Late bedtime for infant?

Does anyone's infant have a really late bedtime? How late is it? Supposedly by 4 months their bedtimes move earlier...but I dunno.

My DH, Mom and I are in disagreement...since I try to put Riley down around 6 or 7, she ends up waking up constantly until she's finally asleep for good around 10:30pm. They feel her bedtime must be 10:30 but I think that's nuts. Then what's all that time between 6-10pm? Cat naps? Makes no sense to me...

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

my DD is only 7 weeks but she wont finally fall asleep for the nite until around 11-1130 (usually)


we can put her down at 9 or 10 and shell wake up a few times and cry until we calm her (with a paci/rocking)


i cant wait for the days when she goes down at like 7! my husband and i never see eachother!!

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Ann usually goes down for the night anywhere between 8-10:30PM (but she's usually asleep by 8:30 on my chest then I transfer her to the PNP).

Maybe I'm a bad mommy but I don't get home until 7PM and there's no way I'm not seeing her AT ALL awake during the week.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Kaydyn always went to bed late. Even as an infant she went to bed around 10pm. She always slept later in the morning too. Once she started STTN she went to bed around 10pm and would sleep until 11am. My DH loved it b/c he was laid off from work right when she started and he got to sleep in in the mornings too.

Even now at 21 months she goes to bed around 9:30pm and we wake her up at 7:30am weekdays and she will sleep until 8:30/9 on the weekends.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

AJ has ALWAYS been a late sleeper. She used to go to bed around 10-10:30. Which meant we all went to bed.

I hear how kids go to bed at 6&7 and it honestly amazes me

AJ took a NAP at 7pm last night hahaha

Even at 1yr she still goes to bed 'late' at 9pm or even later. Friday she was up until 11pm. That was after we put her down 3times. Thankfully she's a good sleeper, once she's truly asleep she's down for the night.

For me that early stuff just DOESNT happen. We tried and tried. You can't COI too young so we didnt try that and by the time she was old enough it was already a routine. Good thing is it seems to be getting better. Some nights she's down by 8pm! Mostly I'd say 9pm tho.

*shrug*

With me working in the City those first 8months, I liked this just fine. I sometimes didnt get home until 8pm. Those few nights she'd sleep straight through the ride home and the trip up to her room devasted me. Its like she didnt see me all day.

Now we're all home as a family at the same time (630pm at the latest) Its nice.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Our Reilly goes to bed usually between 10-11 pm. The last few nights we got him down at 9pm but boy did we pay for it! He woke up throughout the night so much that I can't go into work today b/c I'm soooooooooooooo sleepy (he is at the sitter's house.)

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

If they get enough sleep, who decides what a "late" bedtime is? They don't have to be up for work or school, and it's 7pm somewhere....

A good bedtime is whatever works for your family. When DC were newborns, we had them up until 10pm, because that worked out best for us. Now that DS is in school, he goes to bed around 8:30.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

the earliest DS has ever went to sleep for teh night was 8:30pm. Usually he will go to bed between 9 & 10 pm.

DS will never have a 7pm bedtime because we don't get home until 6:30pm.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

My kids go to bed at 6:45 because that is what time they are ready. I also like it because most nights-my DH and i hav ethe whole night to hang out. They wake between 7:45-8:30. Of course if we have something going on or they took late naps I put them down later. The other night we took them to dinner so I gave them late naps and put them down at 9:30

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Our DD goes to bed between 7 and 7:30.

It just works for her and by then she's usually SUPER cranky and seems like she wants to go to bed

I think you have to do whatever works for your family....I'm home and DH is home by 5/5:15 so we both get some time w/her

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Up until she was 8 weeks, DD wouldn't go down for the night until 10 or 11. She'd fall asleep in our arms, or in her bouncy seat, but if we put her in her crib too early, she'd wake up.

Now, at 11 weeks, we've been getting away with 8:30 or so for the past 2 nights. I'm hoping that's a new trend.

I'd love to be able to put her down for the night between 6:30 & 7, but she's just not ready for that yet.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

I think it's just what your baby needs to do...
Our DD is 4 months and she is done for the day at like 6 (like a total crankster)and we put her down at 630. She sleeps until about 4am and then again until maybe 630 or 7. I dont know if we are doing the right thing either but it is what seems to work.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

It works differently for different families/babies. My DD is 11 months and has never gone to bed before 8. It's impossible. She's not ready, and I don't get home from work until close to 7. With the time change, I have been able to get her to bed somewhere between 8:15 and 9:15. (the earlier times are pretty much limited to the weekends when she has had a full day) Before the time change, she was going to bed between 9:30 and 10, and even that was a struggle some nights because she still had some pep left in her. DD also takes a late nap. She often wakes up from her last nap around 6.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

By 6 weeks old Ryan always had a bath at 7:00 and nursed to sleep by 7:20ish.

But, he didn't STTN until we transitioned him into his crib at 7 months old.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Sean always had a late bedtime - but we did that on purpose so we are able to spend time w/ him during the week. -

He goes to sleep somewhere between 9 and 10 - On most nights, it's about 9:30 -

I get home at 6, and DH at 7 - If he had a 7:30 or 8:00 bedtime we'd never see the kid !!

I think bedtime is what works for your family -

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

My DC go to sleep around 7. They used to go bed later when they were really small, but we started with the earlier bedtime when they were around 5 months or so. This allowed us to eat dinner in peace, and have some time to ourselves.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

My Dd is 11 mths and goes to bed pretty late, around 10pm. I give her her 3rd and last bottle around 8-9pm. It works for us b/c I like to wake up later, I am not an early bird. We are probably creating a bad habit but I am not worried about it.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

This is our schedule:
7pm - bottle, change, PJs, sleep by 7:30/7:45ish

then we gently nudge him awake to eat at 11, right before we go to bed. We change him andh he takes a small bottle (5oz) in about 10 minutes. Then he's out for the night with no interruptions.

we've tried skipping the 11pm feed, increasing the 7pm feed, making the 7pm feed later, etc. If we differ from the usual schedule, he wakes up at 4am screaming to eat.

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

DC since Birth always went to bed around 9 or later... Whatever works

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Thanks everyone. It just seems so bizarre to me. She has been getting majorly cranky in the typical hour- 4-6pm ish. So you'd think she'd need to go to bed by 6...but no, it still doesn't work, she wakes up a half hour later. Hey, if 10pm is her bedtime, great! But she keeps needing catnap after catnap...so I honestly have no idea when I should be doing her bedtime routine! She really only seems to be sleeping in little half hour increments for the whole day until 10pm. I just can't figure this kid out!

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

em will nap on my way home from work - at 5:00'ish and then will typically stay awake until 9:30'ish...(it always ensures that she sees daddy - since he's at work until 9).

she goes down for the count by 10:00'ish (normally) and will sleep until we dream feed her around midnight or 1 and then she'll stay asleep until 7 or 8 (if she's on her belly).

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

Whatever works for you. You can always make her bedtime earlier and earlier as she gets older.

When DS was a few weeks old, we watched his natural schedule. His longest sleep span started around 8ish and instead of waking after 3 hours to eat, he woke after 5. Eventually that 5 turned into 6, 7 etc... That's how we decided his bedtime. After he stared sleeping mostly through the night then we stared manipulating his schedule if we needed.
Good luck

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

DS for the first month slept between 8:30 and 10:30 after the first month It got a little better. By 3 months he was going down about 8pm by 5 months he was down between 6 and 7pm. Now he's 10 months on Thursday and hes going down at 6 pm

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

DS is 9 weeks old & goes to sleep anywhere from 9-10PM....This seems to be what works for him best. DH works late,, until about 7:30, so I like DS to spend some time with him when he gets home...Even though DS goes to bed later, he sleeps 8-9 hours

Re: Late bedtime for infant?

DD goes to bed 10:30-11.
She cat naps at all different hours in the PM and wakes for one last bottle.
We put her in after that bottle and she talks herself to sleep! LOL