12 Tips to Handle Early Morning Wakeups with Daylight Saving Time

It has finally started to feel like Fall here in Georgia and you know what that means?

LESS DAYLIGHT!

I am NOT looking forward to that part. But I will enjoy a glass of hot cocoa or wine after the kids go to sleep in my deck by the fire pit.

Also, Daylight Saving Time is almost a week away. YIKES!

If your baby is waking up before 6:30 AM or has a harder time adjusting to change then this blog is for YOU! KEEP READING!

Here are 12 things you can start doing the week before Daylight Saving Time (DST) in preparation for it and to prevent that 6:00 AM wakeup from becoming the new 5:00 AM wakeup.

FIRST, START WITH THE ENVIRONMENT:

Keep the room DARK. Use room darkening shades/curtains, heavy duty black trash bags, or simply just tin foil to darken up the room so no early morning light seeps into your child’s room.
Use a SOUND MACHINE that is loud enough to block out outside noise including noises from other parts of the house in case you or your partner wakes up earlier than the children.
Dress your baby in appropriate clothing with a sleep sack or swaddle (depending on the age) with the thermostat set at a comfortable temperature somewhere between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit.
SECOND, WORK ON NUTRITION:
Feeding your baby frequently throughout the day will help ensure that they are getting sufficient calories. Babies younger than 2 months should be drinking milk every 1.5-2.5 hours and for babies between 3-12 months it should be every 2.5-4 hours. They should be consuming on average 24-32 ounces of milk throughout the day. Some may need more which is fine as long as your pediatrician is okay with it.
If your baby is on solids then limit foods high in fiber after 3 PM if possible. This way they have plenty of time to do their business if needed. This is specifically for those babies that like to poop in those early hours of the morning.
Make sure there are no sleep associations present related to nursing and feeding. If there are then you want to move the feeding session either at the start of the bedtime routine or in the middle. For example, Bath > Feeding > PJs > Books/Prayers/Cuddles > Swaddle/sleep sack > BED.
THIRD, FIX THE SCHEDULE:
Are naps shorter than normal? Does the daytime schedule seem off track? Is early morning wake-ups a new thing? READ my Nap Transitions Blog to see if it may be time to drop a nap. If so, follow the steps indicated in that blog. It will take several weeks to successfully drop the nap so be patient and listen to your baby’s cues.
Be sure to follow age appropriate awake windows. Keep the first awake window shorter and the one before bedtime a little longer.
Bad nap day? Do an early bedtime. This is my secret sauce for most sleep related issues for babies. Try to listen to your baby’s sleepy cues and offer an early bedtime (as early as 6:00 PM can be offered if needed).
FOURTH, ADJUST YOUR BEHAVIOR:
If you have tried all of the things mentioned above then it may be something you can control. First try to PAUSE. Wait 5-15 minutes depending on if your baby is crying or not before attending to them.
If you attend to them, then treat each entry point like an overnight wakeup. Soothe your baby in the crib, soothe your baby out of the crib, or hold them till their ideal wake up time with minimal talking and stimulation.
When it's their ideal time, then do a dramatic wakeup by being extra loud and joyful, opening curtains, doing a wakeup sing/dance session, or anything else you wish to incorporate into your morning wakeup routine.

Be sure to rule out any sleep regressions that could be caused by developmental progressions and leaps. You can read more about this in my Regressions Blog. Once you have ruled out regressions/progressions and worked on fixing the root cause of the early morning rising then you can slowly start shifting bedtime and morning awake time using the same strategies as mentioned in points 10-12.

Saturday-Tuesday: Work on fixing the root cause of the early morning wakeup. You may need a longer time if a nap transition or sleep regression is involved. You can still work on the time shift in the middle of working on the root cause of the early morning wakeup if needed.

EXAMPLE SCHEDULE SHIFT: Assuming that normal wakeup and bedtime is 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM.