Consider this your warning: In most places in the country, we begin Daylight Savings Time in the wee hours Sunday morning. And that, of course, means moving your clock one hour forward before you go to bed Saturday night.

For most people, this simply means one hour less sleep, but for a sleep deprived new mama, it could mean having a very unpredictable baby. That one hour is a big deal for baby! “It can be kind of like the baby has jet lag,” says Angelique Millette, a family sleep consultant in San Francisco. “They may be harder to put down at bedtime, or awake when they’re not supposed to be. When toddlers or older kids get off-schedule or their routines change, they may exhibit ‘testing’ behaviors.” Your child could be moody or cranky or act up, or need more naps.

Millette suggests starting early — tonight! — and putting baby down for bedtime about 10 minutes earlier each night, so that by the time you reach Sunday, baby’s going to bed one full hour earlier. (If you start a few days later, that’s okay — it will just take that many days longer to get baby completely adjusted.) And, hopefully, baby will be waking about an hour earlier. This can make the transition go much more smoothly, since it makes the change in bedtime and wake-time less abrupt for baby, and hopefully, makes the switch to the new routine less jarring.

Get more expert tips on dealing with the clock change.

How do you plan on getting your child ready for the start of Daylight Savings Time?

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I’m usually so unprepared for clock changes when they happen in the fall and spring — and we spend what feels like weeks getting my son’s sleep schedule back on track. But this year I feel ready. Since my son’s been off school all week because of Hurricane Sandy (we’re all fine; his preschool is just pretty wet), I haven’t been sticking with the usual bedtime, and I’ve been letting him stay up a little later than usual. As a result, he’s been sleeping a little later in the mornings. Turns out, this is a good strategy for getting him prepped for when the clocks “fall back” early the morning of Sunday, November 4 (2 a.m.).

I talked to Angelique Millette, a family sleep consultant in San Francisco, and she said pushing baby’s bedtime about 10 minutes later each night for six days will get him used to going to bed an hour later. That’s perfect for the fall clock change.

Read more tips on getting your baby or toddler prepped and adjusted to the time change.

How do you plan to get baby used to the time change?

Plus, more from The Bump:

7 Baby Sleep Myths — Busted

Bedtime Routines to Help Baby Sleep Better

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