How old to introduce bedtime?

[weeblueberry]

DD2 is 14 weeks and is currently just sitting up with us in the evenings until about 10pm when she will (generally) have her last feed of the night then go to sleep. Until a few days ago she was then sleeping til about 5/6 but has gone back to waking whenever in the night (normally about 2, 4, 6am etc). She's going through a big physical developmental jump though so have attributed the more frequent night wakings to that.

DD1 used to fall asleep in her bassinet in the evening and transfer to cot in our room when we went to bed. Easy peasy. It meant establishing a more structured bedtime was easy and she fell into her own routine easily. DD2 sleeps pretty well but they're no pattern. Often she will be awake until 10 but sometimes might fall asleep etc. no rhyme or reason. I'm keen to start a bedtime for her but not sure when is good to start encouraging a 7pm(ish) bedtime? And how do you do it? Have her go to sleep in the living room with us or bring her through to our bedroom and settle her there (meaning she would be sleeping by herself in the bedroom alone for a few hours God willing...

A bedtime routine is about the actual routine of what you do before bed not nessessarily the time you do it. If 10pm is when she is normally going to bed now I'd aim for that so about 9.30 take her upstairs for bath pj's last bottle and into cot so she's going to sleep at around the time she has been doing. Keep doing the same thing every night so she knows that this routine means bed time then once she's settled with it gradually bring it forward by half hour. Stick with it it does work. All my dc have been good sleepers and the only thing I can put it down to is the fact they had a bedtime routine from day 1.

I'll probably get shot down in saying this from the perfect mum police but it's fine for them to be asleep in another room for a few hours before you go to bed yourself. As long as the room temperature is ok and you check on her regular where's the harm? Keeping her in the living room with you isn't working for you or you wouldn't of created this post.

Thanks both. We do a normal routine at seven where she gets a bath then a feed but is still wide awake after her feed. That suggests to me shes just not ready to be asleep at that time? She doesn't sleep too much in the day but isn't cranky as a result so maybe she's not in need of that much sleep.

Last night she kept waking up and thrashing about - I think it's just her wee arms and legs are moving about so much that even in her sleep she is trying to move and roll over.

I think i might try feeding her in her sleeping bag in out darkened room at seven and see if that helps.