10 month old 10pm bedtime!!

[hilbil21]

DS is ten months on Friday and he will not go to sleep before 10pm! I suppose we are lucky because once he's asleep he will sleep right through... But it would still be nice to get a few hours in the evening to get housework etc done!

We have tried longer naps, shorter naps, no naps....

Does anyone have any experience/tips or is it something we will just have to accept??

What is his daily routine? At that age we struggled to keep DS awake after 5.30.

His day was up at 6.30/7, nap 9.30-10.15, second nap 12.30-3 then come 5.30 he would be shattered again so we ploughed through bathtime, bowl of porridge, bottle and sleep for 6.

Is he walking yet? If not you'll probably find he sleeps more once he starts.

Try moving his whole routine back an hour, just like you would when the clocks change.

Start by waking him an hour earlier in the morning, then put him down for his first nap an hour earlier etc.

He's up at about 8, breakfast, bottle about an hour later. Lunch about 12/12.30, nap about 2.... No set length of time for nap as we have been trying all different variations. Bottle normally some time in afternoon, dinner at 5.30. Gets sleepy from then on but point blank refuses to sleep until 10! I would love him to go to bed at 5.30! Lol.

He's not walking yet, crawling very fast and pulling himself up, cruising along furniture etc

Could you try a nap at 10, cut it to 45 mins ( a sleep cycle length so he should wake happily), then 1pm nap with the hope he does a couple of hours. Early tea then out for a long walk in the fresh air. Warm bath and some supper once you get home, then a bedtime story in his room with dim lighting and a lullaby/mobile?

Is he easy to get down for a nap?

He is probably overtired as he isnt really sleeping much in yhe day.

I would try waking him up at 7am, back to bed by 9.30am/10am, no more than an hour. Then another nap say 2ish, bedtime by 8pm.

Thanks all will try all suggestions xxx

It's quite early to be down to one nap, it's usually after a year.

I don't think you'll be able to do it all at once, I'd suggest a v calming bedtime ritual, with bath, massage if calming etc and aim for 15 mins earlier every few days.

Also wake at 7. Painful I know!

I have to warn you I had this exact problem and she didn't grow out of it until she was 1.5 years old! There was something 'special' about 10:00! Now she happily goes to bed around 8:30pm.

I tried lots of things but in the end she grew out of it.

I have this problem with my 12 month old. He does nap for a couple of hours in the day, but often eg 11-1 and is dog tired by 7 but will have 45 mins then but then be wide awake.

I'm hoping he'll grow out of it! He has to have his long nap finished by 2ish in the day as we have a school run to do but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to get him down in the evening.

I'm glad it's not just me lol x

DD was and still is the same. No matter what I ever did her natural body clock meant that she went to sleep later than I would have liked. I used to envy parents of children who fell asleep by 7pm. The upside was that we never got woken up ridiculously early. She would sleep until after 8.

She is 15 now and a night owl. I have to nag and nag her to go to bed, and resort to switching the router off at night during the week.

Wake him up at 6! Breakfast then bottle at 8 and Nap if he wants one. Lunch at 11-11.30, bottle at 12-1pm and nap if he wants one for no more than 90 minutes. Snack at 3, dinner at 5, bath at 6-6.30 and bottle and bed around 7-7.30. Do a really good bedtime routine-bath, pyjamas, bottle and in the cot. If he's not sleepy sit next to the cot but don't pick him up and say 'shhh' and stroke/pat his back. If he gets more upset or stands up, sing in a quiet voice until he lays back down. When he's calm and lying down, just change to humming very quietly. This is what I do and my 12 month old sleeps great. I keep the room really dark and sneak out when she's asleep. Also I feed her bedtime bottle over the side of the cot (my hand through the cot side sitting on the floor) so no transfer. She usually falls asleep on the bottle.

I wouldn't wake him early! That's just horrid for you.

8am wake.
10.30am -11.30nap
2-4pm nap
8-8.30pm bed

That way you all get up a nice time, bed reasonable time, two naps a day. Better bedtime as can all eat together in the evening also

Gonna try some suggestions over next few days... Fingers crossed! Xx