Bed times

[Redwood]

Hi, what time do your baies go to sleep? My 8 month old goes to sleep at 7.30 and wakes about 6am but I wondered what you've all done as they get older.

Ds is so desperate for bed that he is nearly always asleep by 6p.m. - and we don't go to him until 8a.m. (although he can be awake for a couple of hours before that).

We promised that we never would do the waiting up for Daddy thing - after all, in our case, DP has more control over when he can get home than DS has over when he's tired!

Rainbow mY three boys have exactly the same routine - nice for our ds 1s to fell grown up in the evening I think

DD is 16 months now and is in bed by 7pm almost on the dot. She's been in that routine since 4 weeks old. She wakes up around 6-6.30am. I go to work at 0610 so DH does the mornings. I'm wondering if they sleep in a bit as the mornings get darker - I fantasise about a lie in at the weekend....that's probably all it's going to be - a fantasy. A friend with 4 kids all over 8 went on and on about how he sleeps in until 10 every weekend as his all look after themselves and each other.....could have throttled him

We are routine bound - supper at 5, baths at 6, stories for the 2.5yr old from 6.30 he then goes to bed at 7. The dds (5 and 6) get their stories together 7 to 7.30 and then get half an hour in their room to look at books.Lights OUT at 8pm. We relaxed it a bit over the hols but they didnt seem to want to. Max they could stay up was 9 at a push and then they were begging to go to bed.
Mornings ds wakes at 6 dd1 at 7 and dd2 at 8.

we wait up for daddy solely because daddy then takes charge from mummy...am regaining culinary skills solely because the person who cooks escapes the hell of 6pm...

Does anyone have experience of changing from ad-hoc bedtimes to regular ones? Any tips?

We have a rather chaotic household with adult bedtimes varying a lot, and were hoping to get away with DD (3 months) fitting in with our chaos; it worked for the first 2 months, but now she gets tired mid-evening but can't get off to sleep. So we're contemplating some regularity for her (even if we can't manage one for ourselves). I don't see myself as a bad mother for being ad-hoc - me and DH just enjoy varying lengths of day, and DD can too, whenever it's right for her (which it probably is not just now!).

New to this site, but just read this thread and I'm gobsmacked. I must be the worst mother in the world. It's 12:15am and we've just got ds2 (aged 2 and 2 months) to bed. He's always been a terrible sleeper and really doesn't seem to need that much. Usually he goes to sleep between 9pm & 10pm though we were lucky last night and he missed his daytime nap and was in bed by 7:30pm. He wakes nearly every single night and comes in with us...oh god, it's just all so terrible to even admit, especially to you Gina Ford-ites! What can we do? We tried the controlled crying routines several times during babyhood and now we've given up and we just hope he'll grow out of it at some point. He'll only go to sleep with a bottle of milk and a cuddle too...I know, I know. Is there anyone out there as useless as me? (p.s DS1 - now aged 8 - has always been quite a good sleeper and went to bed no problem from being a toddler - I blame my partner for this one; he's an incredibly light sleeper).

P.S. To be honest, as we both work full-time, would be sad if they went to bed at 7pm. As I don't get in from work 'til 6pm-6:30pm, I'd never see them!

I'm a bit out a bedtime rountine freak since DD1 went to school and DD2 came along. DD1 use to go to bed at 8pm form 6 months old. She always slept and never woke in the night. I'd wake her up at 7.30 am in the week and she'd go longer at the weekend. I found that she needed more sleep once at school ( she started pre-school aged 3 yrs and 10 months). She is now 6.5 and goes to bed at 7.30 to 7.45. DD2 always needed more sleep and the more tired she is the harder she find it to go to sleep and stay asleep. She goes to bed at 7.15 and sleeps until about 8am if left ( hols and weekends) but I have to wake her up at 7.15 in the weekday mornings...

Help! My DD is 18 months old and a delight ... except she has lost the will to go to bed! She used to be climbing the stairs by 7 at the latest but suddenly it?s nearer to 9 if not 10! I am on my own during the week but miraculously she is much better when Daddy is home! It makes no difference what time she wakes up (6.30ish) and went to sleep without a murmur with a babysitter this weekend!
She is desperately tired and I am worried that she is just trying her luck with me as I will eventually bring her down with me so that I can at least eat something before I go to bed! I have toyed with cutting her daytime sleep (currently up to 2 hours a day at nursery) but would welcome any suggestions. I am nearing the end of my tether .....

For purely sanity's sake, the sluglet goes to bed at 7.30pm. She's in a grobag and still in a cot so she can't climb out. We just shut the door and leave her to it. Last night I could still hear her singing to teddy at 9.30pm, but quite frankly I don't care if she dosen't go to sleep, it's the bedtime that's important.

Hmmm - interesting! My little one used to enjoy singing to teddy too but suddenly she only wants to scream! I even tried the dreaded controlled crying last night and after 40 minutes felt like the wicked witch and scooped her up to sit with me! Yet she is so very tired but won't sleep! I've tried to maintain the whole bath, bottle, story, songs etc routine and she is happy enough to get into her cot with teddy, hippo, ellie etc, its when I leave the room. I've tried standing in the corner but even when she is practically asleep, as I creep out of the door she is wide awake again! Is this payback time as I had a dream child for the first 6 months ....!!!

Motherinferior, I know, we fight over who will go to the supermarket, pop to shops, buy lightbulbs etc. Big treats!

gooseygosling i'm happy to tell you (if you're still there) that possibly i'm worse than you ! My 6mo DS goes to bed at 10pm also with bottle (in my arms) and more- doesn't sleep through! For everybody- i'm not cruel, he's not sleepy earlier than that and sleeps 10 ours what means he's up at 8 which is just perfect whith me.
ELIS if you're still there i introduced routine when DS was 3 mo

goosegosling and jedy i am in your club Although i am ver strict about her routine.she is in bed by 8 p.m (she's 2.6). She goes to sleep cuddling me and often wanders in at four or five for a cuddle in my bed. I know everone has different views and that is how mine goes! I must admit though with hindsight, if i have a second child the sleep routine will be taught differently!

My 19month old goes to bed between 7.30 and 8pm. If she seems crabby or looks tired I'll put her up at 7. If we're having fab cuddle/fun time or we're at friends, with friends, and all the kids are there, there's usually about 5 - 7 other kids all sleeping in different rooms, some sharing, then I'll let her go to 8.30 possibly 8.45 but I've never let her go past that.
She never calls out in the morning so hard to know what time she wakes. One of us will go into her between 7 and as late as 8.30 at weekends and she's usually just lying there smiling holding one of her soft toys. Bless that child!
Then she'll sleep for about 2 hours at 10.30/11 ish and has dropped her afternoon nap as a rule.

Thomcat what an angel..have to admit mine is too....(though you get more lie ins!!)

My 4 month ds was going to bed at 7pm. He has been going to a childminder since the beginning of the month as I am now back at work. I was trying to decide whether I should keep him up that little bit later to spend time with him but in the end he decided it for me! Now, he comes home at 4.30 in time for his tea and a bath. During his first week with the Ch. minder he was so grizzly (from tirednes) that he was in bed by 5.45. Now I try to keep him up by playing and reading but last night I put him under his baby gym at 6.15 while I put dinner in the oven only to turn around to find him fast asleep!!He is still having his 10.30 feed at the mo' (should I try getting rid of this now?) but then goes on till 6.30 /7ish when he lies in his cot telling me stories down the baby monitor.

Angeliez - I know - I keep waiting for the rude awakening in the morning but can't believe she just lies there! She will talk to herself and she laughs as well, but never anymore than that. She'll learn to stand up in the cot soon and scream my name until I go in at 5.30am, but I know I'm ridiculously lucky to have gone for 19 months like this!
I really don't want Lottie to ever sleep in our bed (in an ideal world) but must admit the idea of a little 2.5 yr old sneaking in for a cuddle in the early hours does just make me go all gooey and starry eyed!

yeah i know, it's definately a bit for me that i "let her" have her cuddles as i love it I never planned to have it happen but once she had a bed ,that was it.The way i see it though dp and i get evenings together and i STILL think she's a good sleeper despite the dawn wakenings...d.p and i often take turns in spare room anyway because of snoring!

AlisSkinner - I could have written your post. DD (16m) has always been a dream - slept through @ 12 weeks, hardly any probs since then. But since we can back from holiday in May (where she had to go to sleep in our arms) she just won't settle be herself.
I tend to eat at 7pm and give her some of my food, or some toast/pasta. Then she has a bath at 7.30 and at 8pm she and I cuddle up in my bed with a bottle for her and TV for me. She can take anything between 15-60 minutes to get to sleep. I just don't have the energy to do cc yet, and figure I'll wait until we have moved house as that is likely to screw up her sleep anyway.
It is actually working quite well - I'm pregnant so really value any time I can get in bed, and dh gets to do all the tidying up whilst I snooze with her.