Pampers Daylight Savings Sleep Tips and Giveaway #PampersSleepChat #DDDivas

Disclaimer: 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.

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Daylight Savings time is just around the corner. If you are anything like me, you know that the time change turns your families sleep routine upside down. If you have a child in diapers in your home, you also know that it means you need a quality diaper to make it through the long dark hours of Daylight Savings. With a child in home home that has diagnosed insomnia, I personally dread this time of year.

 

I really only wanted to provide a few tips to help other mother's out there. Unfortunately, I could not eliminate any of the ten tips, I think that they all have the potential to help mothers out there with children that are 5 months and older.  Not all of them will work for my daughter or son, but they may benefit you in some way. So here they are:

            10 Daylight Savings Sleep Tips for Baby

By Kim West, LCSW-C, Sleep Lady Solutions, LLC,  copyright 2013 

Daylight savings time ends on Sunday, November 3^rd at 2:00 a.m. Most of us will be rolling our clocks back an hour, which can cause sleep problems, and in many cases, early rising. This is common due to the simple fact that once we fall back, 6:30 a.m. suddenly becomes 5:30 a.m., but there are things that you can do to adjust to the time change gradually so that your children do not need to make a large adjustment. Please note that the following advice pertains to babies 5 months and older. Babies younger than 4 months do not have fully developed sleep patterns. Older toddlers and preschoolers may be able to make that hour jump right away away IF they are well napped and already well rested, and therefore may not need to be gradually migrated for the time change.

To help your family make a smooth transition, here are 10 tips that you can implement starting now to make a smooth transition as we fall back one hour:

1.      Many parents 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.

2.      For children under 4 years old,  its essential that  we  make naps a priority this time change. Quality nighttime sleep is dependent upon good daytime sleep. Make sure that your children are well-napped during the day so that when the time change takes effect having a later-feeling bedtime isn’t as much of an issue. Between naps, make sure that your children are exposed to plenty of natural light; open the curtains, take an afternoon walk, or just play outside. To help your children adjust, about 30-45 minutes before naps and an hour before bedtime. Close the curtains, dim the lights and follow your soothing sleep routine. If you find that your baby is still having trouble with sleep even after a good day of naps, you may need to temporarily add a third late-afternoon nap, of no more than 45 minutes to help make sure that your baby isn’t overtired at bedtime.

3.      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.

4.      While preparing for the time change (and after), use dramatic wake up to help your children adjust to the change. It’s entirely possible that after the change your baby may be waking earlier than normal. If this is the case, keep your baby’s room dark and quiet, and use a gentle method to encourage your child to go back to sleep; you may need to check on your baby and reassure that all is well, and remind them that it’s not quite time to wake up. At this point, you can either sit on a chair near the door or leave the room and do timed checks. If your child is over 2.5 years old, I recommend that you purchase a toddler clock or wake up alarm that signals them when its time to get up and start the day, as this will help your toddler stay in bed (and hopefully fall back asleep) until  at least 6:00 a.m., at which time you open the blinds and make a big deal of “good morning”. Make sure that you expose your baby to lots of natural light first thing in the morning to help reset his circadian rhythm to coincide with the new time.

5.      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.

6.      Get outside. It’s getting colder, so bundle everyone up and take a morning walk, just 20 or 30 minutes to make sure that you and your baby get some sunshine, which will help your circadian rhythm adjust to the time change. If you can’t manage a morning walk, make sure that the blinds are open as you start your day, and keep them open up to 45 minutes before nap and bedtimes to help your child adjust to the time change.

7.      Stick to your flexible schedule. If you always have breakfast at 8:00 a.m., then keep your schedule, but make sure that you are following it according to the time change. You can start slowly adjusting your daily schedule forward in 10-15 minute increments 4-5 days before the time change. So if you normally have lunch at 11:30, on Wednesday, have lunch at 11:40, on Thursday, move lunch to 11:50 and so on. The same goes for naps and bedtimes. The idea is that when the time change takes effect your child’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock will already be in sync with the change.

8.      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).

9.      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.

10.  If you do have  a child who is getting up before 6:00 a.m., make sure that you respond to early risings quickly and consistently. Although you may sail through the time change, some babies will have trouble with early rising for a few days. Respond to these awakenings quickly, gently resettling your baby so that sleep comes easier. Be careful to make sure that your baby is actually awake before you go help, however, as you don’t want to create a new sleep crutch which would cause your baby to rely on you to get back to sleep. Remember to utilize dramatic wake up once 6:30 a.m. rolls around!

If you do nothing else to prepare for the time change, make sure that your children have had adequate naps in the days leading up to the time change, and help to prevent unnecessary night awakenings by putting your baby into a clean, dry diaper right before you settle them into the crib for the night.

 

Here are some facts about Pampers Baby Dry Diapers:

_ Pampers Baby Dry are available is sizes 1-6

– An “Ultra Absorb” core to cover up to 95% of overnight loads.* 

_ 12 hours of overnight protection

– Our most absorbent Baby Dry ever (sizes 2-5) with a 15% increase in capacity.

– Three layers of absorbency vs. two (the amount found in ordinary diapers).

– A longer absorbent area and new, fun graphics.

– Snug, stretchy sides, colored tabs and a belted design to reassure parents that the diaper will hold up.

 

Join the PampersSleepChat on Twitter 11/7/2013 and 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.

 

#PampersSleepChat Twitter Party Information:

The Twitter Party will take place on November 7^th at 9pm EST. 

 RSVP: by clicking here

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.

To get more information about Pampers products you can follow them below by clicking the social media platform(s) of your choice.

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One lucky Grammy2Kaiden winner will have the opportunity to win a Pack of Pampers Baby Dry Diapers, and a pair of Children’s Place PJ’s

 

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