Out past bedtime

BoilerUp1 · April 2012

So, I feel like I have finally figured out LO enough to where I can say that he needs to go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 each night. When we are home in the evening at this time, all is well with the world and LO goes to bed well. However, what do you do when you need to be out past bedtime? I'm feeling like we will never be able to go out to dinner or to the mall after DH gets home from work at 5:30 again because we will have to be home in time for bedtime. If we aren't home in the evening and we are out and about, LO falls asleep here and there in his carseat and then pushes bedtime back till 930 or 1000 and then does not sleep well throughout the night. Any suggestions? We want to still have the freedom to go out to eat or to a friend's house once in awhile but obviously want to respect LO's need for sleep.

TIA!

snowflakemom · April 2012

It's a balancing act. If we are home *most* nights in time for the kids' bedtime, I am happy with that. If we have to be up early for something the next morning, I make sure they're in bed at their usual time. We'll make exceptions in regards to bedtime for things like birthdays, extended family dinners, holidays, and every now and then just a fun evening out.

DS' bedtime is right at that 7:30-8pm time as well and though sometimes it stinks to "have" to put him to bed when we might want to be out for something, overall I love that all of our kids are in bed by 7:30ish. It gives me and DH some time for ourselves and gives the LOs plenty of sleep.

fish000 · April 2012

Can you just swaddle him and tuck him into his pram in a similar way to how you do in his cot? Perhaps use his cot blankets to help him feel like it's the same?

kris_kelsey · April 2012

unless it is a special occasion I try to respect the bedtime...because I don't wanna lose sleep when they are up and fussy either. And really this is not just a baby issue, you will notice throughout childhood that if bedtime gets messed up they have a tough night, or wake up early, or just have a bad day the next day. Never worth it in my opinion because it just creates more work for myself.

bitsybubbles7 · April 2012

snowflakemom:
It's a balancing act. If we are home *most* nights in time for the kids' bedtime, I am happy with that. If we have to be up early for something the next morning, I make sure they're in bed at their usual time. We'll make exceptions in regards to bedtime for things like birthdays, extended family dinners, holidays, and every now and then just a fun evening out.

This. And don't worry too much, sometimes life happens.

Cheerio B · April 2012

snowflakemom:
It's a balancing act. If we are home *most* nights in time for the kids' bedtime, I am happy with that. If we have to be up early for something the next morning, I make sure they're in bed at their usual time. We'll make exceptions in regards to bedtime for things like birthdays, extended family dinners, holidays, and every now and then just a fun evening out.

this. With DD I was a slave to bedtimes and really missed out on time with friends and fun family time. with DS i am determined to relax a bit.

DBride2006 · April 2012

We balance it out. DSs both go to bed at 8:30, so if we are going to dinner at our parents or something, we'll try to time it so we're home by bedtime. If we want to go "out" we have to decide... do we want to go out to dinner bad enough that it will be worth the potential meltdowns, etc. Sometimes the answer is yes, but when they are really little, often the answer is no.

But DS1 grew out of it. If he had a decent nap that day, we can usually keep him up past bed time and it's ok... so you're not trapped forever.

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