Baby Bedtime?

clw617

When does everyone put their LO down for the night? What are their wakeup times throughout the night and in the morning?

Pascal86

Our LO is only 5 weeks old so it feels a little too early to really have a schedule (at least for us), but we just started trying to at least get her to bed around 9. She wakes up 4 hours after she goes down - or I get her up when sometimes she doesn't wake up on her own to change and feed her. Then she sleeps another 2-3 hours, when my husband changes her and then puts her in his spot while he goes to work and I alternate feeding/napping for a few hours in the morning with her.

saladflambe

7pm is swaddle and typically last feed time. She goes down anywhere between 7:30-8. She wakes up at different times. The most common is 4am then 6:30am but sometimes 2am then will like half wake up every hour or two but not actually need food 

NinnyJean

We start bedtime feeding, pj's and books around 9 and she's usually asleep by 10. She typically then wakes up between 4:00-5:00 and then back to sleep for another hour or two 

Jparke2

Isla is 9 weeks, and our goal is between 8:30 and 9:30. She is usually up around 4 or 5 after that, and then up at 7:30ish for good. Except this week she is dealing with some wonder week stuff so last night she was up at 2

cortney626

Cora is 10 weeks. We put her to bed (swaddled, she's not swaddled during the day) around 10pm and she wakes up between 6-7am. She's been doing that since about 6 weeks. She's FF. On the weekends, I'll swaddle her and she goes right back down for another hour or two. When she would wake up at night she wasn't up more than 20 mins. 

Merinmac

Gwendolen is almost 8 weeks and our "routine" is just the general pattern she fell into. DH has charge of her from 9-12 while I go to bed. Typically she has her last bottle between 9 and 10, diaper/swaddle, and she hopefully falls asleep around then. She typically wakes up between 3 and 4 for a bottle. Then she's up for the day at 7 regardless of how much she did or didn't sleep. It's actually kind of uncanny. Everything else can vary but not the 7 am waking.

kbrands7

I get DS2 down between 8:30pm and 9:30pm lately depending on how long he drinks (if he clusters or just takes each side). The past week or so, he has only been waking to eat around 3am and 5am. He's up to eat again at 7:30am and usually switches over to a daytime awake & nap pattern from then on. He's 10 weeks old.

Lusitano8

9weeks here and just starting a bedtime routine. 8:30 is the goal but sometimes it's a little earlier if he's starting to act sleepy/cranky. Bath, new diaper, PJs, nurse/rock, swaddle.  Usually he sleeps 4 hours, eats, 3 hours sleep, eats, and then 2 more hours sleep. He is pretty sleepy when he's up to eat and goes down easy. We EBF. Our pedi said by 4 months he should be getting 4-5 hour stretches. 

PYLWhammy

She goes down around 10 and sleeps until 7-8am, getting up once during the night (around 3am usually)

Kurrant

Lucine is almost 11 weeks and is EBF. I get her into bed between 8 and 9 pm every night. She wakes up between 6 to 9 hours later for a feed. In the mornings she wakes up (and we start the day) by  around 6am if she didn't wake for any night feeds and around 8am if she did.

kitandcat

His "nighttime" is a 10-12 hour period. Around 9-10p I'll do his bedtime feeding (I do demand feeding, so whenever he gets hungry around that time is bedtime!), he usually wakes up twice around 2:30-3:30a and again at 5:30-6:30a and then goes back to sleep again until 8-9a. After MOTN feedings he goes right back to sleep - I change him and reswaddle and literally he's asleep in 2 minutes. He's been doing this for 2-3 weeks and he is 7 1/2 weeks. Maybe once in the last 2-3 weeks he's had an off night, so this is feeling pretty routine now! Fingers crossed it stays that way!!

ETA: I am EBF.

businessmama

Kurrant said:

Lucine is almost 11 weeks and is EBF. I get her into bed between 8 and 9 pm every night. She wakes up between 6 to 9 hours later for a feed. In the mornings she wakes up (and we start the day) by  around 6am if she didn't wake for any night feeds and around 8am if she did.

My LO is 11 weeks tomorrow -- so jealous!! You have a rocking schedule 

Bellodomani

Virginia is 8 weeks and for the past 2 weeks or so she had been going down at 8, waking at 6 to eat & diaper change, then back down til 7:30 or so. She'd probably sleep a little longer than that except her hurricane of a brother gets up at 7:30 and often manages to wake her up one way or another. The last few nights she's gone down closer to 7 which is nice because that's when my son goes down too so I get a nice big chunk of chores/ relaxation time before I crash out. When she goes down at 7 she wakes up to eat closer to 5:30. We are EBF as well. I know she wakes up many times during the night, particularly around 3:30, but if she doesn't cry I don't get her up. The grunting and snuffling she does at these times is pretty epic, so I sleep with ear plugs in. She's right next to me in a cosleeper so I hear it anyway but it helps me tune it out and fall back asleep.  

wsgjmw1

We put DS to bed around 7:30-8 ... He sleeps until between 3-4 and then back up at between 6-7. Not to bad I am so thankful for the solid six hours of sleep these days! 

Jenly17

DS is 7.5 weeks old and is combination fed. By 8-8:30pm he's ready for bed. We do bath, feed and swaddle and he's down from anywhere from 4-6am. At 6 am, I'll feed him and put him back down and he'll usually sleep for another hour or 2. 

CUtiger09

Nora usually goes down by 10ish and will sleep until 5:30 or 6:00. I would like to get her down by 9:00 so I'm slowly trying to move her bedtime earlier. We are also wanting to start putting her in her crib. Any tips for making the transition from rock and play to crib?

st3lla

I'm shocked and jealous by how much sleep most of you are getting. My LO is almost 8 weeks and still cluster feeds every evening and then wants to eat every 2-2.5 hours all night. I never get more than 2 consecutive hours of sleep and can't plan a bed time because of the clustering. Any advice would be appreciated. I EBF and am exhausted!

sarawifenow

We start bedtime with Cole around 7:30. Baths wake him up so those are either in the morning or mid-day. At night we do bottle, diaper, pjs, story, bed. He's usually asleep by 8:30pm and wakes up around 6am. Sometimes he wakes up around 3am to eat but hasn't been the last couple of nights. He is 15 weeks.

baby-2-due

Madilynn typically goes to bed around 9/10 sleeps until about 2/3 and is up at 8 for the day. For about a week straight she slept from 9:30pm to 5/5:30am and I thought we were set and then she went back to the middle of the night feeds. She is almost 11wks now and is BF. She takes such long naps during the day, I'm wondering if that has an affect on her night time sleeping patterns.

yogahh

Harper is 9 weeks today. Ive been trying to push back bedtime so that when I go back to work, I can put her to bed later and have time to hang out with her before hand. Currently we start bedtime about 8:30, but will go earlier if she's showing cues she wants to go to bed. We do diaper, swaddle, bottle, rocking, bed. For there past few weeks she has been asleep by 9:00 and sleeping straight through until 6:15 or so. I hope by the time she starts daycare in September I can get her to get up a bit earlier so we have time to hang out together before getting ready for the day. 

sjlw

st3lla said:

I'm shocked and jealous by how much sleep most of you are getting. My LO is almost 8 weeks and still cluster feeds every evening and then wants to eat every 2-2.5 hours all night. I never get more than 2 consecutive hours of sleep and can't plan a bed time because of the clustering. Any advice would be appreciated. I EBF and am exhausted!

Babies wake up every couple hours or so because of their sleep cycle length, and it doesn't necessarily mean they're hungry. They eventually learn how to put themselves back to sleep for their next sleep cycle (like we do as adults). But in the meantime, it's normal to briefly cry or fuss in between cycles.

It's possible you're interpreting some of these natural wakeups as true hunger wakeups, and end up disrupting their sleep rhythms by waking them up to feed. That's reinforcing a habit of waking up every 2 hours because they think you're expecting them to, basically.

If you know they don't need a diaper change, you might try letting them alone for 5 or 10 mins or so to give them a chance to fall back asleep by themselves. Or pat them on the back, rub their tummy, comfort them back to sleep without picking them up. 

clbness

We feed at 9 and she's usually down by 9:30.  She has been sleeping until 5:30 or 6. I still have to get up to pump, but her sleep cycles have been magical for us!  Out of paranoia though, I still check on her in the MOTN to confirm she's still breathing.  I wonder when I'll get over that.

missnc77

Are all of your babies that are sleeping through the night doing so in their crib?

clbness

@missnc77 my little gal has been in the crib since our 3rd night home!

Jenly17

missnc77 said:

Are all of your babies that are sleeping through the night doing so in their crib?

DS sleeps in the RNP. Every time I try the crib his eyes open on cue. 

Kurrant

missnc77 said:

Are all of your babies that are sleeping through the night doing so in their crib?

Lucine sleeps in a bassinet still. We aren't quite ready to move her to the crib yet.  

proudparent2b

missnc77 said:

Are all of your babies that are sleeping through the night doing so in their crib?

Mine is. He was in a pack n play in our room until 3 weeks old. Then I moved him into his room and crib. I also moved myself with the guest bed mattress into his room for 3 weeks before moving myself back into my room. DS started gradually sleeping through the night after I moved out (6 weeks).

He now typically goes to sleep at 10 pm and wakes up between 6-8 am. If on the earlier end, he will go back to sleep again after feeding.

He's 2 months old and I exclusively pump.

LadySamLady

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

CUtiger09

LadySamLady said:

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

I've been trying to do no longer than 1 1/2 to 2 hours between naps but my girl is not much of a daytime napper. What do you usually do for her daytime naps? 

Jenly17

CUtiger09 said:

LadySamLady said:

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

I've been trying to do no longer than 1 1/2 to 2 hours between naps but my girl is not much of a daytime napper. What do you usually do for her daytime naps? 

Same here. What's your secret @LadySamLady?

LadySamLady

Jenly17 said:

CUtiger09 said:

LadySamLady said:

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

I've been trying to do no longer than 1 1/2 to 2 hours between naps but my girl is not much of a daytime napper. What do you usually do for her daytime naps? 

Same here. What's your secret @LadySamLady?

I clock it every time she wakes up and start my soothing techniques (rocking, shushing, & patting) after she's been awake for 70-80 mins whether she is acting tired or not and I don't quit til she's asleep which is always within 2 mins of the 90 minute cycle. If we go out I time it so that she will be in a restful way (i.e. already in stroller or wrap vs being put in them) when that 90 minute mark rolls around. Sometimes she sleeps for a few hours, sometimes she cat naps but I start that clock when she wakes up no matter how long she slept. Time things exactly! If you wait too long and miss the window, that's when they get into over tired territory and it's harder to get them to sleep for another 90 minutes. This comes from a book called the 90 minute baby sleep program - I actually didn't read the whole thing but I follow the main advice and it really does work! 

Eta: sleep begets sleep with infants, which feels counter intuitive but it's true. The more they sleep the more they sleep! 

mondo77

My 8 week old goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up once between 2am and 4am. Back to bed until anywhere from 6-9am

AuntieCre5

Abby is 8 weeks. Breast milk bottle at 9/945, bath, bed. She sleeps till 3, feeds then back to bed. Then up again at 6 to eat. My problem is getting her back to sleep after that 6am feeding. She is definitely not ready to be up for the day. But by the time she gets done eating the sun is starting to be up and dad is getting ready for the day.  We also want to start in the crib but my girl is a cuddle bug, but doesn't like the swaddle, I feel like the crib will be too much of an open space for her and she won't like it. Any suggestions??

kbrands7

missnc77 said:

Are all of your babies that are sleeping through the night doing so in their crib?

He's in the pack n play (regular large, flat portion), unswaddled and sleeping at least an initial 6 hour stretch. I'm actually still in disbelief over it because I still have to pull out tricks like the white noise machine to help my toddler sleep through the night, or at least have only 1 wakeup. They have totally different sleep temperaments!

Bellodomani

missnc77 said:

Are all of your babies that are sleeping through the night doing so in their crib?

She was in the crib until we moved in with my folks last week, now she's in a cosleeper because there's no room for a crib and a bed I this room. Hasn't seemed to make any difference in her sleep either way. I remember being afraid to move my son to the crib at like 11 weeks because he was sleeping so well and it made no difference as well. But I am still swaddling her and I swaddled him as long as possible too, which I think makes the crib thing easier. 

Bellodomani

LadySamLady said:

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

So I've read about this 90 minute sleep cycle thing, but I always assumed it couldn't work with babies this age because neither of my babies have been able to stay awake longer than an hour at 2 months. Like I could literally be holding Virgie's eyelids open and she would still fall asleep- am I the only one with narcoleptic babies? I think Miles was at least 4 months old by the time he could stay awake for 90 minutes, but I guess I assumed that was normal...

LadySamLady

@Bellodomani I started doing it when Holly was 9.5 weeks (she'll be 11 weeks tomorrow). Before 8 weeks she was rarely up more than an hour for sure. Sometimes now she falls asleep closer to the 70 minute mark and occasionally still passes out on her own before that even. If she is up though, I never let her stay awake past 90 mins. 

CUtiger09

Bellodomani said:

LadySamLady said:

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

So I've read about this 90 minute sleep cycle thing, but I always assumed it couldn't work with babies this age because neither of my babies have been able to stay awake longer than an hour at 2 months. Like I could literally be holding Virgie's eyelids open and she would still fall asleep- am I the only one with narcoleptic babies? I think Miles was at least 4 months old by the time he could stay awake for 90 minutes, but I guess I assumed that was normal...

My child could stay awake for hours it seems but I think it's because I miss putting her down in that prime window and she gets overtired and has a hard time falling asleep. She rarely just passes out, it's usually me having to rock/bounce her to sleep. I want her sleep habits to be better so I'm going to give the 90 minute sleep cycle a try. She is a wonderful sleeper at night but it's just during the day where she gets off track.

Bltbear82

LadySamLady said:

Jenly17 said:

CUtiger09 said:

LadySamLady said:

Holly's bedtime "routine" usually starts between 7-8 with her down sleeping in the RNP between 9-10. She typically falls asleep at the breast, otherwise she is rocked to sleep. She sleeps for 7-8 hours wakes to nurse (first wake up depends on when she went down but is usually at 5/5:30) and then sleeps another 2-3 hours snuggling with me. I'm really going to miss our morning cuddles when I go back to work! We follow the 90 minute sleep cycle throughout the day with 90 minutes in between every nap. 

I've been trying to do no longer than 1 1/2 to 2 hours between naps but my girl is not much of a daytime napper. What do you usually do for her daytime naps? 

Same here. What's your secret @LadySamLady?

I clock it every time she wakes up and start my soothing techniques (rocking, shushing, & patting) after she's been awake for 70-80 mins whether she is acting tired or not and I don't quit til she's asleep which is always within 2 mins of the 90 minute cycle. If we go out I time it so that she will be in a restful way (i.e. already in stroller or wrap vs being put in them) when that 90 minute mark rolls around. Sometimes she sleeps for a few hours, sometimes she cat naps but I start that clock when she wakes up no matter how long she slept. Time things exactly! If you wait too long and miss the window, that's when they get into over tired territory and it's harder to get them to sleep for another 90 minutes. This comes from a book called the 90 minute baby sleep program - I actually didn't read the whole thing but I follow the main advice and it really does work! 

Eta: sleep begets sleep with infants, which feels counter intuitive but it's true. The more they sleep the more they sleep! 

We did the 90 minute cycle with DS1 and to this day (aside from the usual regressions) he's an amazing sleeper. Starting around 9 months he regularly sleeps 10-12 hours straight. Sleep totally begets sleep in our case. The better the napping the better the nighttime sleep. He's also better behaved and a better eater when he sleeps well, so I still follow a pretty strict nap and bedtime window and routine. 

Bellodomani

@Bltbear82 I'm pretty much the sleep nazi too. He's nearing 3 and starting to have slightly more flexibility, but by that I mean like maybe I can put him down at 7:20 instead of 7:00 and not suffer the consequences the next day. I never thought I'd be so rigid about bed/ nap times, but it just makes such a HUGE difference in the way he behaves that it's worth it.