How did you know LO was ready for earlier bedtime?

MegL0709

I'm new on here...but looks like a great place to get great info and ask questions!  I'm a new Mom to a 2 month old baby girl.

 So, my first question is - how did you know your baby was ready for an earlier bedtime?  Right now, we do bottle at 10 PM, then she doesn't wake to nurse until about 6AM.  We try to keep her awake from 8PM until 10PM (unless she's not happy) so she'll sleep longer at night.  We are planning on doing a dreamfeed at 10 or 11 when she starts going to bed earlier - but how do you know it's time to start this?

alaskabride2be

Jacob just started falling asleep earlier and earlier. He has started falling asleep around 8p, and is STTN, so it works for us. A few times every now and then he will wake up around 10pm just to snack for a few minutes and then back to sleep.

Crissy&Josh

I'm of the opinion that she will let you know what she needs. If she starts getting really cranky it is a sign that she is overtired. I think your schedule now sounds fabulous!

 * I have tried dream feeding Owen and it always leads to awful sleep for both of us. Anytime I try to change his natural habits I regret it because we both sleep awfully and he becomes a crankster.

alaskabride2be

Oh yes and welcome! Most of the time you will get good info from everyone on here. Don't get disappointed if you don't get a lot of replies on some posts, there are times of day that the boards are are really fast moving and some that are slow moving.

grettaz

Crissy&Josh:

I'm of the opinion that she will let you know what she needs. If she starts getting really cranky it is a sign that she is overtired. I think your schedule now sounds fabulous!

 * I have tried dream feeding Owen and it always leads to awful sleep for both of us. Anytime I try to change his natural habits I regret it because we both sleep awfully and he becomes a crankster.

I totally agree with all of this. DD lets us know when she's tired, and we just go with it. And dreamfeeding is a big fat FAIL for us too. It works for a lot of people though, so it's worth a shot!

stefaniepalin

grettaz:

Crissy&Josh:

I'm of the opinion that she will let you know what she needs. If she starts getting really cranky it is a sign that she is overtired. I think your schedule now sounds fabulous!

 * I have tried dream feeding Owen and it always leads to awful sleep for both of us. Anytime I try to change his natural habits I regret it because we both sleep awfully and he becomes a crankster.

I totally agree with all of this. DD lets us know when she's tired, and we just go with it. And dreamfeeding is a big fat FAIL for us too. It works for a lot of people though, so it's worth a shot!

 

Totally agree. I think my DH just started putting her down earlier and earlier because she would get cranky and rub her eyes - and then she started STTN when we did this. And now she is 5 months and she goes to bed between 8-8:30pm and sleeps until 8am!! I haven't gotten this much sleep in 5 months... love it!!

mollymurphy

Alaskabride2be:

Jacob just started falling asleep earlier and earlier. He has started falling asleep around 8p, and is STTN, so it works for us. A few times every now and then he will wake up around 10pm just to snack for a few minutes and then back to sleep.

katiekate1974

Crissy&Josh:

I'm of the opinion that she will let you know what she needs. If she starts getting really cranky it is a sign that she is overtired. I think your schedule now sounds fabulous!

 * I have tried dream feeding Owen and it always leads to awful sleep for both of us. Anytime I try to change his natural habits I regret it because we both sleep awfully and he becomes a crankster.

I tired a dream feed exactly once. He was up earlier and more often. I just let him do his thing and we both sleep a lot better!