What's your LO's bedtime?

[Deleted User]

I know there have been threads before about bedtimes and routines, but when I used the search tool they were coming up from over a month ago. Now that all our babies are a bit older with some semblance of getting on a schedule, I was wondering what time is bedtime or "lights out" for your LO?

I'm struggling with this because everything I read tells me to put him to bed early, like 7 or 8pm, but DH and I are usually up til 11. I like to nurse DS right before I go to bed in hopes we'll get a longer stretch of sleep out of him. His longest sleep stretch is always the first, which is why I'm hesitant to put him down in his bassinet for the night so early. He's 7 weeks old, and I feel like maybe it's time to get him started on good sleep habits. But I don't want to miss out on good sleep for myself! Share your routines with me?

golfingdarwinfish

I don't understand putting them to "bed" early as DS will go to bed at 8 and wake 3 hours later for a feeding.  At 10 or 11 he will then sleep 7 hours, but not before that; prior to that he will will up for another feeding per his normal routine.  10 or 11pm as his "last" feeding works incredibly well with our schedule, so I haven't thought to change it.I had no idea I was doing it "wrong".

Sometimes he will sleep from 8 or 9 until his 10 or 11pm feeding, but he doesn't get swaddled and placed in the bassinet until after the later feeding.  He's incredibly regimented on eating every 3 - 4 hours until after that later feeding.

StephanieAnnLee

You have all made me feel better. I don't get DS to sleep until 10 or so and was worried about it

[Deleted User]

This makes me feel better, too. I tried the earlier bedtime thing the past two nights and it did not go well for me. Last night was the worst sleep I've gotten since he came home from the hospital. Back to our old non-routine "routine" of 10/11 o'clock bedtime!

swise22

We start our bedtime routine around 8 and he typically goes down for the night around 8:30 or 9. I keep trying to push it back though since I work until 8 pm on weeknights and would love to be able to see him when I get off of work. For the most part though, he just goes to sleep whenever he feels like it after our 8 pm bath. 

angeltennis3

We typically follow DDs cues and start putting her to bed whenever she gets drowsy after 9:00 pm. Our only "routine" is to change her into a clean sleeper and diaper, feed her and rock her to sleep.

Unfortunately, sometimes she goes down after 1-2 rocking sessions and other times she is up past midnight. I would love a close to 9:00 bedtime and be able to just rock her to sleep 1-2 times consistently...but she runs the show! I think once she starts daycare (at 5 months) we will have more consistent sleep/wake times but since I just let her sleep as long as she wants in the morning I think her sleep habits will be constantly changing.

CNJ4EVA

Right now it's 11ish. When I go back to work, I'd like to move it back to around 10pm. I hope it works out.

Carmeljjh

Hi Deezidee ... My little man is 11 weeks and his time is just coming up to 10pm... There's no way I could change that at the moment because he really dictates time... He gets so drousy & I put him into his cot and he just conks out..... Sleeps deeply for around 5 hours, bottle at 3, and sleeps 3-4 hours deeply again... I wouldn't want him sleeping earlier in the night yet... 10pm suits me perfectly!! He was lactose intolerant until 2 weeks ago. Plus silent reflux

Leysin97

I would just do what works for you. LO is 10 weeks. Several weeks ago I started a bedtime routine around 8pm. At first she didn't sleep until 12:30. Then it got earlier and earlier. Now she goes down around 8ish (anywhere between 7:30 and 9). She wakes up around 10-11 and then is down for the night until around 4-5:30.

TheFutureMrs.O

We start sleepy time routine at 8;30/9. I change her outfit and diaper, swaddle, lights out, nurse and hold her upright for 20 min (reflux). And then we just hope for the best. This past week she has been constantly going right to sleep.

victoria+james

We start our bedtime routine around 7:30 so whenever he chooses to go to bed after that is up to him. We picked 7:30 because some nights he is out at 8 but others he treats that like a nap and goes down for good at 10.

Go with whatever works for you (or more so LO)!

jenpechin

We start bedtime routine around 7:30 but she isn't in her crib until around 9:30 or even 10:30. a random good night was 8:30. She will nurse and nap on me in the bedroom but wont let me put her down until she is really out.

cmcookaln

LO was consistently going to bed around 11 which I knew was going to kill me once I go back to work bc I have to wake up so early just like crawford411. I have been able to gradually move it up to eating at 10 so she is asleep by 10:30 and sleeps until around 5 which is when I will have to be up for work. This still isn't enough sleep for me but I will make it work.

MrsL2B

The Screamer is on a good sleep schedule for me for returning to work. I feed him, swaddle him, and put him in his crib around 8:00. He's been waking up once or twice during the night. Dad takes one of these feedings before he goes to bed, which is always hours later than me. And then baby is awake for the day around 6:00. It would be great if I could get him back to sleep for another three hours after I leave for work, since my husband will be a work from home dad and usually does most of his work at night.

DreadGamerWife

We start bedtime around 8 and she is normally in her crib by 9:15. About half the time, she will wake up within 10 minutes and need to be put down again. Luckily, that only takes about 15 minutes on average.

I am normally in bed no later than 10 pm.

[Deleted User]

savagek7 said:

We start bedtime around 10pm, and he almost always falls asleep at 11pm on the dot.

Eta- and then he sleeps until 5am on a bad night, and 7am on a good night.

:-O How old is your little unicorn, @savagek7?!

[Deleted User]

starla487 said:

We start trying at around 8 pm. Lights go dim. DD is in new clothes and sleep sack. Clean diaper. Nursed.

Reality is that we'll finally get her asleep at around 9:30 pm. Sometimes it's 10. Sometimes 11:30.

I don't stay up long after she goes to sleepy because I'm too tired from rocking her, soothing her, etc. So when she's finally down... I'm out.

Pretty much this. If he goes to sleep before 11, he's only asleep maybe1.5- 2 hours. After that, I can get up to 3.5 hour stretches. He still never really a sleeps longer than that at a time.

chandlam

Thank you posting this question! I had the same concern and feel a lot better about our 10pm bedtime.

BabyBsOven

All my kids go down at 7, doesn't mean they go to sleep. 

I learned from DD. When she was this age, She had her last "nap" at 7 and I used to start bedtime around 10 because thats when she would be tired but she had a "witching hour" around 9 to 12. It was awful. I realized it was because she was overstimulated by then. I started to do bedtime around 6:30 and put her down at 7, her old "nap" time, and, even though she would be back up at 10 or 11 to feed again, she would fall right back to sleep. She is now 2 years old and we still do bedtime at 7, even if she sits in her crib and talks to herself for 30 min. 

Now that we have the twins, we just do their routine at the same time we do our toddler. Lights get dim at 6:30. DD gets PJs, a diaper and The Chica Show; twins get fed, a diaper and the swaddle. All kids go to their respective beds at 7. The twins are back up for a bottle around 10 and then again around 12:30-1am but fall right back to sleep both times.

I'm obsessive with bed time because I stay at home with them all day so the 7-9:30 time I have awake in the evening is my ME time. It helps me stay sane. 

AmandaJean12

Kenzie gets her last feedingn between 11 and 12, because then I sleep the whole time she's out. The whole early bedtime idea is lost on me because I'm not ready for bed then.

She gets up between 4-6 and eats, then goes back down until 8-9. Sometimes I stay up and get stuff done, sometimes I go back to sleep.

MuffinMom14

Her day looks like this:

5ish am: "hey, I am hungry and I would like fed, please. I do not want to open my eyes, however, so just stick the bottle in my mouth, please, or I will scream. Do not unswaddle or change me. I would like to go back to sleep, but I'd like to grunt you the grunts of my people until 8, when I must eat second breakfast immediately or I will certainly die."

8 am: See above. After second breakfast, "I would like to smile at you for a short time, and be put into my day time jammies. I would consider 3 minutes of tummy time before i scream like I'm being murdered to death, and 15 minutes of staring at and talking to my best friend and confidant, the mobile, while I allow you to frantically brush your teeth and pee. Let's go downstairs, where I will proceed to alternately be adorable and awful."

10:30 am: "I will consider taking a nap but I'm not happy about it."

12: "I must eat now or I will die a certain death. First, diaper and happy faces at the ceiling, because, why not."

12:15: "Let's talk. Maybe 2 minutes of tummy time. I may also like to puke on your shirt, but only if you bothered to change it today. I may like to make a big production out of shitting my pants as well. If that happens, I demand to be changed immediately."

12:45: "I'm going to sleep and you are going to run on the treadmill, because I like the noise. Don't stop, or I will cry. It's our own personal Speed. I wI'll grumpy allow myself to be placed in my bouncy seat in the bathroom while you watch hulu in the bathtub."

3/4: "I must eat immediately. First, diaper."

4:30: "I'm going to make you count down the minutes until dad gets home. Just so you know, I plan on screaming for no reason until 4:59."

5:00: "Dad is home! I'm going to pretend I didn't cry at all today and was a complete delight the entire time."

6: "ZzZzZz...Just kidding. I'm going to grunt and bitch while you wolf down your dinner. I know I was sound asleep until your fork hit the plate. That's not important."

7: "I'm going to starve. First, diaper. Then, depending on my mood, I will either be the most deliciously adorable thing on the planet, or, if I'm feeling froggy, I will make you hate the entire universe and wish you could rip your own heart out of your chest and throw it onto the ground."

9: "Swaddle me, noise on, binky at the ready, projector on, lights out, monster night bottle. If any of those things is not in order, I will remind you loudly, do not fret. I'm going to sleep for a long time, but I'm going to make you check on me at least once because I've needlessly spit out my binky just because I can."

5 am: repeat.
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The above is awesome for me, as when I go back to work, I can feed her at 5, and as long as she goes back down, I can run and shower before feeding her again and getting out of the house at 8:30. I'm greedy, and I can't wait until she skips the 5am feed, though. Hopefully in a few months.

klindema1805

I've had LO one a bedtime routine since she was about 6weeks old. We are very fortunate that we got a very good little sleeper. We usually start bedtime routine anywhere between 7:30 and 8:00pm. She gets clean diaper and a massage with lavender scented baby lotion. Then we put on a clean sleeper and she gets a bedtime bottle. Usually as soon as she is done with the bottle she is usually partially asleep. I know they tell you not to let them fall asleep while nursing or taking a bottle , but so far it isn't affecting her night time sleep. Once she is asleep she'll usually sleep until about 5am. Hence why I say we got really lucky that she is only 10 weeks and pretty much sleeps through the night.

MuffinMom14

Cantisa said:

Purp needs a tv show or a book.

I dream about writing a book. Alas, I'm too lazy.