Bedtime too early?

susan10918

my LO will be 4 months next week and I dont know if I still havent figured out her bedtime or if she is just stubborn, but for a month now it takes her about 2 hours to fall asleep at night. I will start about 7pm with a bath and then lotion and pjs on the changing table, then she sits in her swing while I go and get her bottle ready. She is usually so tired at this point, so I know she will sleep. I swaddle and turn on white noice. She usually falls asleep before she finishes her bottle and I put her in her crib, she will wake about 20 min later crying. I go in rock her, she falls back asleep, wakes up crying I go in and the past two nights she has been screaming for 20 min. Doesnt want to eat, no pacifier (which she doesnt like anyways) nothing! I just hold her until she will finally calm down. It is so frustrating. She finally calms down and falls back asleep after awhile, but by this time I am not leaving her room till about 9:45 pm. Im exhausted!

Do you think I should give her a late cat nap and then start her routine after that late nap, say around 8 pm?

mben1119

It sounds like bedtime is too late. Waiting to start your bedtime routine until she's that tired is leading to her being overtired, which is why it takes so long to put her down. I'd move your routine back an hour or so and see if that helps. DS went to bed at 5-5:30 for almost a year. He still is asleep by 6:30 most nights.

jobiann

mabenner1:

It sounds like bedtime is too late. Waiting to start your bedtime routine until she's that tired is leading to her being overtired, which is why it takes so long to put her down. I'd move your routine back an hour or so and see if that helps. DS went to bed at 5-5:30 for almost a year. He still is asleep by 6:30 most nights.

I agree. We start DS's bedtime routine around 6 or 6:30pm...he is usually always out by 7 or 7:30pm. We only do a bath three times a week...he HATES baths.  

susan10918

With your LO going to bed so early, what time do they usually get up in the morning? I work from home so her wake time is usually around 8:30 a.m. and then she is ready for a nap within 30-45 min.

jobiann

susan10918:

With your LO going to bed so early, what time do they usually get up in the morning? I work from home so her wake time is usually around 8:30 a.m. and then she is ready for a nap within 30-45 min.

DS gets up around 6am every day which is perfect for us, we usually get up at that time anyway.  

mben1119

susan10918:

With your LO going to bed so early, what time do they usually get up in the morning? I work from home so her wake time is usually around 8:30 a.m. and then she is ready for a nap within 30-45 min.

DS is up anywhere from 6-7:30. If she's ready for a nap that quickly after waking, she's sleeping in too late.

cowgirltu

We were starting lo's bedtime routine at 7, and he would be asleep by 8.  Then a month ago, he started to get really cranky around 6:30.  Now we start our routine at 6:30, and he is asleep by 7.  I wake him up at 5am to get dressed and fed then we drive to day care.  We get there at 0630.  Weekends, he is awake between 0700-0730.  This has been the times he is ready to start the day from the day he was born.

ForeverEverAfter

The general rule of thumb is that bedtime should be 12h before you want LO to get up. I stay home and like to sleep til 9, so LO goes down by 9:30pm. She usually wakes just after 8am, sometimes not til 8:45. She's awake 2h and then has her first nap. At 4.5 months old she takes 3 naps, normally she's up 2-3h and then naps 1.5-2.5h. 

So to the point, its not so much the time as the rest of her schedule. If at 12h before wakeup she's showing tired signs, you should try starting her routine 30min earlier and see if you have better luck. 

susan10918

mabenner1:

susan10918:

With your LO going to bed so early, what time do they usually get up in the morning? I work from home so her wake time is usually around 8:30 a.m. and then she is ready for a nap within 30-45 min.

DS is up anywhere from 6-7:30. If she's ready for a nap that quickly after waking, she's sleeping in too late.

Really? So maybe I should start waking her around 7:30 and see how that goes. She just seems so sleepy all the time. She always starts getting fussy and rubbing her eyes after an hour of being awake and I feel like I dont want to miss my opportunity so I put her down for a nap ( in her swing that is the only way I get her to have a decent nap). This is my second child and I just feel like she is so different from her brother. I dont remeber having all these issues, of course that was 9 years ago and I dont remeber much. haha

Wild_flower25

I think another issue is that you are letting her fall asleep in your arms and then transfering her.  You should try to lay her down drowsy but awake so she learns to fall asleep on her own.  This takes time and some fussing, but in the long run it will work better. 

Imagine falling asleep in your bed and waking up in the lawn.  Would you go back to sleep?

susan10918

Wild_flower25:

I think another issue is that you are letting her fall asleep in your arms and then transfering her.  You should try to lay her down drowsy but awake so she learns to fall asleep on her own.  This takes time and some fussing, but in the long run it will work better. 

Imagine falling asleep in your bed and waking up in the lawn.  Would you go back to sleep?

I have tried that , but almost immediatly starts crying to the point of screaming and then I cant get her calmed down again. I can put her awake in her swing and she will fall asleep, but not the crib