Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

gently encouraging an earlier bedtime?

3 replies

ellez · 02/02/2009 20:21

DS is almost 8 weeks old and currently does his long stretch of sleep starting at around 1.30am, sleeping until 5/6am, nursing, sleeping until 8/9, nursing, and then sleeping until 11/12pm and then napping/playing for short bits of time and nursing the rest of the day, no particular schedule here. he cluster feeds & dozes on and off for 2-3 hrs before he goes to bed at night.

he doesn't have a real schedule, and i'm not too worried about it, we just let him eat and sleep and play whenever. but it would be nice if there was a way to gently encourage him to sleep a little earlier, like say 11pm instead of 1-2am? the rest of the day, i'm happy to let him do as he wishes.

at the moment, when i try to dim the lights and nurse and rock him earlier than 1am, he just gives me a big grin and plays. it's adorable, but DH and i are so wiped out by the time he goes to sleep, that we sleep too, and have spent almost zero time just the two of us in weeks.

even the most obvious advice will help, as i have no clue where to begin.. thank you in advance!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
calaminecovered · 02/02/2009 20:43

Will be watching this! Have a 7 week old dd an woul love her to go to bed a bit earlier! Sorry I wasn't any help!

Skimty · 02/02/2009 21:02

I'm not one to talk as have chldren on wildly different sleep schedules and am currently mumsnetting in the dark of our room waiting for DD to go to sleep all the time knowing that DS went to sleep at 6:30 and will be up at 5:30 Grrr.

Could you try waking up for the day a little earlier? It sounds like he's sleeping pretty much all morning and so his hours of awake time are 12pm -1am. Maybe you could try moving that slowly back. expose him to lots of daylight and interesting things at the 8/9 wake up after nursing maybe?

Other than that any ideas gratefully received here as well!

Coldtits · 02/02/2009 21:04

Play with him a LOT when the lights are on, and keep it very subdued and minimal when the lights are off. He will (maybe) get the hint.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page