Sorry, another sleep question....

kwrecks

So, this was LO's sleep schedule last night.
10pm - Nurse
10:30 - swaddle and rock
11:00 - Sound asleep and put into crib
1:30 - 3:00 - awake, nursing off and on.  Also, kept waking up every time I tried to put her in her crib once she was asleep.
4:00 - up again.  Nurse.
4:30-7 - DH stayed in her room with her to rock her back to sleep and put her paci back in her mouth when needed.  He said she was up a couple of times.
7:00 - Nurse again.
8:30 - up for the day.

So, as you can see, she was up a lot.  DH said that during the couple of hours that he was in her room, he did some sleep research and he thinks our problem is that we are putting her to bed too late.  We have always been late to bed/late to rise people.  Until about 2.5 months ago, she would go to sleep when we did, which was around midnight, and wake up around 10:30.  Now that she isn't sleeping well, and hasn't really since the 4month regression, she is up for the day around 8:30 or 9.  Which is still later than some people, but it's early for us.  DH said that tonight he wants us to put her to bed around 8pm.  Our "routine" that we started a few weeks ago has been starting bedtime around 10pm.  She does tend to get a little fussy starting around 8:30/9pm, So he thinks if we start bedtime around 8, and put her down drowsy but awake, that it will help with her numerous wakeups per night.

Anyone had any experience with starting bedtime a little earlier and having success with better sleep throughout the night?

CourtJack

We've found an early bed time to work for us. But I wouldn't dramatically change the bedtime all at once. Maybe just start moving it back in smaller increments.

Texasmomma13

Prior to S sttn I changed her bedtime from 8 to 7. It seemed to help her. Now that we are feeding her food at dinner her bedtime is back to 7:30-8:00, depending if she has a bath that night. It took a little while to see a change but she is now sleeping until 7 am instead of 5 am.
10 pm seems really late to me. Does she at least a get nap in the early evening? If it were me, I would try putting her to bed earlier for at least 2 weeks before trying something different. Sometimes it takes a bit for their "systems" to change. Good luck!

kwrecks

DH works until 930 pm usually, so in order for him to see her, we have always had a late bedtime. Putting her to bed at 8 pm means he won't see her, unless he wakes up super early because he generally goes to work around 930am. That's why she's had a later bedtime. She usually naps around 1130am, 230pm, 530pm, and a small nap around 8 (usually 20-25 minutes).

catskitch

we go by his schedule. He starts getting fussy around 8pm, so I nurse him and he goes to sleep, then usually sleeps for at least 5-6 hours. Usually he falls asleep while nursing, but sometimes I lay him in the crib awake and he falls asleep fast. Last night he was pretty good, sleeping until 4am, back to sleep, then up again at 8 to eat. usually he'll sleep for another hour and a half after the morning nursing session, but he stayed up for the day this morning.

In the beginning, I tried to get him to sleep around 8-8:30 and he wasn't having any of it. I would be rocking him to sleep for an hour or more, and I felt it wasn't doing us any good. I go by his cues.

If you LO is getting fussy 8:30, you could start the bedtime routine then. Hopefully she keeps her awake time in the morning the same.

FWIW, I try to give LO at least 12 hours of sleep at night. He's not a great napper, so its the best I can do to keep him from being cranky during the day.

TrueBeliever925

We were a late to bed, late to rise family.. and then LO decided he'd like to be sleeping by 8 and then wake up for an hour around 10 and go back to bed until 5:30-6:00 and then go back down after an hour or so for another 2-3 hours of sleep. We just kind of go with the flow now. He's been sleeping horribly for the past few weeks. He just fusses and fidgets non stop. So we haven't found the magic combination yet, but we're trying  

But for the record, when he was going to be late, he could sometimes sleep in late. It all depends. 

LokiLahve

I remember reading (somewhere in the million sites I've been on) that its normal for newborns to have a bedtime around 10-11 but as they get older (like our LO's ages now) a 7-8 bedtime is more typical. S is a pretty good sleeper most of the time - if she is up till 10 she is a cranky butt and will probably be waking up frequently through the night.

You mentioned she takes a short nap around 8...where is she napping? Is it somewhere she gets woken up when your DH gets home? Do you think she would sleep longer at 8 if she was in her crib/dark room?

I understand the want to keep her up so your DH can see her at night but I know you have been battling sleep issues for a loooong time now. If she needs to go to bed earlier, wouldn't better sleep for everyone = better quality time with her, even if its shorter for DH?

We were late to bed late to rise people as well. I particularly was always a huge grump in the mornings. And then we had a baby - now we are to bed by 10 and up for the day around 5-6. You do what you have to do.

kwrecks

I'm not against putting her to bed early if that will work, I just wanted to keep her up for DH. I'm all for getting a better nights rest!

Her nap around 8 is generally in my arms. So yes she gets woken up when DH gets home. I'm hoping that by putting her to bed instead of letting her just fall asleep in my arms will help keep her asleep longer.

LokiLahve

@kwrecks I didn't mean my reply to sound snarky I just reread it and it might seem that way.

janneann1127

I don't think it would hurt to try it. And, if she goes to bed earlier, she will be up earlier so he can at least see her in the morning before he goes to work. Generally, the sleep books suggest a bedtime of 7pm or so and then awake time of 12 hours later. This works well for us, and actually sometimes he goes down closer to 630pm. But we are an early to bed, early to rise family as my DH leaves for work at 530am.

Snowbird7

Have you tried going without the swaddle? Our LO loved being swaddled but got to a point where he needed to stretch out and make himself comfortable (it was around 4 months old). I had wanted to continue swaddling him to keep his flailing arms from hitting him in the face and waking up. But swaddling seemed to make him uncomfortable too. So I gave up, put him in a Halo sleepsack, and let his arms go where they wanted to. Oddly, that seemed to make him more comfortable and allowed him to sleep better. (Also, his bedtime is around 7:30; that's when he gets to be really sleepy.)

kwrecks

We just stared swaddling her with both arms out, we are transitioning away from the swaddle.

Kebert618

In the beginning, LO would go to sleep for the night when we did. She was super fussy the last few hours and I think we were keeping her up too long. We gradually moved in back in 15-30 min. increments and within a week a two her bedtime went from 10:30 to 8:00. It's even earlier now...usually in her crib by 7:30...7:15 last night! She still doesn't get up for the day until 7:30-8:00 am.
I think it's worth a shot...plus you can have some adult time after LO goes to bed! ;o)

Kebert618

I'm also a big believer in a lovey! LO will wake many times during the night, search for her lovey, and then she's back to sleep. )

Caz1221

If you're going to try an earlier bedtime, I agree with PP who suggested moving it back gradually (maybe 15 minute increments every few days?). Then stick with it for at least 1-2 weeks to see if there's a difference. We start LO's bedtime routine at 7/7:15 and do bath, book, boob. We lay her down no later than 8, and she's usually asleep between 8 and 8:30. We may move bedtime slightly earlier since she's starting day care next week and will have to wake up slightly earlier. I've noticed that taking good naps also helps with LO's nighttime sleep, so I would focus on that as well.

coraggiosa

Early bedtime has been a joke for us. She just catnaps throughout the evening until at least 10:30. I'm hoping we can pull it forward because I need time in the evenings to do my homework. 

Sorry I'm not much help!

ludali

We have a 5:30 waker for the day no matter what time I put her down, no matter her daily naps, no matter how many times she wakes at nights. Its slowly killing me. Last night she had 3 hour long wake ups...no fun.

pb&jojo

I think an early bedtime is worth a shot. And she still may sleep late. Earlier bedtime may not equal earlier wake up....Whether lo is in bed by 6pm or 9pm, she still wakes between 5am-6am like clockwork.

Mine has been going to bed between 6:30-7:00 since around 2 months. When we started that she slept much better. Around 4 months she stated not sleeping so well, and ever since, her sleep has been interrupted and not as sound (still can't complain). We recently ditched the swaddle after she transitioned to arms our for a few weeks, and now use the sleep sack. Also, started the lovey and noticed a small difference.

Keep us posted.

BTW, your daughter is so cute!!

kwrecks

@pb&jojo Thank you

Well, I usually start her bedtime routine around 10, and tonight we started at 8:30.  She is fussy and didn't want to nurse so it took a little longer because we had to warm up a bottle for her, and it took her a bit longer to get to sleep.  It's 9:30, and she's asleep, which is about an hour and a half earlier than she is normally in bed.  DH and I will be up until probably 11, so we will be up in case she decides to wake up.  I also gave her a lovey in hopes that will help her sooth herself back to sleep.  Fingers crossed for a decent night, because mama is tired!

NikkiD522

Good luck @kwrecks !

I feel your pain! I hope this is the turning point!

kwrecks

Well, so much for that....she woke up 20 minutes later and has been screaming ever since. 

NikkiD522

kwrecks said:

Well, so much for that....she woke up 20 minutes later and has been screaming ever since. 

:-(

I know you said you were transitioning from the swaddle.. Have you tried no swaddle one night at all? We started with just the sleep sack and he rolled over and immediately found his sweet spot. Mind you, he still wakes up 2-3 times a night.. But.. I can tell he sleeps sounder now,

Edit _ if you already said this earlier, I apologize.. It's been a rough day

kwrecks

No we haven't. This is only our second night with both arms out and swaddled around her chest/belly. I'm hoping to do it like this for another week and then just stick with the sleep sack after that.

NikkiD522

kwrecks said:

No we haven't. This is only our second night with both arms out and swaddled around her chest/belly. I'm hoping to do it like this for another week and then just stick with the sleep sack after that.

I can understand taking it slow, but it sounds like you deserve some rest and if I were you, I wouldn't even wait the week and just give it a shot.. What's the worst thing that happens? She wakes up? I know you just changed the bedtime so it's probably best not to change too much at once, but if your LO is a tummy sleeper and you just don't know it yet, it might get you a few more hours!!

Good luck!! Keeping my fingers crossed!

AACaHa13

Be consistent so she gets it. I would move her bedtime earlier 15-20 mins each night. My lo used to be soooo cranky in the evening and looking back on it, I realize it was because he needed to go to bed. It takes trial and error. His naps are shit but he has his bedtime bottle at 5:30 pm and in bed by 6:15 now. I read that no matter the bedtime, lo usually wakes at the same time everyday. I was always thinking an early bedtime means early wake up, not the case . I also read baby should be in bed between 6-8 sometime so we worked on that goal and DS sleeps much better. I highly suggest the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. While i dont agree with everything in the book, I took bits and pieces and applied it to my lo, it has really helped! I ordered it on half.com for 75¢. 

JilllyBean

I guess my opinion differs. If she is tired at 8, put her down for the night. She may surprise you. I find the later I put C to bed, the earlier and more often he wakes. 10-1030 is way to late IMO. Good luck!

Michelle N

This thread is helpful! Our problem is that when LO goes down for the night, he will not go down in his crib. I don't know why.. but I try over and over again until I give up (naps are easier though). Because I don't want to go to bed at 7 or 8, bedtime isn't until after 9... help!

lialakacz

This thread has been very helpful for me!  We put our LO down at 8 and she'll sleep for up to 7 hours and then up for a bottle...but recently she's up for the bottle and then won't go back down unless i hold her...It's been a recent struggle to have her go down without a lot of crying.  And i do not want to do the CIO process, so I'm up holding, comforting, patting, rubbing, singing, etc for a while in the middle of the night which is a new event just this past week... But once she goes back down, she's down until 7 am.