We cannot be the only ones who...

[Madonna1987]

.... Have our DD in bed for the night ... Already!?
She has never been a napper, and genetally goes to be bed between 6-7 - but tonight it was 530! This isnt the first time. We have a bedtime routine in place and try to drag out bathtime etc if she is happy enough, but she was so exhausted after little napping today it seemed criel to make her just wait it put until 6! (And pointless) a few people have commented though that its better they go down later (ie 7) but often this is not realistic!
She wakes anywhere between 6-730 and going to bed at 730 or whatever makes no differenece to thos. So my Q is ... Is it that bad if shes in bed at 6!? I think not , but others reactions sometimes suggest as much...!

How old is she? DS went to bed at 5.45pm for months and months, until he was at least a year old, he's now 20mo and is pretty much always in bed for 6.30. He doesn't always settle straight away, but usually wakes around 6.30am, so that suits me fine. Just do what suits your family, it's no one else's business!

Anything after 6 if they look tired, they usually sleep through til 6/7 so can't be too early!

My son is 4 and goes to bed between 8 and 9.

He sometimes goes at 7 and watches a film in bed. It depends if he fancies it though

If she's happily sleeping through with a comparatively early bedtime, what's not to like?

A friends dd used to be in bed by half 5 and would sleep through until 8/9 the next say. She this until she was 3, then her bedtime got later and her mornings earlier. She does 8-6 now aged 6. Some children just need more sleep.

I have a 22 month old and a 5 month old. They both feel that napping during the day is for whimps. By 5 o clock I've had enough so they're always in bed by 6, I have been known to put them in bed at half 5 if it's been a particularly bad day! The toddler normally sleeps until 7.30 am and the baby normally wakes once and gets up around 6.30 am. It sounds great but the toddler woke up to 5 times a night until she was a year old, luckily the baby is easier than her sister was!!

How old is she? Both my DS's have been to bed as early as 6pm and slept through til 7:30am. DS1 stopped needing such an early bedtime as he got less over tired and could deal with the tiredness better around age 3-4. DS2 is just 2 and still goes to bed at 6:30 and sleeps through til 7:30ish.

I say do whatever works best for your family. Most children need a lot of sleep, the more the better as far as I can see. As long as she's happy with it then it's fine.

Sorry, she is 8 months! Since born we have tried a later bedtime but always results in an earlier rising! Not good! She does sleep through at times, or she wakes and talks to herself for 5 mins then goes back off herself so its not a problem. I guess it isnt abnormal then folks! Thanks for replying :)
Ps there are days I secretly love that she goes to bed at 6ish. Sod being run off my feet all day, then all night too!

( but i know ultimately its different strokes for different folks) my DD doesnt nap much so come 6 its been a loooong day for us all!! If you have a baba napping loads in day i guess your evenings arent so sacred!?

If my 2.2 year old doesn't nap, he's in bed by 5pm and wakes at 6am at the earliest the next day - I LOVE the early nights! Today he had a 3 hour nap so has just gone down now, but is chatting away in bed and probably will do for a bit.

When it comes to sleep, if you're lucky to have a child that does it a lot, then you just enjoy every second of it!

Mine are three and one and are in the bath at 6 asleep for 6.30/40. One year old is a bit hit and miss with night wake ups but both get up between 6.30-7.30. A later bedtime makes no difference to wake up times. Enjoy more of an evening I say!

My 12mo rarely naps, and doesn't sleep at night. Treasure it OP. I loved that dd. (Dc1) slept 11-5 from. 2 days old and at 5 days old went 8-6. I thought I had it sussed. then I had ds1 and ds2. And I learnt it was absolutely nothing to do with me and everything to do with her. Dd (now 9) still needs more than ds1 (7).

Wow IsThatTrue... Is that really true regarding your DDs sleeping!? (Sorry for the silly pun, couldnt help self) wow you are lucky! Interesting she still needs more now. Makes sense. I wasnt a bug sleeper and I am not now, my younger bro was and still is- so i guess it is to do with each individual! My DD will wake in night and chatter to self then goes back off. But she does this regardless of when she goes to bed! I think she just doesnt need much sleep. Never has. I remember being utterly perplexed at friends newborns napping for hours will DD just catnapped for 20 mins here and there ( and often bawled just before she did) saying that she was sleeping through from 10 weeks 6-6 some nights! Then went funny at 4 months waking at night, but generally she has never been a dreadful night waker. So i guess we all have to count our blessings wree the sleeping is concerned! Take good with bad :)

Overreactionoftheweek: 5-630! Wow you lucky too :)

My dd nine months, is generally in bed by 6:15. She doesn't sleep through ever though (wakes every two hours) but that's because she loses her dummy and can't find one of the twenty it in her cot, so we pop it. In and she's off again. Any later and she's screaming in tiredness, its not worth it.

My 4 year old is in bed at 7pm (stories then asleep by 7:20) and my 7 month old is in bed at 6:45pm (sometimes 6:30). We struggle to eek him out until then (the last hour is a bit fractious) and while he wakes several times for milk during the night, he would sleep until 10am if we left him to his own devices (we wake him about 8:30 most days).

I don't think it's too early at all. When I go back to work, DH will have to start getting DS2 up at 6:45am, I reckon when that happens he'll probably (be in shock and) end up with a 6pm (or earlier) bedtime as he seems to want a long sleep (albeit punctuated these days by milk feeds - he was sleeping so much better at 3 months than he is now, but he's still a far better sleeper than DS1 was at this age so I don't complain :-D (well, I try not to...)

DS3 would go to bed at 5.30 regularly when he was about a year old. He would sleep 5.30 until about 7 or 8am and still nap during the day. He rarely saw DH for more than a few minutes in the week, LOL

Ratbagcatbag get the rabbit teddy / soother blanket that has velcro arms you attach dummies to. They are on amazon, called sleeptights i think. Best buy we did!! Dd hold it and brushes soft material over her face whilst suckling her dummy attached to it... Its easier for them to find than a single dummy, plus harder for thwm to chuck out of cot! I was recommended it off of people on netmums :)

Also DS has to get up really early when I'm at work, so an early bedtime suits us all. I would far rather have some evening downtime than a later wake up time in the morning, as long as it's after 6.30am I can cope. The phase of waking at 5am we had last summer was somewhat harder to cope with!

Teacher123 im the same! 6 is fine...5 is a hell no!

I think that is fine. My ds is 3.5 amd naps for between 1-2 hours a day still and goes to bed at 6.30. At 8 months he would nap twice and be in bed for 6.

DS is 5, and goes up at 7. He gets up at 6am regardless of when he goes to bed, so he needs the sleep.

Murderofgoths ... Sorry!? I know it is a pretty high class prob regarding sleep!

Sorry have had a week of DS refusing any sleep, my post wasn't a dig at you! If you could send a little of your magic over my way though...