Daylight Savings Time Sleep Tips For Parents #DDDivas #DivasSleep

Daylight Savings Time Sleep Tips For Parents

Disclosure:  “This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.”

It’s that time of year again, yes it’s time to fall back and turn the clocks back an hour.  Honestly I have to say that this is my least favorite day of the year.  There have been times where I forgot to turn the clock back and I was an hour early for the school bus.  The first day of the roll back it seems like the time just drags on forever and it just won’t end.  After a few days though I fall right back into my routine and I am good to go until it time to spring forward.  Since becoming a mother though I think the hardest is getting my children to adjust to the time change.  It’s only an hour right? Wrong!  If you’re a parent I am sure you have endless stories of how that hour can wreck havoc on a child’s bedtime routine.  This can prove to be especially difficult for parents with babies who are just falling into a bedtime routine.

Pampers conducted a study and found that over half of moms (52%) feel that their baby’s sleep patterns are thrown off when the clocks ‘fall back’ and Daylight Savings Time ends, you can learn more from the infographic below.

Papmers Baby Dry is designed so that babies and moms can count on them for up to 12 hours of overnight protection.  There features include:

• Come in sizes 1-6
• Have an ultra absorb core to cover up to 95% of overnight loads.
• Three layers of absorbency vs two.
• A longer absorbent area and new, fun graphics
• Snug, stretchy sides, colored tabs and a bleted design to reassure parents that the diaper will hold up
• The size 2-5 are the most absorbent Baby Dry ever wtih a 15% increase in capacity

Here’s some great sleep tips for parents of younger children that may have difficulty adjusting to the time change courtesy of  Kim West aka “The Sleep Lady”

• Many parents I have spoken to dread this time change as their children will be waking up even earlier, and previous early rising issues can become big problems. To help make ensure that your baby’s sleep doesn’t go completely off the rails, make a slow transition.  Make a point to slowly adjust your child’s bedtime and naptimes an hour earlier, just 15-30 minutes a day for a few days before daylight savings ends. This way, your child will already be adjusted to the time change.  While you’re adjusting naps and bedtime, make sure that you also adjust mealtimes in 10-15 minute increments to help ease the transition.

• To help your baby sleep more soundly, consider installing blackout curtains and using a sound machine. Although the days are getting shorter, there may still be some natural light present, especially in the morning as well as noise when you put your baby to bed. To mitigate these, install blackout curtains and use a sound machine to help buffer outside light and sound. Black out shades are great for children with early rising issues, which is often a problem after the fall time change, especially if your child was already getting up before  6:00 a.m.

• Watch your baby’s wakefulness windows. Children have a limited window of wakefulness (the time that they can be awake and alert without meltdowns) between naps and bedtimes. Make sure that you watch your baby for sleepy cues carefully. Make sure that you’re changing your baby’s diaper right before your child goes into the crib for naps or bedtime. Keeping your child dry will help to prevent unnecessary night awakenings, and help to ensure a happy, well-rested baby the next day.

• The end of daylight savings is a good time to make sure that your child’s bedtime is age-appropriate. Infants and babies do best with a bedtime between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. Later bedtimes have shown to have a negative effect on children’s attitudes and their ability to focus, and can result in instances of early rising. If you find that your baby has been going to bed too early or too late, take advantage of the time change to gradually shift bedtime (back or forward in 15-30 minute increments over the next week).

• To ensure that your children know when it’s time to sleep, rely on your established soothing bedtime routine. Routines are comforting for children, so make sure that you keep your baby’s routine the same, although you will be starting it a bit later due to the time change. Make sure that you are changing your baby’s diaper right before you tuck them into the crib to help prevent wet diapers at night and unnecessary nighttime awakenings. If your baby often has diapers that leak during the night and require a change, please make sure to use overnight diapers that can keep your baby dry for up to 12 hours to help limit your baby’s sleep disturbances.

Double Duty Divas is hosting a Twitter Chat to talk more about the end of daylight savings time, Pampers and sleep in general.  Please check out the information below and if you can attend the chat.  There will be prizes given out as well.

#PampersSleepChat Twitter Party Information:

The Twitter Party will take place on November 7th at 9pm EST.  Chat about how the end of Daylight Savings Time can affect sleep patterns & get tips on easing the transition from The Sleep Lady, Kim West.

Please share this link and encourage your readers to join us and RSVP: http://twtvite.com/pamperssleepchat

Prizes include:

$50 AMEX Gift Card, $25 Children’s Place Gift Card, Pampers product and book by Kim West.

$100 AMEX Gift Card, Pampers Product, series of books by Kim West

Grand Prize: $500 AMEX Card to purchase sleep items such as a new crib, video monitor, etc.

To participate, follow your hosts @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, sleep expert @TheSleepLady and our sponsor @Pampers.

A Giveaway:

Enter to win a pack of Pampers Baby Dry in a size of your choice and a Children’s Place Sleeper.  You must be 18 or older to enter.  Open to residents of the U.S only.  The giveaway will run from now until November 16th at 11:59 PM.  Enter via the tool below and Good Luck.