bedtime routines and going back to work

[bigmacandhappymeal]

Hi all
My LO is 5.5 months and basically dictated to us her bedtime when she was about 3 months old. I learnt quite quickly that if she wasn't in bed by 6.30 latest then all hell would break loose! This is great at the moment as it means that, for the most part, I get an evening with my OH.

But... I'm due back to work in September and just wondering about how I best go about shifting this routine as it will be impossible for me to get her into bed before 7 earliest by the time I've got us home, bathed etc. She tends to wake up at about 6 - 6.30 am and although we haven't got naps sorted, she does have them. Wake up time would probably have to be the same when I go back to work.

What has your experiece been? All suggestions gratefully received

We had to shift bedtime on by an hour at a similar age, we did it little by little pushing it later by 15 minutes at a time until it was when we wanted it. We did have to shift and lengthen the afternoon nap a little bit too for it to work though. Good luck!

I would ditch the bath for a while. Home, supper and bed as soon as possible after 6.30. Shorten the routine as much as possible. Especially as for the first bit she'll be completely exhausted when she gets home.

thanks for this