Screw the Time Change

Fall Backward, Spring Forward. Usually people, myself included, love setting the clocks back an hour in the fall because then it gives you an extra hour. Well, I had NO idea that the time change would screw with my baby's sleep schedule so much. Granted it hasn't even been one week, but still. It seemed fine at first, but the last two mornings she's been awake at 5 o'clock in the morning. Rise and shine, momma!

She has been coming into bed with us at around 11pm when she wakes up wanting momma, sometimes midnight, so she's in bed with us when she wakes up in the morning. My husband could sleep through just about anything, so he doesn't wake up until I'm like okay it's your turn to enjoy being awake when it's still dark out. So tonight, I'm going to try to remember to just nurse her in her room, rock her back to sleep, and put her back in her crib. I am always SO tired when she wakes up in the middle of the night that the sound of her crying sends me running into her room half asleep to rescue her and bring her in bed with us. It usually isn't until I already have the door to her nursery open that I think, "Oh yeah, I should've let her cry a little bit. Maybe she would've put herself back to sleep." So I'm going to try to get her to sleep and put her back in her crib, but I'm sure if that even if that does work she will still wake up again and then I will probably concede. However, I have a back-up plan.

If she does come into bed with us in the middle of the night (and by if I mean when), then if she wakes up a normal time great! If she wakes up at 5 in the morning again though, I will just have to put her back in her crib and let her cry it out. I hate hate HATE letting her cry. It stresses me out and makes me feel so bad for her, but I need my sleep. I already get practically zero sleep, so I am not willing to give up that extra hour in the morning and let her get in the habit of waking up so early.

Since the time change, she has been going to bed later, waking up earlier, and her naps are all over the board. Her third naps were going away, but now she takes that third nap which screws up her bedtime. She isn't tired enough for bed, so even when I get her relaxed before putting her in her crib she ends up playing with her teddy bear for a long while before going to sleep. Thus, I'm going to try to not put her down for a third nap and get her to bed extra early at 6-something instead of 7ish. That is the direction her bedtime/nap routine was taking before the time change screwed everything up. Wish me luck!

My beautiful baby and I getting ready for a cold day out.