Going to bed when its still light out?

rspalding001 · April 2015

So what are your thoughts on putting your LO's to bed when its still light out? We put our DD down around 8 every night but lately its been staying light later and her room is not dark when she goes to bed. I suggested black out shades to my husband but he said she needs to get used to falling asleep when its light out and that black out shades were not necessary. Lately she has been fussing longer than normal before going to sleep and I'm sure its because its light in her room. I just don't know if its worth arguing the issue again with my husband. I know it will only continue to get lighter. In the Summer it will stay light until 9 and her room will be very bright at 8. Any thoughts?

Xposted in Parenting over 35

emwaiting · April 2015

If you think about it they nap during the day when it is still light out. My son goes to bed between 7:30-8pm and it is generally still light out now. We do have some black out shades from Ikea and they do a good job of keeping the room fairly dark. We are lucky and he is a very good sleeper and doesn't fight it much at all when I tell him it is time to go to bed. I would suggest some cheap black out shades, you don't have to get anything fancy by any means but hopefully could be a happy compromise for the two of you.

cattlebride · April 2015

We had blinds for dd. It seems to work pretty well. Good luck!

Bigboobsmcgee · April 2015

Can you hang up curtains? We have black out shades in all the rooms of our house and they help a ton. I recommend them. If it helps your kid sleep then do it. BUT, I do see your husband's point because your LO should get used to sleeping in different environments and situations but is this a battle you want to fight at home? No.

SharonB222 · May 2015

I worried with both DD and DS it would impact them, but it didn't. That said, we have shades in DD's room - but not in DS' room. If your instinct is it's the light, can you try covering it to test the theory? Even for me, there are times I can go to sleep in a bright room, but if there is direct light, eye shades are helpful.

mhwood · May 2015

We didn't bother with the black out shades. She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 most nights.

One thing we ended up doing is putting the solid end of the crib facing the window so she doesn't have any direct light coming into her bed, that seems to have helped.

Meagain31 · May 2015

Your husband sounds like a winner. We have blackout curtains from PBK they work really well.

LalanChris · May 2015

My DD doesn't go to bed until around 9 so it's usually dark by then. However for her to take her afternoon nap it has to be semi-dark. I draw the blinds close at nap time but that's about it. I think with a lot of babies it's the direct light that bothers them. If you can't use black out shades what about darker curtains??

momofmanyinthemitten · May 2015

I bought blackout fabric from Joann Fabrics and sewed it onto the back of DS's curtains. We bought blackout curtains for DD1 at Meijer. I got blackout/insulating curtains from Amazon for DD2. Clearly, I'm a fan of them.

rspalding001 · May 2015

Thanks everyone! So far I am riding it out and she seems to be doing OK, settling down faster. The last few nights have not been a problem at all so maybe she just needed to get used to the extra light. I did hang a blanket on the side of her crib that faces the window so any direct light was blocked. If it gets to be problematic again Ill consider hanging a blanket on the window as a temporary solution but for now we seem to be doing good.

Just as a side note I wanted to say that my DH was not being mean at all about it, just presenting his viewpoint that he didn't think black out shades were necessary, I hope I didn't give the impression that he was being a jerk because that was not the case.

Thanks again for all the advice!

LalanChris · May 2015

rspalding001 said:
Thanks everyone! So far I am riding it out and she seems to be doing OK, settling down faster. The last few nights have not been a problem at all so maybe she just needed to get used to the extra light. I did hang a blanket on the side of her crib that faces the window so any direct light was blocked. If it gets to be problematic again Ill consider hanging a blanket on the window as a temporary solution but for now we seem to be doing good.

Just as a side note I wanted to say that my DH was not being mean at all about it, just presenting his viewpoint that he didn't think black out shades were necessary, I hope I didn't give the impression that he was being a jerk because that was not the case.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Glad your sweetie is going down easier sometimes all we can do is ride it out. I think the blanket on the sided of the crib was a good alternative to having to go out and purchase black out shades.

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