Daylight saving time ends on November 1st this year which means we get an extra hour of sleep! That’s right: 60 whole bonus minutes of sleep. Woo-hoo! This is very exciting for us because just hitting the snooze button for those extra eight minutes feels like a victory, so an extra hour of sleep is like winning the lottery. For this, we do a happy dance.
Unless, of course, you’re a Mom with a young child, because then the whole "fall back" thing can throw off your child’s sleep schedule that you have worked so hard to build. Which means you have to spend weeks trying to get your household back in the sleeping groove, without the luxury of the occasional snooze button smack and, well, you can just say “goodbye” to have hope of happy dancing for a while.
If you couldn’t tell, as moms, we’ve experienced this agony time and time again. Twice a year, to be exact. Luckily, we now have a line of products that can help band-aid this frustrating bi-annual occurrence. Here are a few tips from the experts (a.k.a. us older, more experienced moms).
1) Take Baby Steps. You must prepare for this big event. If there is one thing you can count on, it’s that your child will not breeze through the night without some issues. So start adjusting your child’s sleep schedule 3-4 days ahead of time by pushing back bedtime by 15 minutes each night. Then on the other end, set your alarm clock to wake up 15 minutes earlier too. 15-minute increments over 3-4 days are a lot easier to swallow than a whole hour in one night.
2) Stick with the Routine. Even though your child’s sleep schedule may be all out of whack, their sleep routine shouldn’t. That means keep with the sleep routine you have built but just adjust the timing of it, like we said in Step 1, along with the same activities or rituals. Or if you haven’t created a nightly routine then now is the time to start! Oilogic Slumber & Sleep products are a great way to help set that routine.
Start with bathing your child in our Slumber & Sleep Essential Oil Vapor Bath. The warm bath water plus the aromatherapy of the essential oils for calm in our Vapor Bath will help begin the process of letting your child know it is time to start settling in for the night. After their jammies are on, roll-on our Slumber & Sleep Essential Oil blend (pre-diluted to be safe topically on your kiddo) to the chest, back of neck and the bottom of the feet.
WARNING: Using our Roll-on has been known to incite giggles and tickles! And that sort of thing can become habit forming!
Finally, spritz the bed sheets and linens with our Calm & Sleep Essential Oil Linen Mist and turn on the essential oil diffuser using our Slumber & Sleep Diffusing Blend. Setting the tone in the bedroom keeps your little one rested and relaxed throughout the night.
3) Control the Lights. Your body has an internal circadian clock and it partly adjusts to the light in the room. So keep the lights on throughout the house a little later and turn them on a little earlier in the morning as you are adjusting the schedule. Natural sunlight is the best, so while you are prepping for the big night, get your child up a little earlier and outside if possible. Eat breakfast outside, get some fresh air, walk the dog in the morning – whatever it takes to get your child up and alert!
4) Prep Yourself! - Be kind to yourself and get as much sleep now as possible. Take an extra nap, sleep in a little longer, go to bed a little earlier, etc. Build up that stamina now, so you can deal with a crankier-than-usual child who is adjusting her sleep schedule. Our Lavender Cedarwood Essential Oil Shower Gel and Rest & Sleep Essential Oil Roll-on contain great essential oils for calming to help you wind down and rest a little easier.
5) Be Patient and Sympathetic. If there is one thing we have learned from being a mom it’s that creating a plan is great, because it helps keep you and your partner on the same page and work together as a team. And being willing to adjust that plan is even better! Motherhood is a journey and things often don’t happen the way we intend. And that’s O.K. So if it looks like the plan isn’t working, it doesn’t mean you have failed or are a poor planner, it only means that you are NORMAL. So readjust the plan and keep trying until you find what works for you and your unique, beautiful, special child.
And because we want you to succeed through this challenging time, you can prep for the BIG day with 15% off our Essential Oil Sleep products. Simply use the code “BIGDAY” at checkout and put our tools to the test!