Baby bedtime-when to work towards a set bedtime

[Haaboo]

I’ve read a lot about approximate bedtimes by age, and bedtime routines, and I’m fairly comfortable we (DS nearly 4 months) achieve bedtime quite well (between 6pm and 7.30pm, with half hour of cuddles and nursery rhymes, a bottle and the going to bed lighting!)

but up till now I’ve waited for his tired cues, which is why the actual time is very variable. Because I wait for him to be ready, bedtime is a doddle. He’s super accommodating and as long as I’ve made the right call, we won’t hear another peep until 6am (yes I know I’m lucky!!)

So my question, after all that waffle, is do I rock the boat and work towards a set bedtime? Is he still too small? I don’t want to ruin the calm bedtimes we have, because daytime naps are much more like going to war, so I know how much he could complain if he’s not ready for bed.

what’s your experience with set bedtime for the little ones??

You can achieve a set bed time by just waking from the last nap at a set time - for example always being up from the last nap by 4.30 to be in bed at 7, or whatever the normal wake time is.

I always worked on the basis of wake windows so bedtime varied depending on the time and length of the last nap - could be between 5.30 and 7.30. This was until we went down to one nap a day at about 16 months when finally the routine was more set and we now aim for 7pm each night

If it's working for you now which it sounds like it is I wouldn't change anything. It tends to happen by itself anyway but we have never had an exact time. She started nursery recently and we are now aiming for 7:30 but before that it could be a bit later.

Mine has had a set bedtime since he was a few weeks old. I adjusted nap timings as he got older to be sure the wake windows are appropriate and always woke him at 7am to start the day no matter what since I wanted to aim for a 7-7 routine.

I love the idea of wake windows and waking up at from last naps at set times but he is a monster 👿. He’s capable of not taking any proper naps all day (against my very best efforts) or indeed deciding to be asleep against all the odds and despite all my attempts to stimulate. Nap times are not the dream that bedtime is!!

Ok I think perhaps until we’ve got daytime sorted, it sounds like I should leave bedtime alone!!

I would keep things as they are, it sounds like evenings are brilliant for you guys!

I agree with that and did much the same. I was never bothered about a set bedtime.