Having Problems Getting the Right Bedtime

Babies are always growing and developing and changing. As soon as you get used to things a certain way, one of the twins is going to have different needs.

Looks like their eating/sleeping schedule needs some changes. Don't worry about what it used to be. Just respond to what they NEED it to be now.

I've also read that any nap shorter than 45 minutes does more harm than good. I would consider either feeding them before 5 and then again at 7 or just letting them eat at 7. No hard in trying.

Stop looking at the clock and follow their cues. They know what their bodies need.

They are still babies, and their needs change quickly. They may be nearing a growth spurt. Just before a growth spurt many kids will eat a lot more than they used to and sleep a lot more than they used to. It's part of the cycle. Relax and just go with the flow.

Remember, your kids can't read a clock. They don't know what time it is. But they do know if they are hungry or tired. If they are hungry, feed them. If they are sleepy, put them to bed. But definitely don't worry about what the clock says.

ETA - In your SWH you said, " I am not sure about giving them a bottle at 7 when they just ate at 5, seems like to much for their tummies." You're not going to hurt them by offering a bottle. If baby is not hungry, baby will refuse the bottle.

Relax. Simplify your thought process. Meet their needs. When baby cries and fusses, chances are baby is hungry or tired. Right now your thought process is, "But you shouldn't be hungry/tired ... " Doesn't matter. Baby needs to be fed or allowed to sleep.

If I said I was hungry and went into the kitchen to get a snack and my husband told me I shouldn't be hungry because we had just had dinner, I'd probably say, "Shut up. I want a snack." I definitely would not say, "Oh, I'm not supposed to be hungry, so I guess I'm not really hungry."

i never fed nor made my kids sleep on a schedule till they were closer to a year old and things were falling into a routine. at 5 months baby dictated eating and sleeping.
if they want to eat and go to bed when some clock says 7 then i would do that and roll with the flow.

I would feed them when they are hungry which sounds like 7 right now. However I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are back up at 11 for their last feeding before night time. Are they really only napping for 30 minutes once a day. That sounds like way too little.

Give them their bottles before you put them down at 7 p.m. They may have slept around 8 p.m. until recently, but babies' sleep schedules change many times during their first year. It seems they're ready for an earlier bedtime now.

My 16 month old is in bed by 6:30-7:00 most nights. At 5 months he was in bed by that time with a feeding at 11 and then he would sleep through until about 5 or so. You could look up the baby sleep lady (I believe that is what she is called). Her theory is that anything less than a 45 minute nap is considered a disaster nap. It could be that they are ready to drop that 30 minute disaster nap in exchange for an earlier feeding/ bed time. As others have said, I would respond to their cues. If they want to go to bed at 7, feed them at 630 and put them to bed around 7. If it does not work then no harm, just try something else until it works.

Yes, put them to bed at 7. It's not that early and clearly they are tired. Give them a bottle around 7, then put them to bed. Is the 30 minute nap all they are napping? I hope not. Be happy about them going down at 7, it gives you the whole night to yourself!

Sounds like they wake up to get the bottle. I suggest giving them their bottle at 7 and see how that works. I suggest bodies change. Have you considered that 7 was 8 before Daylight Savings Time took affect?

My granddaughters' sleep schedule changes. The 2.8 yo dropped naps quite some time ago. Recently she falls asleep in the living room. So naps are official again. I've visited and seen her sleep until 4 or even 5 after resisting sleep until 3. She still goes to bed and easily asleep at 8 or 9.

Give the earlier bedtime a try. You can feed them earlier than 5 if that's a problem.

yes, put them to bed at right before 7, before they get tired
Then you can do a dream sleep -- this is where you go in and feed them right before you are ready to go to sleep yourself. So, say you go to bed at 10, you feed them right before that and they will sleep another 5 to 7 hours after that so you get solid sleep. And 7 isn't early really, my girls had that bedtime until they were 10 or so. The best thing to do is count backwards 12 hours from their natural wake up time to get their bedtime. My girls were up at 7 no matter what time they went to bed, so their bedtime was 12 hours prior to that.

Is that 30 minute nap the only one they are taking? That seems like very little sleep for 5 months old.

I agree to follow the babies' cues - they are tired at 7, so feed them bottles at 6:30 and put them down for bed when they are tired. Even if you get up earlier with them, you will still have more time in the evening for yourself and you will skip that hour of being fussy.

I would think they would need a good nap during the day - mine napped for 3 hours well past the age of 4 once he went to 1 nap a day, and as an infant he was napping at least twice, once in the morning and once around 2 PM. So pay attention to when they are tired. Make sure the room is dark, and consider a white noise machine or air filter just to block out ambient noise. My kid was super-sensitive to outside stimuli (traffic noise, kids playing, dogs barking) so a constant noise helped him settle down and sleep better.

At that age my daughter took a nap in the morning, a nap in the afternoon (both naps around 1.5 hours long), and she went do bed around 7pm. Actually, I remember in preschool up to 3rd grade, my brother and I went to bed at 7pm. I don't think that is too early. Some kids need a lot of sleep.

Try feeding at 7 and putting them to bed.

They are getting ready to drop that third nap. Their sleep will me crazy for a bit.

Question, do they sleep after their bottle until morning? If so, then I'd try moving bedtime by 5 minutes each night until feeding and sleeping align.

At this age they should be taking at the VERY least a morning nap for a couple of hours and an afternoon nap for a couple of hours THEn going to be around 8 or 9. They aren't getting enough sleep. You need to work on getting them down for the right times of day when they should be sleeping.

When they are close to a year old then they should be working on getting down to one longer nap AFTER lunch. Then waking up around 3-4. With dinner then some activity time and bath stuff they should go down easily and stay out until they're hungry and need to eat. I can't imagine having two getting up at all hours to eat. I'd be so tired all the time!