Bedtime question

manders803 · July 2014

Quick question. I have an almost four month old and keep reading about the "four month sleep regression". One website recommended a bedtime of 6pm! We're usually just getting home then. Right now we start bedtime around 730 usually sleeping by 8. Do you guys remember this? Did bedtimes change? What time is bedtime now?

ASmallWonder · July 2014

Every kid is different but yeah some kids go to bed almost as soon as they get home because they need it. When is her last nap before pickup? Is she struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep?

manders803 · July 2014

Usually her last sleep before bed is when we're driving home so between 5-6. Right now she seems to be doing okay waking up twice in the night. It's all the talk on the April 14 board so I was just wondering.

groovygrl · July 2014

We did the 6/630 bedtime when our twins were young, it actually helped with a ton of bedtime & sleep issues we were having. It was hard at first b/c it was an inconvenience for us but it ended up being a really good thing for our kids. If your LO does fine w/ the current bedtime, doesnt have a lot of problems going to sleep or staying asleep & doesnt show a lot of symptoms of overtiredness in general then you're probably fine!
The resource that helped us make that decision was the youtube videos of Dr Weissbluth doing a panel at the 92nd st Y...I think there is a youtube channel about it or something. (i just tried to search & find it and they don't have the ones I watched up anymore... there is one up there but I don't know if it is any good)
But this is his youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8f-TTG5MwcoSLsSMsv_uww

shannm · July 2014

Yes, at that age, my son was going to sleep before 6:30. It slowly shifted later.

momofcatan · July 2014

We always had a bed time of around 8:00. That bedtime still worked through the 4-month regression, she still went to bed fine, she was just waking up more often in the middle of the night. When she started daycare at 11.5 months she started getting tired earlier so her bed time bumped up to 7-7:30.

TheBorg7of9 · July 2014

Just do what works for you. DS1 we kept up till 9 or 10. DS2 we have to put to bed at 7:30 cuz he's fussy otherwise.

dashofreality · July 2014

I agree with the Weissbluth book rec above. For us, it wasn't a big issue at 4 months. We were still taking a later nap and going to bed a little bit later. But pretty quickly around 5-6 months both my kids started pushing back their bedtimes.

I realized that no matter what time I put them down they woke up at the same time in the morning and they would be more likely to nap well and STTN with more sleep - sleep begets sleep. We never had to go earlier than 6:45, and that was for a brief time, but from 6-11 months or so kids needed to be down by 7, which sucks some, but was worth it. We then did a 7-7:30 bedtime until after 2 yo. Now, my kids have been pushing it to 8-8:30 and I agree with PP, I miss my evening time!

I would definitely try a early bedtime and see how it works for you. I know it is tough as a working parent, but I am a really big proponent of sleep.

Slb22 · July 2014

We are in the same boat as you right now. My LO was 16 weeks yesterday. She started day care 2 weeks ago and her bed time shifted from 8:30/9ish to 7:30. I am avoiding reading about the 4 month sleep regression as it would stress me out way too much. I figure if LO is happy and seems rested, I would not change anything.

With that said, last night was horrible. Full on meltdown at 6:15pm. We tried putting her to bed around 6:30/6:45. She fell asleep only until 7:30, then went back down until 10:45, then 4am. We will see what tonight brings. Good luck!

manders803 · July 2014

Thanks everyone, it's so easy to get caught up in the "should". It's good to be reminded to do what works.

MickeyM04 · July 2014

We are kind of in this boat but a bit on the later end. We commute for work so we don't get home from daycare until close to 6:30. DD usually starts getting to that "time for bed" phase at about 6:45. We reheat dinner (I pre-cook for the week), eat, and then DH starts her bath. I think you gotta do what works for them as long as it fits your schedule. I mean if DD needed to go to bed at 6:00 it would kind of be a "too bad " sort of thing because I don't even pick her up til 6:00. But when we try to keep her up a bit later with the logic of, we haven't seen her all day, we miss her, we just end up with a hot mess for the extra time we try to keep her up. Same thing happened when my son was young. It does pass though after awhile, and then they can stay up later and you are good to go.

jtmomma13 · July 2014

At 11 months we still have a 6-630 bedtime. Usually closer to 6. All babies are so different though so try and go by her signs if you can. A lot of things I read about infant sleep was that 6 was a normal time for bedtime.

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