Late bedtime?

leela02 · January 2015

Hello everyone. So my DD is 3mo and refuses to go to bed before 9-10pm. She sleeps 9-10hrs on average (lately it seems like she's working on getting up to 11) and her waking up times aren't an issue for us right now because my schedule is free in the mornings. Would this still be considered a "too late" bedtime if she sleeps for that many hours straight? It seems like everything I read says she "should" be going to bed much earlier.

I've experimented with moving her bath early (6:30) and it really relaxes her but after her bottle she still stays awake until 9-10pm wanting to be entertained lol. Maybe that is too much of a change and I have only been doing it for a few days. She doesn't fuss at all if we let her stay awake, she'll only fuss when we try to get her to sleep when she doesn't want to. She's not a big napper either unless you hold her. Aside from her first morning nap which lasts about 1hr, her naps are all over the place. Some days they are cat naps, some days they are 1-1.5hrs. She takes about 3-5 naps depending on how long they are. Her pedi is not at all concerned about her naps as long as she is sttn for a decent no. of hrs.

ashiscute · January 2015

Agee. Don't fix what isn't broken.

My DD fell asleep later when she was that age. As she got a little older we were able to get her down earlier so DH and I had some time together in the evenings. If you change her bedtime do it very gradually. I would say like 15 minute increments. We got DD from a 10pm to an 830pm bedtime doing this around 4- 5 months.

Sani84 · January 2015

Ds almost 7 months goes to sleep around 10-11pm also. If I try to put him earlier he will fuss. But on days I'm working (I work part time) we have to get up 5 or 6 am so it sux.. And he doesn't really nap during the day he will take mini cat naps 15ish minutes every few hours or so through out the day. But on my days off he will be sleeping until 8ish am. I wish I could get him to go to sleep earlier but whatever I try is not working

leela02 · January 2015

Thanks for all the responses. I'm so glad I'm not alone! Someone gave us a baby book and I've also looked at baby sleep websites that warn so much about overtired sleep-deprived babies because you weren't able to put them down by 6:30-7. I couldn't relate to that 'cause DD seems pretty happy right now and that time frame is way too early for us anyway.

The only negative with her late bedtimes right now is the lack of grownup time to watch TV, read, play a game, etc. with DH before we go to bed. But that's not really a big deal. I guess I worry 'cause at some point my schedule will probably change (I'm in college so it changes every term, then I'll be working, etc.) and I'll have to wake her up early. But I guess I'll just deal with those things as they come.

leela02 · January 2015

Sani84 said:

Ds almost 7 months goes to sleep around 10-11pm also. If I try to put him earlier he will fuss. But on days I'm working (I work part time) we have to get up 5 or 6 am so it sux.. And he doesn't really nap during the day he will take mini cat naps 15ish minutes every few hours or so through out the day. But on my days off he will be sleeping until 8ish am. I wish I could get him to go to sleep earlier but whatever I try is not working

On some days DD also only takes short naps, like 30mins max.

bohemianlc · January 2015

My LO usually goes to bed at around 9:30 or 10:00 and also sleeps for about 9-10 hours. I also was worried because of all the literature out there about sleep deprivation and the value of an early bed time, but our pediatrician said it's totally fine if he's sleeping through the night like that! I understand wanting to make sure you are doing everything right because I feel the same way.

Sani84 · January 2015

DS seems happy with his sleep schedule but mommy is tired.. Sux when he falls asleep at 11pm and we get up around at 4am for work..

leela02 · January 2015

Sani84 said:

DS seems happy with his sleep schedule but mommy is tired.. Sux when he falls asleep at 11pm and we get up around at 4am for work..

We're in the same boat. DD is now falling asleep between 10-11. I'm in school so I can't really sit down and study until she is asleep. In theory I can try to get something done from like 11-3 then get a few hours of sleep before she wakes up and then have some time to hang out before I have to drop her off at my MIL's on my way to school. But this week I was just too tired and had to go straight to bed once she was down. Then the next day I would have to drop her off extra early so I can study all day which sucks 'cause I don't want to be around only when she is asleep! It gives me so much mom guilt but I can't afford to fail a class. I'm still figuring it out.

Sani84 · January 2015

Hope it gets better..

seamonkey0814 · January 2015

I also agree that if it works that's great but if you do decide you need to change, try doing it by moving bedtime earlier by just 15-20 mins every night.

ConversationFear · January 2015

I agree to do what works for you. I've heard the blah blah blahs about how I'm a bad mom because I don't have my little guy in bed every night by 7 - but for real - my DH and I don't get home until 6 and don't eat dinner until 7. Our LO has his final bottle and is sleepy at 8:30/9:00 so that's when he goes to bed. And he's STILL ALIVE! (omg)

You have to work with what works in your family and your schedule. If your LO is getting good sleep, kudos to you!

Sani84 · January 2015

ds doesn't want to go to bed when I want to even if I try lol if I put him to bed and he is not ready he will cry and won't calm down until I pick him up. I'm surprised he doesn't need more sleep since he doesn't really nap and only gets about 7hrs of sleep

leela02 · January 2015

ConversationFear said:

I agree to do what works for you. I've heard the blah blah blahs about how I'm a bad mom because I don't have my little guy in bed every night by 7 - but for real - my DH and I don't get home until 6 and don't eat dinner until 7. Our LO has his final bottle and is sleepy at 8:30/9:00 so that's when he goes to bed. And he's STILL ALIVE! (omg)
You have to work with what works in your family and your schedule. If your LO is getting good sleep, kudos to you!

She sleeps well despite limited effort from her parents (we're not strict routine people) so we've been very fortunate. She's been STTN since she was about 2mo before we had any sort of bedtime routine. Even now the only thing we stick to is bath+bottle starting at around 8pm. After that LO usually refuses to sleep and wants to play until she gets tired. Then she has another bottle and goes to bed between 10-11pm. She sleeps until 7:30-8:30am, which is fine since I don't have to drop her off at grandma day care until 11.

Like your family 6-7 is a bit too early for us right now. DH and LO usually get home around 6 and I get home around 7:30.

WannaBmomma · January 2015

Sleep patterns change as the baby develops. We were going to bed at 7:30 now it can be 9:30-11. Sleeps through the night and doesn't sleep much during the day. She just isn't as sleepy at 7:30.

jmorrison21 · January 2015

My little man goes to bed anywhere between 9:30-10:30 . I'm sure it will change as he gets older but it works now!

RedBaramid · January 2015

We use to go down at 11, then she sort of moved herself back to 9.. now we float between 8 and 9 but she wakes up at 5:30am. Honestly, I stopped trying to make her fit into my life, and found a way to coexist... She's still young.. there will be plenty of time to make her go to bed early when she can feed herself and entertain herself. Right now we are going to go for the path of least resistance.

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