7:30 / 8:00 PM Bedtime / 6:00 AM Wake-up?

smpatalano · January 2014

Seeking either advice or reassurance! I am a working mother who needs to wake up my daughter at 6 AM. Right now, I am at home but in April (5 months old) she will begin daycare (hence why I am getting her used to 6 AM wake-up). She is a happy baby and rarely cries besides the occasional whine. At two months old, she has a Feed, Wake, Sleep cycle of every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day. Due to this schedule, her "natural" bedtime is 7:30/8:00 and she wakes to feed twice a night (12/1 and then 3/4).

My question is....once she begins daycare, I know there will be a transition period with her naps and such. She will be at an in-home daycare, and though there will be more flexibility than a center, there are structured activities in place and she may not be able to nap as much. I'm worried about her night time sleep.

Due to my work schedule, I won't be able to put her down to sleep until 7:30 at night at the earliest. Is that bad? I've been seeing lots of moms have their kids on a 12 hour night-time sleep and that's just impossible for me to do.

I've read all the baby sleep books, babycenter and WebMD advice, and have used them as guides. I attribute my happy baby to following a mash-up of these guidelines. I'm worried my happy baby will become a terror because I won't be able to give her a 12 hour block of sleep if she may need it.

Is 7:30/8 to 6:00 AM ok? I won't have much opportunity to change these times as she gets older. Please be honest! thanks!

BekiB · January 2014

Our 8 month old baby sleeps 8:30/9:00 to 6:30. He's been doing this since 3 months, and sometimes he wakes at night for comfort. He naps anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours at daycare depending on the day, and sometimes takes an evening nap. He naps more on the weekends. I don't think there is much you can do right now to plan, so I would recommend not worrying too much about it. We didn't do as much of a structured schedule as it seems you are doing though.

jesuisfatiguee · January 2014

First, you do what you have to. And sometimes what you have to do is just not ideal. Nobody here is going to tell you you're a bad mom for working and providing for your baby. The very fact that you're concerned with her sleep is proof you are a very caring, good mom.

My question is... Does she absolutely have to wake at 6 AM? Is there any way you could get up and get ready while she sleeps, and then wake her with just enough time to nurse/feed, diaper change, and get out the door? How long is your commute, and would it be possible for her to nap in the car?

Also, not all babies end up sleeping a full 12 hours at night, though it is common. My DS goes to bed usually by 7, and is often up anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30. Except last night he went to bed at 8 and was still up at 5:30 this morning! Babies are just strange, incosistent creatures

smpatalano · January 2014

6 AM would be that time to get her up to feed, diaper, clothe, and leave. I'm up at 5 AM. tough mornings...

I figured I would just see how it goes. Every baby is different, but yet there is this overwhelming load of "rules" to follow and things that "should be done". As a new mom, it's hard to filter things out.

I just wanted to know if I will be seriously hurting my baby by not being able to get her down at 6 PM. I'd feel better if there's moms out there that have a similar schedule and happy babies.

BekiB · January 2014

My schedule is similar and baby is happy

Leap08 · January 2014

My now 4 and 2 year old girls have had a 7:30 / 8:00 bedtime since they were 3 months old. It'll be fine.

shannm · January 2014

Gonna depend on your baby. Didn't matter what my schedule looked like, when my kids were infants, they wanted to go to bed at 6:30. Just be prepared that she may pass out a little earlier, especially if she is in a car at that time.

dizzycooks · January 2014

Yep, you do what you have to do. For us my dd goes to bed at 630pm which is about an hour and a half after we get home. We get her up at 545am and she would happily sleep much later. She takes a two + hour nap at daycare in the afternoon, but use to in the morning as well. Your dd will find a way to get the sleep she needs. It feels awful to you, but it does work out.

JessAnnJ · January 2014

I may have misread something above, but are you getting her used to a 6 am wakeup now? Her daily routine will change so much with daycare that I don't think you need to do anything now. You just can't predict what will happen. Even with the schedule daycare will let her sleep when she is tired.

My DD was exhausted from daycare and went to bed around 6:30 at that age. You LO may just sleep in the car and get an extra short nap before bed. Don't stress yourself now. Your LO will adjust. I think some babies cry more than others based on their personality. If you have an easy going baby now I don't think that will change because you start waking her up earlier.

shakinros · January 2014

My kiddo has never ever slept 12hrs at night. 10hrs is about all she wants. Your babe will be fine!

iverske9 · January 2014

My son used to go to bed between 6:45pm-7pm and would wake up between 6-7am and he was happy as a clam.

CarrieB. · January 2014

I have always had DD1 on that schede. She's 2 1/2 now and she goes to bec at 7:30 and is up at 6am. She has always been a really good napper so I don't worry about her not getting enough sleep. DD2 who is 12 weeks is pretty much on the same schedule at this point too.

IrishTraveler · January 2014

DS goes down at 7:00 every night and is up at 6:00 during the week. He generally takes a 1.5 or two hour nap midday. He seems fine. On weekends, he goes to bed at the same time most of the time and wakes up between 7:00 and 8:00.

emberlee3 · January 2014

Neither of my kids has ever slept 12 hours. They are happy and healthy.

Naena · January 2014

My 5 month old baby sleeps 8:00/8:30 to 6:00. She STTN, or at least doesn't wake up to feed. She takes a couple naps during the day, anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours at daycare.

thedash · January 2014

My kids have really never slept 12 hours at night. It's been about 10 hours with good daytime naps that equal another 2-3 hours. I talked with our pedi about it at one point and she said that as long as they are going down and getting up without too much of a problem and sleeping enough total hours per day there is nothing to worry about.

jf198400 · January 2014

I think it's going to depend on your child. DS started DC at 8 months and napped like crap at DC, like 2 30min naps per day. So he needed to sleep more at night. We changed his bedtime from 8pm to 7pm so he could get 12hrs sleep. When he moved up to toddler room he started napping better and staying up later at night. Honestly that sounds like a very long day for a young baby. Will you have a long commute with baby? If so I think she will likely sleep in the car, so that will definitely help. Is 7:30 really the earliest you can put her to bed? What time do you get home? I'm just curious how much time you are estimating from the time you get home to time baby goes to bed. I didn't like getting home at 6 and having DS in bed at 7, but it was necessary. I'm sure your child will find a way to adjust. I think it may be easier with an Inhome daycare b/c I'm assuming she'll be able to sleep in a separate quiet space. It's harder with centers b/c of all the noise and excitement. As PP's said I wouldn't try to figure out her schedule now b/c there will be a transition period when she starts daycare anyways.

JACKIE_RS88 · January 2014

My DS never sleeps 12 hours a night. At best 10-11. He naps twice during the day once for 2 hours then another for 1 hours/45 minutes. He gets enough sleep per doctors recommendation.

djm31012 · January 2014

there is no set rules for any of this. DS sleeps usually like 730 to 630am. last night he slept 7 to 530am. you do what you need to do and their body adjusts. DS does not nap that well at daycare and never has. it doesnt interrupt his night time sleep or change the way he sleeps at home on the weekends. Some nights hes miserable-like all this week---and other nights it doesnt matter. DOnt worry about the books and following rules. Do what works for your family and your baby with your specific situation. in 3 years...the sleep and baby experts will be saying something totally different anyway!

BP607 · January 2014

Chances are you may stir LO when you are up and about the house so might not end up having to actually wake her up. My LO goes to bed between 7-7:30 or 8 at the very latest if he had a late nap and is usually up between 6-6:30 on the weekends. He takes a 2-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon.

roo1oo · January 2014

Mine started at an in-home daycare a bit younger than yours will. We do 8pm bedtime and he gets up anywhere from 5 to 6:45 am - basically he's good with 9-10 hours of sleep, with the occasional 11-12 hour night. He's been in daycare for 1 month now. The ride to daycare is only 15 minutes and every morning and evening, he naps in the car. Also naps a couple times at daycare, anywhere from 2-5 hours.

I wouldn't worry about the wake time yet. But definitely try to get her used to bedtime by 3ish months old. That will help everything else be consistent - as consistent as it can be with a baby!

Carnation77 · February 2014

I think you'll be fine. I have almost the exact same schedule and we have no problems. DS is 5 months old and has been at an in-home daycare since 8 1/2 weeks. He goes down around 7-8 pm, sometimes wakes at 4:00 for a quick feed, I take a shower at 5 am and get stuff ready, and I wake him at 6 am for another feed and to get ready to go. He sleeps to and from daycare and takes two naps there for a total of four naps a day. He never had any trouble adjusting to sleeping at daycare. His provider just lets him do his own thing. You may be surprised at how well your LO adjusts. I felt for sure DS would scream all day and not nap at all and I was completely wrong. He has no trouble sleeping while the other kids play, and his provider uses the big kid nap time as one-on-one time with LO to do tummy time and such. It works great. So just see how it goes because you may be surprised at how well LO adjusts.

Oh - and you said you wanted your LO to be a happy baby. DS giggles, smiles, and laughs constantly - at home and at daycare. He hardly ever cries and does not seem overly tired in the least on this schedule. He's also growing fine.

ASmallWonder · February 2014

I agree with the person who asked if you're trying to implement this schedule now. Don't make life harder than you need to until you need to. I'd be damned if I was going to wake up before I had to while on maternity leave

Your baby will figure it out. Chances are you'll wake her, feed her and change her and she'll fall asleep again in the car on the way to daycare and you'll just haul her carrier in and leave her sleeping. She'll be fine.

DiveFrog · February 2014

The earliest bedtime we have ever been able to get to work for DD is 8-8:30. And that didn't happen until she was 18months old. Now she sleeps 8:30-6:30.

When she was 4-5months she would fall asleep at 7pm, but never sleep more than 15-30min. it was her last nap of the day. Then she went to bed anywhere from 10pm-12am depending on how hard she fought. She was still always up between 5-6:30am. She just made up for it throughout her day.

You will figure out what works for her, it just might take a week or two. My advice is forget what everyone, and any book says you should be doing and follow your child's lead. I stressed and worked so hard to try and implement a 6-8 bedtime for DD and it never worked. Once I accepted that 10pm was what worked for her, life became a lot less stressful for our entire family.

wychets · February 2014

DD goes to bed by 1030 due to our schedules we work 2nd shift 1030-7p we get home around 8p and by the time we have dinner, baths, and bedtime routines its pushing 10p. Luckily we dont have to wake up until 9am...920 for DD. Like PP said we do what we have to, to make it:) I am sure you LO will adjust fine. GL!

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