What Is Your Baby's Bedtime

My bay is 4 months and her bed time is at the same time 9-10pm. But she only wakes up if her pamper needs to be change, hunger, what's her nuk.

When we started moving bedtime back, we did it at 15 minute increments. Its worked great. We went from 9pm to 7:30pm. My kids sleep longer the earlier I put them to bed..amazing how that works! Good Luck!

It was at about 7 months that we started making bedtime 8pm. My daughter is now 14months old and it's like clockwork. Milk at 7pm, bath, crib at 7:45, story and she's passed out by 8 and sleeps til 8am. She takes 2 naps, an hr and a half each like clock work too. We love it! Routine is the key

I say you need to do what works for you. My kids have always had a late bedtime like yours, but generally get up a little later than others. If she is getting enough sleep overall and seems happy and well rested, then I wouldn't worry about it. You can check the guidelines for the amount of sleep needed (which includes naps). If she is cranky in the evenings, then she may need to go to sleep earlier.

Just my humble opinion.

My daughter has gone to bed at 8 or 8:30 since she was 6 months old. 9:30 or 10 is way too late for her to go to bed. You have to sacrifiec the time you spend with her for her to get enough sleep.

You baby should be getting close to 15 hrs of sleep a day. Every kid is different, but I had mine taking a nap and 10am and 2pm, roughly for an hr each time, then was to bed at 7pm sharp! She slept till usually 6-6:30am. Since you're working, could you maybe have your sitter feed your baby dinner, so you only have to bath and get her in her pj's and have a little quiet time with her?? Then you'd be able to put her down earlier. If she's still asleep when you need to get her up, she's probably not getting enough sleep. Talk to your baby's dr. See if he/she can help you plan a better schedule. Hope this helps, good luck!!

First, you can always speak to you pediatrician about these issues. They're a great source!

Remember that all children are different and each family has unique needs. The bottom line should always be what works best for your family.

In my experience, I was a stay at home mom while my babies were little. They started the day around 7 am and they had 2 naps during the day (my first only slept 20 minutes, my 2nd slept between 1 or 2 hours each nap). By the time mine were 6 months old, they were going to bed around 8 or 9.

The first question you should ask yourself is what time do you WANT her to go to bed? If you don't pick her up until 6:30, you probably want to spend as much time with her as possible until bedtime.

Here is my suggestion, get ready for work and have it all done then wake her up so you can spend a good 30 minutes just playing and getting her ready for the day. Maybe you can feed her breakfast at the sitter's so you two have some time together there. When you pick her up, feed her dinner at the sitter's. You can have the sitter start dinner then when you arrive you can finish up and clean her up. Just a little time reconnecting before heading home for bath, stories, and bed. That way, you can get her to bed a little earlier but you won't feel "cheated" from time with her.

A little creativity can go a long way. As a single, working mom with two girls, I have used some unorthodox methods for making the limited time with my girls quality time.

Good luck!

S.

Could your sitter feed the baby at 6:00 PM, just before you pick her up? S. B.

My kids slept a lot but it seems she is not getting nearly as much sleep as many babies. She may not need more, different babies have different needs. But for reference, when he was 8 months, my son got up at 9am, napped from 11-1 & 4-6 then went to bed at 10pm - so he got 15 hours a day. My daughter was on an earlier schedule but it was still around 14-15 hours a day at that age. My youngest was at 16 hours of sleep (12 hours at night, 2 naps of 2 hours) until she was well over 1, she loves her sleep.
Even now, my kids go to bed between 7-8 to get up at 6:40 for school.

How old is your baby?

8-8:30 go down. If a newborn to 1 yr, maybe a little earlier like 7:30... Food, bedtime bath, then bed with soft music...worked for me.

I think that all kids are different as far as how much sleep they need. However, I do believe that most people put their kids to bed too late at night. You said "if we are lucky she is asleep by 9:30 or 10". In my opinion that is WAY too late for a six month old baby. At that age, both my girls went to bed at night at 6pm and woke up around 6-7. However, with your work schedule you will need to find bedtimes that work for you.

You said that you think that she isn't getting enough rest. Is she fussy? Showing signs of being tired? My youngest DD always took very short naps but slept great at night, so this is why she went to bed so early. She was always really ready to go to sleep at 6, sometimes earlier. Now she is 14 months old and she sleeps from 7-7 and takes 2 naps.

I just checked a book I have "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and the author says that 6 month old children need 14-15 hours of sleep every day. This is combined time at night and naps. The easiest way to adjust a baby's schedule is to just make their bedtime earlier a little each day until you find a time that works.

Good Luck!
A.

A.,
I can relate to you wanting your child to get enough sleep, and I totally understand that a working mom isn't going to put her child to bed any earlier then she has to, because you want time with her too. I'd say start dinner very soon after yo uget home - try to do it before 7:00 if you can. That way you can still have fun time together after dinner, and you can start bedtime stories and stuff by 8:30. I know you're probably wiped when you come home, but try your best to push through. You can crash as soon as she does. :-) Enjoy your little girl!

Hey!

It's hard to say, but that doesn't sound like quite enough sleep for this age. When my kids (now 3 & 5) were that age they were both going to sleep by 7:30. I know that's not great given your work schedule and you probably want / need to spend more wake time with her, but you might try sliding her bedtime up slowly a little, maybe to try to get her to sleep by 8:00 or 8:30? On the other hand, if she seems to be thriving, is happy, and is sleeping through the night, she's probably fine. If they are not getting enough sleep they are usually pretty adept at sharing that information through any variety of bad moods, screaming fits, and spitting out food!

D.

Hi A., our twin girls started going to bed around 7:30 at 4-5 months of age (they did wake up 2 times during the night to nurse until 6-7 months of age, and slept until 7ish. From what I've read, most babies at 6 months need to get to bed at 8 or so at the latest, and most sleep until around 6-7. Does sound like your baby needs a bit more sleep and I saw you have lots of suggestions as how to manage to help her. Best of luck! F.

If you are waking her up in the morning, she is not getting enough sleep. Start giving her the baby food at 7:30, followed by the bath and bottle. If you keep the same routine but just move it forward an hour, she will adapt to it quickly.

It is too late to keep your daughter up that late. I have been putting both of my kids down between 7 and 8 since they were infants. Last night I got lucky and my son (4 months) went down at 6:30! He sometimes wakes up at night to feed but mostly sleeps through the night. My almost 3 year old sleeps all night and wakes us up in the morning(7 am). She goes down around 8. Earlier in the winter when it get darker earilier.

My daughter only takes one 2 hour nap but my sone take 3 naps. Kids need around 14 hours(total) give or take based their age.

Have you tried reading Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby? It really helped me figure out how to get them to sleep more and work on any problems I might be having at the time.

I am a mother of four and bedtime has always been a challenge. Babies require more sleep than adults because thier cells are producing so rapidly. At her age she should (according to pediatricians) be getting atleast 10 hours of solid sleep at night and two half hour to hour naps during the day. I would suggest slowly back dinner up to seven in the evening and then follow directly after with bath and bottle. If you do it gradually she will adjust fine. It also gives you a longer period of "down time" to yourself before you fall asleep. My heart goes out to you, but it will all work out fine.

I used to do something like that but then I found it works much better for everyone, mostly my daughter, if we start the bath time/bed time process around 7:30 to 8pm, that way she is in bed no later than 8:30 and she sleeps through the night, plus it gives my husband and me time toghter to just chill and reconnect. During the day she still takes her 2 naps and is good to go at bedtime. Good luck

Every child is different. My 2 1/2 yo goes to bed around 10pm...sometimes 9pm if she is very tired. But she sleeps about 12 hours. She doesn't get up until 10am. (She takes no naps.)

I can't help on how to get them to sleep earlier, but maybe start with doing it 15 minutes earlier until she gets used to that and then another 15 minutes until it's easier to get her up or she wakes up on her own.

What time do you get her ready to go to the sitters?
P. S

When you say two short naps are they an hour or more? How much does she eat for dinner becasue some babies do not go to sleep becasue they are not full. She might just not a sleeping baby, ask your doctor's head nurse about it and see what they say. When she sleeps she very rest.

Child care provider and a mother of 3

I'd suggest starting her night time routine earlier in order to get her to bed earlier. I'm sure that will be tough since you don't pick her up until 6:30. Can she eat her baby food at the sitter's house before you pick her up closer to dinner time (5:30 or 6:00). Then you could bathe here around 7:30 and give her a bottle by 8:30. If you start backing up her routine a little at a time, it will most likely work. My daughter is 9 months old and at your daugther's age she was waking up around 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. on her own, taking two naps during the day, eating solids at breakfast and dinner time, breastfed or bottle by 8:30 and she was always ready for bed immediately or by 9:00. Every child is different, but if she is going to bed late and you need to wake her up in the morning, she probably needs more sleep. Best of luck! I'm sure it is hard to juggle so much in the evenings.

Hi A.-

When my baby was 6 months he took two naps during the day- 1.5-2 hours each and he slept from around 7:30pm to 6:45/7 am. Babies 6-12 months old need approx. 10-12 hours of nighttime sleep. Good for you for having a bedtime routine! This should help you if you just start shifting that same routine earlier.

C.

my daughter (now 2) was always at the very bottom of the sleep requirement charts for her age and her sleep schedule at that age was: night 7pm-6:00am, naps 8:30-9:30, 11:30-12:30 pm, 3-3:30pm. That is a total of 13.5 hours. I would say your little one needs to be getting at least that much. Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child by Weissbluth helped us a lot with sleep--it will be my bible with the next child!

All kids are different. My 2 1/2 year old fights sleep big time. After her bath, we try to start getting her to sleep around 8 or 8:30, but it is always at least 9:30 before she goes to sleep. Sometimes, it is after 10:00. She sleeps all night most of the time, but sometimes does get up and come to our bed, but goes right back to sleep. Usually, she gets up around 7 am and is ALWAYS in a great mood. She naps at daycare from 12-2, but on weekends, it is usually more like 3-5 b/c she fights it so much. By the time she takes a nap on the weekends, it is usually just b/c she cannot keep her eyes open any longer. I do work until 5:30, though and we don't even get home until 6:30 and then have to start dinner, then bath, etc. Therefore, a 7 pm bedtime would never work for us or her. It is usually 8 pm before I can even get her in the bathtub. If your daughter isn't cranky or sleepy, I wouldn't worry about it b/c again, all kids are different. Trust your instincts-they are better than any book could ever be.

You dont say how old she is but all kids are different , and if she's not grumpy ,cranky, fussy all day then she's prob ok. Some people need more sleep than others. Just follow her cues not a clock and you'll find that she has her own schedule anyway. If she is over tired she will be harder to get to sleep.