Tell me your LO's bedtime

mreinard · April 2010

DH and I currently disagree on when to start the nighttime routine for DD. We usually start bath time around 7-7:30 depending on her mood - we then take her to our room and I nurse her and put her down around 7:30-8. She is pretty tired by this point and so I am starting to think we should start earlier - my DH thinks we are already starting bed time too early. What do you do? Do you stick to a rigid bedtime or do you follow your LOs cues?

Melly Mel · April 2010

My LO is still very young so I follow her cues. How long will your DD sleep at a time? If she was waking up every 2-3hrs I would try and hold her off another hour before bed.

denahamilton@cox.net · April 2010

kellybellybean:
DD doesn't have an exact bedtime. We don't do bath time every night (pedi told us not to bathe her more than 2x per week right now) so we don't really have a concrete bedtime routine. We just follow her cues. Usually she gets tired around 8 or 8:30, so I change her, put her in her jammies, nurse her for the last time, and put her to bed.

He probably meant only use soap 2x a week...and I agree with this. However, warm water is part of our bedtime routine so every night DS gets a "bath" but only 2-3 days a week I use soap to wash him....warm water is soo soothing and such a big part of our routine.

kelbel527 · April 2010

We used to put DS down at 9-9:30 starting around 8:30. Now that I am going back to work, we're starting earlier, around the same time as you. 7-7:30 seems to work pretty good with DS.

mreinard · April 2010

She was going down around 7:30-8 and sleeping for about 30 minutes before waking up again - I'd nurse her one more time then she'd sleep 5-6 hours. But the past few nights she's been up every 2 hours. I guess it could be the 12 week growth spurt a week and a half early, but I need to figure this out! I go back to work next week and I need some sleep!

bb80 · April 2010

sounds like a good routine/bedtime to me! but then again, take that with a grain of salt, i have a newborn and NO routine yet

law8296 · April 2010

Our's looks like your's:

around 7:30 or so bath time (we try to look at a book either before or after bath); then jammies; then eating then down to sleep.

kelbel527 · April 2010

denahamilton@cox.net:

kellybellybean:
DD doesn't have an exact bedtime. We don't do bath time every night (pedi told us not to bathe her more than 2x per week right now) so we don't really have a concrete bedtime routine. We just follow her cues. Usually she gets tired around 8 or 8:30, so I change her, put her in her jammies, nurse her for the last time, and put her to bed.

He probably meant only use soap 2x a week...and I agree with this. However, warm water is part of our bedtime routine so every night DS gets a "bath" but only 2-3 days a week I use soap to wash him....warm water is soo soothing and such a big part of our routine.

We do this too. He loves taking a bath every night, we just don't use soap everytime. It's a great way for him to know it's bedtime and calm him down.

denahamilton@cox.net · April 2010

I JUST moved my 3 months old's bedtime from 8:30 to 7:30....I do not think moving your LO's earlier is a problem. In fact, both Babywise and Healthy sleep habits, happy child say that at around 8-12 weeks bedtimes start to become earlier...as early as 6pm! Just read your LOs cues and do what your gut tells you!

My DD1's bedtime was 6:30pm from about 3 months old-6 months old. Then at around 6 months old she started taking a regular 3rd late afternoon nap so her betime was then moved up to 8:30...once you figure something out it all changes! LOL

Sawyerplus1 · April 2010

DD goes down for the night around 11 pm. Not sure why, but DS did the same thing until he was almost a year old. We're trying to move DDs bedtime down though. One thing to keep in mind, and perhaps some people will think this is selfish but I think it's reasonable, is just that whatever time you set LOs bedtime at will sort of be like your curfew for the next few years, kwim? If LO has to be in bed at, say, 6:30 then that makes it very difficult for you and DH to have much freedom to do anything in the evenings. Right now DS goes down between 8 and 9, which is great b/c it means we can do things as a family in the evenings, whether its running errands or doing something fun. I guess my point is this, if LO is content to go down 7:30-8, then maybe leave it at that for now.

mrsmegs06 · April 2010

I usually start trying to get her ready around 9pm. She wakes up once during the night, and wakes up around 6 am. But I'm not rigid when it comes to her bedtime though. It just so happens it is usually around 9.

denahamilton@cox.net · April 2010

kellybellybean:
denahamilton@cox.net:

kellybellybean:
DD doesn't have an exact bedtime. We don't do bath time every night (pedi told us not to bathe her more than 2x per week right now) so we don't really have a concrete bedtime routine. We just follow her cues. Usually she gets tired around 8 or 8:30, so I change her, put her in her jammies, nurse her for the last time, and put her to bed.

He probably meant only use soap 2x a week...and I agree with this. However, warm water is part of our bedtime routine so every night DS gets a "bath" but only 2-3 days a week I use soap to wash him....warm water is soo soothing and such a big part of our routine.

No, she made it clear that she didn't want us to bathe DD more than 2x per week - she actually told us 1x per week is best! 1x per week grosses me out a bit, so I opted to do two.

What's her reasoning? Water is harmful to babies?

MarthaP18 · April 2010

My son goes to sleep between 8:30- 9 and sleeps til somewhere between 6-7am.

denahamilton@cox.net · April 2010

kellybellybean:
denahamilton@cox.net:
kellybellybean:
denahamilton@cox.net:

kellybellybean:
DD doesn't have an exact bedtime. We don't do bath time every night (pedi told us not to bathe her more than 2x per week right now) so we don't really have a concrete bedtime routine. We just follow her cues. Usually she gets tired around 8 or 8:30, so I change her, put her in her jammies, nurse her for the last time, and put her to bed.

He probably meant only use soap 2x a week...and I agree with this. However, warm water is part of our bedtime routine so every night DS gets a "bath" but only 2-3 days a week I use soap to wash him....warm water is soo soothing and such a big part of our routine.

No, she made it clear that she didn't want us to bathe DD more than 2x per week - she actually told us 1x per week is best! 1x per week grosses me out a bit, so I opted to do two.

What's her reasoning? Water is harmful to babies?

She said it's unnecessary when babies are so young. She's a very well-respected pedi in Boston and she is a professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, so I trust her advice.

I don't questoin her credentials. However, there is NO reason why a baby can't sit in warm water 7 days out of the week. I am not in any way trying to be snarky at this point...now I am totally curious as to why your pedi would say this...I am really thinking it's miscommunication and she was saying not to wash LO with soap more than 2x a week...

duchessII81 · April 2010

She always eats last at 9/9:30. We change, swaddle, and read her a story and she's down no later than 10pm.

Krista123105 · April 2010

DS does the best when we put him down in between 8:30 and 9 pm, after we've fed him, bathed him, read him stories, and then fed him again.

denahamilton@cox.net · April 2010

kellybellybean:
denahamilton@cox.net:
kellybellybean:
denahamilton@cox.net:
kellybellybean:
denahamilton@cox.net:

kellybellybean:
DD doesn't have an exact bedtime. We don't do bath time every night (pedi told us not to bathe her more than 2x per week right now) so we don't really have a concrete bedtime routine. We just follow her cues. Usually she gets tired around 8 or 8:30, so I change her, put her in her jammies, nurse her for the last time, and put her to bed.

He probably meant only use soap 2x a week...and I agree with this. However, warm water is part of our bedtime routine so every night DS gets a "bath" but only 2-3 days a week I use soap to wash him....warm water is soo soothing and such a big part of our routine.

No, she made it clear that she didn't want us to bathe DD more than 2x per week - she actually told us 1x per week is best! 1x per week grosses me out a bit, so I opted to do two.

What's her reasoning? Water is harmful to babies?

She said it's unnecessary when babies are so young. She's a very well-respected pedi in Boston and she is a professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, so I trust her advice.

I don't questoin her credentials. However, there is NO reason why a baby can't sit in warm water 7 days out of the week. I am not in any way trying to be snarky at this point...now I am totally curious as to why your pedi would say this...I am really thinking it's miscommunication and she was saying not to wash LO with soap more than 2x a week...

Believe me - I asked her on two separate occasions and she told me to limit her bathtime (not just soap, but water also!) to no more than 2x per week. She did say something about it being easier for LOs to get yeast infections in pudgey areas (neck, underarms, etc) if they are bathed a lot, but I didn't really ask her to explain any further.

I never suggested that anyone should stop bathing their LOs every night - to each her own! I just said it's not part of our bedtime routine because we're sticking to bathing her 2x per week.

That is very interesting. Thank you for expanding on what your pedi suggested.

Oh I know! Your post was informative not pushy. I agree~to each is her own!

P.S. Can your LO be any cuter? Holy crap.

Want a personalized experience?

Tell me your LO's bedtime

Re: Tell me your LO's bedtime

Choose Another Board

Search Boards