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It's that time of year we can always count on some people to shake their fist at.
Daylight Savings Time will once again be coming to an end, and the clocks will go back one hour.
Once we Fall Back, we'll get more light in the morning and less light in the evening.
Some parents dread this time of year because it wreaks havoc on their babies' sleep schedule, which, of course, wreaks havoc on EVERYBODY'S sleep and can make for a rough couple of days as everybody's internal clock adjusts.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Here's how to tweak your twins' sleep schedule leading up to Daylight Savings Time for a smooth transition with the time change.
Set your twins up for successful sleep when it's time to Fall Back
While the clocks are going back, we're gaining an hour of time. Any extra time to parents of twins is a miracle, so an entire extra hour sounds magical.
One hour that could—and should—be filled with sweet blissful dreams often turns into a 60-minute nightmare filled with bedtime resistance, cantankerous crankiness, and unwanted early wake-ups in the days that follow the time change.
If you want to attempt adjusting your twins' schedule ahead of next weekend to, hopefully, avoid any sleeptime struggles, there are two ways you could approach this.
The one-day approach
If your twins are older and more susceptible to change (read: more likely to actually be able to stay awake longer without getting cranky to make this plan work), then you can try the one-day approach.
Go about your morning and day as usual. Keep naps the same length as they'd usually be. But starting in the evening, be mindful of the time.
Plan to keep them up for an extra 45 to 60 minutes the night before the time change, so that they're primed for a "later" bedtime the following day.
The three-day approach
If your twins are younger, especially during those early days with your potentially premature twins who struggle to stay awake long enough for feeds, or it's already a tough time for everyone if you miss their sleep window by a few minutes, then you may want to try the three-day approach in the days leading up to the time change.
With this method, starting on the Thursday evening before the time change, go about your morning as usual, and keep their naps the same as normal. Then, starting that evening, pay attention to the clock, because you'll be pushing your babies' sleep time later by 15 minutes each day.
Push suppertime and the start of the bedtime routine back by 15 minutes. So, if their regular bedtime is 7:00 p.m., that first night, you'd push their bedtime to 7:15. On Friday, extend it until 7:30. On Saturday, stretch it until 7:45. And then, when the time changes the next day, the extra 15 minutes later would push their bedtime to "8:00 p.m.," which would now be 7:00 p.m. with the Fall Back in time.
If your twins just can't stay up an extra 15 minutes, follow their lead and let their sleep cues decide how many extra minutes they can stay up. When they start rubbing their eyes, yawning, or show even the slightest sign of getting overtired, throw the sleep time extension out the window and switch to a speedy bedtime routine.
For example, if they can only stay up five extra minutes on that first night, don't force them to stay awake for the extra 10 minutes, or you run the risk of having to deal with two overtired babies or toddlers. Instead, go through a simplified bedtime routine to get them to sleep as soon as you can. Then, try the bedtime extension again the following evening to see if they can make it any longer than the night before.
If they can only stay up an extra five minutes each night, at least you know that they'll eventually get back on track to their usual sleep time; it just may take a few days longer than you'd expected.
The do-nothing approach
If your twins are four months or younger, your best bet is just to follow their regular routine, wake windows, and sleep schedule. As the days go on after the time change, your little ones will likely adjust their schedule as needed on their own.
If you try the do-nothing method with your newborns and their schedule stays really out of whack after five days or so, try adding some extra snuggles onto the end of their naps and sleep sessions to push the start of their wake windows and the daytime routine a little later.
Tips to help, no matter what approach you take
- Aim for consistency, but don't add too much pressure or you'll just stress everybody out and that won't make for a fun bedtime experience.
- Try a sound machine with a built-in nightlight and wake-up alarm feature, like this one from Hatch Baby. The app has a Daylight Savings Assistant feature that can automatically shift your babies' sleep schedule for a seamless time change.
- If you don't already have blackout curtains in your babies' nursery, it could be worth investing in a set of curtains like this for their room to help keep things dark, no matter what time of day, or how bright, it is outside.
- Get outside so your twins can soak up some daylight during their wake windows. Go for a walk, eat a meal or snack out on the deck, in the backyard, or at the park. Even just opening the blinds to let light in or keeping your indoor lights turned on can help because exposure to light early in the day can boost melatonin production (the sleepy hormone), for later that night. Then, when it's getting close to time to start winding down, dim the lights an hour ahead of time.
- If your twins are getting to a phase where they seem fearful of complete darkness during bedtime, consider getting a red nightlight for their bedroom. A red nightlight is less likely than a traditional nightlight to interfere with melatonin production and help them get back to sleep if they wake up overnight.
Why bother with adjusting their schedule?
When someone, or in a twin parent's case, two someones are doubly cranky from being overtired because they are exhausted and want to go to bed but it's not actually bedtime for another hour yet (thanks to the Fall Back), that single hour can feel like an eternity.
On the flip side, when your twin toddlers jump out of bed to get up and at 'em at their usual time, but still technically have another hour they should be sleeping for (again, thanks to the Fall Back), it can be frustrating for them.
Gradually pushing everything back in the days leading up to when Daylight Savings Time ends can help with the transition to the time change.
But it's out of my control to keep them asleep…
As someone who's been through this with their twins, I know it's easier said than done to keep not only one but two babies who are rarin' to go in their bedroom AND quiet, even for only an additional 10 minutes. If you can keep your toddlers asleep for those extra 10 or 15 minutes, all the power to you, and congratulations on a job well done!
But if your little ones wake up at their usual time instead of the slightly later time you'd hoped for, the goal is to keep them in the quiet and dark environment (read: in their bedroom with blackout curtains and a sound machine going) for those extra 10 or 15 minutes.
Basically, you want to keep them in their usual sleepy environment surrounded by their usual sleepy cues until the adjusted time you want them to start their day at...or as close to that time as you can get them to.
Is Daylight Savings Time an issue for sleep schedules in your household? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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