5

Then on day 6 at 8 am, which will be 9 am once we’ve adjusted the clocks. 

If you prefer to move things a bit quicker you can adjust by 15 minutes a day. So if your little one normally has a nap at 9 am you would try to put them down at 8.45 am on Thursday 8.30 am on Friday 8.15 am on Saturday and then you’ll be ready for 8 am on Sunday which will be 9 am when you’ve changed the clocks. 

If you prefer to move slower you could start 2 weeks early. Then move your baby’s routine by 10 minutes a day every other day. 

Ok but it’s Saturday afternoon, the Spring clock change is tonight and I’ve only just read this! What do I do now?

Changing your baby’s routine as I suggest is good if you’re able to, but it can be easier said than done. If you haven’t had time to prepare, maybe your baby is at nursery, or you can’t change timings because of other commitments. 

If you’re able to make the changes to your little one’s routine you still can. This just means you’ll have them adjusted to the new time by next weekend, no problem. If not then the best thing to do on the day is to change your baby’s routine the best you can. Put them down for naps and feed them as near to the new time as possible, and wing it 😊. Getting outside in the daylight is a really good way of resetting our body clocks so try to get outside as much as possible, and wear them out with lots of outside fun to get them nice and tired. 

Enjoy the summer!