Is 6pm too early for bedtime?

[Sheen4272]

My dd is 23 weeks and for about the past 6 weeks has started getting ratty about 5pm (sometimes earlier). The only thing that placates her is the bedtime routine (bath, bottle & bed by 6.15pm). She goes straight to sleep after and is now sleeping until about 2am for a feed - after this she wants to get up about 5.30 - 6am!! Is this a normal bedtime for this age? Is there anyway to delay it so she's not up so early in the morning? Grateful for some advice.

Just be careful as the clocks go back in 3 weeks!!!!! I should try to put it back as late as possible.

My ds is always in bed by 7pm (he's 18 months), usually if he's had a busy day or is under the weather he flakes out before 6.30. He too gets up early - 5.30-6.30am, we tried moving his bedtime back but it made absolutely no difference whatsoever. I also found that come 12 months he dropped his afternoon nap, which meant he was certainly ready for bed by 6.30.

The only consolation for us is that as he gets up that early we he heads back to bed at 9 for a wee sneaky hour

Sorry no real advice, I think some babies, like people are early to bed and early to rise.

Yup, 6 o clock is bedtime for both my ds's. We head up at 6 and ds2 (10 months) is in bed by half past and ds1 (4 years) by about 7 after stories and cuddles etc. trying to push ds1s bedtime back a bit but he's happy with it.

IME with my 3 it makes no difference how late you put them to bed they still get up at the crack of dawn. They out grow this as they get older. (Then, as they enter adolescence they find it impossible to wake up before midday).

If they are overtired by the time you put them to bed, they tend to be unsettled, grumpy, and stll wake up at 5.30am.

^ - 6.30 is a good bedtime for as long as possible - till they are about 4 IMO.

If you have small children you just get used to getting up at 5am!

My DD used to get up between 5-5:30am, tried everything to get her to wake later but nothing seemed to work. She used to sleep for about 2 hours from about 10.30am-12.30pm and then to bed at 7pm, clearly very knackered.
What I have noticed over the past couple of months, her sleep has got shorter and is later, so about an hour at 12.30 (After lunch). She is so much more happier in the evenings and goes to bed NOT absolutely knckered, she now rises between 6.30-7am.
For my DD, if she goes to bed exhausted, she wakes earlier than if she goes to bed tired. If that makes sense.

Getting up at dawn really isn't compulsory with small children! IMO a 6.30 bedtime is way too early if you don't like early rising.

DD is two and has always been in bed by 7pm. She wakes at about 7am as she loves her sleep. WRT the clocks changing, it's never been a major trauma for us. Mind you, last year my sister had her overnight for the change - he he he!

If he's ready at 6 then go at 6. IME he'll change his mind about what he wants about 23,653,628.4 times between now and a year old anyway.

trouble is with some children later bed doesn't = later rising. My DS was up between 5.30am - 6.30 am no matter WHAT and yes, we tried everything. We did put him to bed for 6pm for ages, because he was ready for bed then; and because it got him his 12 hours of kip, near enough.

my dd is exectly the same age and has same routine! i find she will go back to sleep if it's dark enough but only sometimes. according to the books i've read, our dc are sleeping very well for this stage.

Another vote for the later to bed doesn't = later riser. Ds is awake by 6am whether he went down at 5pm or 7pm (or later). If they are tired put them to bed IMO.

DS is 13 now and has only just stopped the early rising since he started secondary. If he went to bed late he still got up at 5.30, so found it really hard to catch up on lost sleep.

Thanks for all your comments, seems to be quite common. Will have to watch out for the clocks going back though!

going to bed later will make them sleep later...children can only sleep so long just like adults. A change in routine will not work straight away though, it'll take about 2 weeks of doing it solidly. IMO if you put you child to bed at 6pm, they are not going to sleep beyond 5.30 am as they don't need more sleep.

Try it for a couple of weeks of shorter but 2 naps, one at about 4pm and then bed at 7.30 and I expect he will then sleep till 7 or later.

DD2 gets up between 4 and 5am regardless of the time that we put her to bed unfortunately, so she is generally in bed by 5.30pm and that at least gives us a couple of hours with dd1 on her own. Dd1 used to go to bed at 6pm at 23 weeks and would sleep until 8am, they are all different.

myn ds at that age went to bed at 5 just a time he chose 5-5 i preferred ahving evening to myself than the morning anyway

even now at 3.6 his knopwn to put himself to bed at 5 if he comes through to my room will sleep in untilm 6-7 if in his own room always 4-5 wake upregardless of what time he has gone to bed

Those of you whose kids are waking up really early regardless of how late you put them to bed, just interested, have you ruled out things like curtains not thick enough to keep light out or noises from milkmen etc wakin them up regularly? Heating coming on at that time? etc?

i think 23 weeks is too young to be in bed at 6.00 pm.
what time is she actually asleep?

dd2 is 6mths and I have found that giving regular timed naps has helped her. She used to cat nap for really short periods but never appeared well rested after. Now she is up at 7am nap for 45 mins around 9ish then back up to sleep at 1215-1230ish for 21/4hrs. Took leaving her to get herself back to sleep for a few weeks to see the difference. She still wakes at about 3am for a cuddle/pain relief for teething but sleeps til 7 then. Because she has had quality naps she can last until bottle (recently, was boob) at 630 and sleep at 7pm.

Slarty where should they be at that time? interested.

Honestly, some kids just do wake up early. I had all this from people when DS was in his waking-up-at-4am phase - as if you wouldn't have considered darker curtains if you were being woken at that time of morning regularly!

You do anything, however crazy, to try and stop the madness. Nothing seemed to help us. Now he wakes between 5.30 and 6.30 and we're coping. Honestly though, you don't go round complaining about being woken at the crack of dawn without having considered obvious stuff, I promise you.

Likewise, some babies need an early bed. By 6pm at 23 weeks DS was demented with tiredness. Yes, we'd tried every fucking suggestion possible with his naps - he wouldn't sleep enough full stop so he was shattered. Keeping him up later for our own benefit was cruelty and didn't make an iota of difference. That's a lie actually, it made things worse, we were all more miserable and more tired.

It'll pass Sheen

well, i spose 23 weeks is really 4 and a half months isnt it?.
nearer 7, but if it suits then fine

but i had thought that noone else had noticed she said 23 weeks cos everyone seemed to be talking about older dc

My Ds used to have the screaming abdabs at this time when he was a tinytot! Used to have to walk him round the block to calm him down not nice in winter. But then we got a good routine going and stuck to it - still do.

Go up at 6 and has a bath, sitting in bedroom with milk and bedtime story by 6.15 (doesn't like having a bath - in and out!), then in bed by 6.30 usually asleep by 7pm.

He's three now and it still works. I don't think bedtime at 6pm is too early as long as you are prepared to get up at 6am - works for me cos I need him up and ready to leave the house at 7am on the days I work.

IAteDavinaForDinner, I'm sorry, but some people DO just talk about their LO waking up far too early without considering obvious stuff. My sister is one, there is a big gap at the top of her LO's curtains where her DH put them up wrong and never bothered fixing it. She was having a bad time with her DS waking up really early in the summer and I'm thinking to myself "But....the gap....the gap.....".