Does a slightly earlier bed time help?

[jb1305uk]

Hi, my baby is 7 months old and is sleeping much better after we started weaning. DC has never really been settled with their milk and very rarely took the recommended amount per day. We started weaning a week before DC turned 6 months and they are loving food, up to 3 meals per day already. We are still getting in 20oz+ of milk per day and DC has moved up a centile on the weight chart (DC has always been at the lower end). HV said to keep going as we are as some babies just seem to take better to food than milk.

My question is to do with sleep. DC goes to bed at 8 and for the last few weeks goes through to 5, sometimes 6. This is a big improvement. I'm wondering how we push the 5am wake slightly later. Will moving bedtime to 7 help or should we wait it out and see if it naturally extends?

If DC wakes before 6, we offer milk and settle them back to sleep. I then wake them at 7.30 for the day. If DC wakes after 6, I get them up for the day.

DC sleeping for 9-10 hours is great and they are so much happier, I don't want to mess things about too much incase it brings earlier wake ups!

[FATEdestiny]

I wouldn't move bedtime earlier in your situation. If baby needs more sleep then increasing daytime sleep would be better.

Once sleeping though, 11h per night is average (with a 10-12h range) so 8pm is ideal when aiming for a 7am wake up.

Have you trialled a dream feed? A wake up, feed and resettle when you go to bed might reset her night sleep, helping with mornibg wake up time.

[jb1305uk]

Hi, thanks for replying. We have tried dream feeding but we found that led to more wake ups and baby was very unsettled, it was as if we'd disturbed their main stretch of sleep.

DC is a bit of a cat-napper, apart from their morning nap around 9.30 when they usually sleep until around 11.30/12. I try to get in regular naps but they tend to be 30 mins long. Some days they don't have a final cat nap at around 5 and stay up til bed time, DC is pretty content though.

I think I will stick to the 8pm bed time and see how things go, I don't want to rock the boat as we are getting a decent block of sleep ourselves and things are so much easier.

[FATEdestiny]

I would start limiting that morning nap in order to lengthen the afternoon nap.

Say 9.30 and wake at 11am. Then try for the next nap 2 or 3 hours from waking - so between 1pm and 2pm (depending on what suits the child best).

[jb1305uk]

Thanks. Will give that a go and see how we get on.