Baby bed time

[Fisherwomen]

How soon before bed time can a 3 month old baby nap? The guidance always says leave it 3hrs otherwise they won't sleep but my baby gets sooooo cranky between about 5-8pm (currently attempting bed time at 7.30-8pm). Am I getting my timings wrong?

We get up at about 8am if that's any use.

Help!

At 3 months I wouldn’t be pushing much of a routine, just let them sleep whenever they want. They’re too little for scheduling still.

I agree with Buffalo. Let your baby lead.

I would have said you should be aiming for bedtime between 6 and 7 at that age.

My 17 week old has her last nap roughly 4.30-5.30, then into the bath at 7 pm for a 7.30-8 pm sleep. This works for us.

Ok, thanks - when would you start trying to have a bed time?

Oh thanks @Hawse

7 months here and we still let her decide. Am sure she'll have a becomee when she goes to school

When they are weaned.

At the moment your baby is still working out day and night.

However remember some babies/toddlers readily fall into a pattern while others don't for a while.

Ok interesting. He does know day and night now- once he goes to bed he sleeps soundly through and wakes once or twice to feed but immediately goes back to sleep. It's just that there are always a couple of hours early evening when he gets cranky and inconsolable. I guess it tiredness from the day but it's right after he's already napped and too early to go to bed!

I'm currently sitting in the nursery with my 9 month old DS while he goes to sleep. His last nap finished at 4.50 so just over 2 hours ago!

I think 'awake times' are different for different babies. I started doing a bedtime routine at around 3 months but by 'routine' we just did the same thing every night but didn't always include a bath-the timing of bedtime has flexed depending on how tired he is.

I look back now and wish I hadn't got so hung up on what he 'should' have been doing for a full days routine and instead just based the day on what signals he was giving off and the time he woke up.

I recommend Huckleberry app as a good one which is flexible

Oh and my DS sounds very similar to yours. We called 5-7 the 'witching hours' as he was miserable!

8pm seems quite late for bedtime. Can you love it forward to 7and start winding down at 6?

Oh the witching hours! Not much you can do about them unfortunately, DS still has them at 2 years old

As for bedtime, just follow babies lead

Chuck the guidance in the bin and just do what works for your baby. No two babies are the same, despite what some 'experts' would try to have you believe. At 3 months my DD also had the witching hours where she would cluster feed from about 5pm until I went to bed around 8, leaving her with daddy and a bottle. She didn't really have a bedtime, just whenever he could manage to get her in the cot without her waking up - then it was anyone's guess when she'd be awake again for more boob.

DS has a rough bed time now at 10 months. But it's about 9 because that works for all of us. He's just about to have a bath and then he'll have a bottle and a cuddle and be asleep for about 9. That means for him that he won't wake again until 7 so everyone gets a decent sleep.

@JimandPam that feels a bit early to me, as we don't tend to get up till quite late (8am ish) so we wouldnt want him to start waking up at 6am.

@Mylittlesandwich when does your baby nap until please?

My 5 month old and 11 month old wake from their naps at around 4/4.30, both are ready for their beds by 6.30/7pm and always have been. Babies don't read the manuals so I am led by their cues. You might have to adjust your morning waking time for a while though.

Because he's a bit older he can stay awake longer between naps so he wakes about 5/5:30pm

Thanks @Mylittlesandwich

My baby is 5months old and I try not to let her nap beyond 5.30pm. However she's a pretty crap napper so between then and bed time she is WILD.

I've always found that if my baby wakes up grizzly from a nap, then he's still tired and needs to go back to sleep.

I follow his lead (he's 8.5 months). Last night he went to bed at 5pm and missed dinner because he was too tired. He slept through until 6.30am (normal wake time for us) so he obviously needed it.

I've found if he's going through a growth spurt, he wants more sleep and then will revert to his normal timetable.

Wake - 6.30am
Nap - 8.30 or 9 until 10 or 11
Nap - 1.30 or 2.30 (depends on when woke from nap 1) until 3-4

If naps happen earlier in the day he will need another nap around 5pm which is normally just 45mins.

Bedtime at 6-7pm

Sometimes he might join the 5pm nap and sleep through like last night.

I hope that helps.

Every baby is different. DS is do different with sleep to his big sister.