sleeping time?
- Thread starter reei
- Start date
My 22-month-old goes to bed no later than 8:30 pm on average and tonight he went to bed at 7:30 pm because he will have to get up earlier tomorrow for a playgroup meeting. He sleeps about 12 hours straight and does not get up for a night feed since he was about 10-months-old. He generally takes a nap about 11 am that lasts anywhere from 2-3 hours. He's always been an active boy so he needs his rest. He sleeps well and we have a well-established schedule for him which we make a very strong effort to not mess with. That means that basically our schedule revolves quite a bit around his sleep schedule. Sometimes we put him to bed a bit later and sometimes he has to get up a bit earlier and once in awhile he doesn't get a nap--but usually on those days we have to pay for it with a very overtired little boy.
I know that local parents want to keep their children up later so that they can play with them and I guess that's understandable but at the same time it may affect their quality of sleep, especially if they're being kept up when really their little bodies are craving more sleep. Children especially need more hours a day of sleep because of their enormous growth needs. There have also been some things written about how babies get better quality of sleep the earlier they lay down. I guess it's a really tough situation for parents who work late.
I know that local parents want to keep their children up later so that they can play with them and I guess that's understandable but at the same time it may affect their quality of sleep, especially if they're being kept up when really their little bodies are craving more sleep. Children especially need more hours a day of sleep because of their enormous growth needs. There have also been some things written about how babies get better quality of sleep the earlier they lay down. I guess it's a really tough situation for parents who work late.
fingerscrossed
Registered User
Our bedtime routine starts at 8pm and my 19mth old is usually asleep by 8.30pm. I'm a total believer in getting to bed before 8.30pm - they'll have to get to bed early once they start school, and secondly, so that I get some time to myself.
HK is notorious for its late bedtimes and it's really not doing children any good. A friend's 14mth old daughter goes to bed at 12midnight and that's LATE! I have school age kids coming to me for lessons after school who tell me they usually go to bed at 2am!! How they function at school the next day I do not know.
HK is notorious for its late bedtimes and it's really not doing children any good. A friend's 14mth old daughter goes to bed at 12midnight and that's LATE! I have school age kids coming to me for lessons after school who tell me they usually go to bed at 2am!! How they function at school the next day I do not know.
karmah1
Registered User
Obiwan, when my son was that age I started a bedtime routine around 5pm, depending if he was awake if he wasn't it started a little later. I did bath time, massage, then feed and then bed around 6pm. He still woke 3-4 hours later for a feed but I just kept up the bath/feed/bed routine at a similar time everynight. My son is now 9 months old and he has dinner at 5pm, then bathtime, bottle and story time then bed by 7pm. He is usually crashed out by 6.30pm.
You just have to stick to a bedtime routine.
Shenzhennifer
Registered User
Oh, your baby will be doing that for some time now, she`s fresh out of the womb. My baby was feeding that often for months and months.
I started a bedtime routine with him at about 2 weeks - bath, boob and bed. He`s never had a problem distinguishing night from day and has never confused them, despite getting up every few hours to feed all the time. One word of caution would be about letting your baby breastfeed right before bed. Now my baby is dependent on it and basically cannot sleep without it.
FutureHKmom
Registered User
Changing sleeping time
Hi Nicolejoy - I see that you have changed the sleeping time for your baby a few times. We're in the process of doing that for our almost 6 month old baby too and was wondering what tips you had to get your baby to go to bed earlier after being on a schedule of going to bed later.
Our baby sleeps now at around 10/10:15. Usually he naps for 1/2 hour or so at 7:30. Then at 8pm, I give him a quick breast feed, then daddy gets home at 8:30, plays with him for a 10 minutes while dinner is being heated. Then our son sits and watches us eat. After dinner, he plays a little bit more with dad and at 9:30, we feed him again (short BF, supplemented by a bottle of formula given by dad) and then bed by 10 or 10:15. Last week, we tried to put him to bed earlier by switching his 8pm feed to 8:15 and then when dad comes home giving him his bottle of formula right away and then putting him down before we have dinner so he goes down by 8:45. Well, he would have none of that and cried and cried and cried.
So I was just wondering how you went about putting your baby down earlier. Thanks for any advice!
My 10 month old lately has been going to bed at around 8pm and out of all her different bedtimes (from 11pm, to 10pm, to 9pm) this actually works best for us. I think she is getting more sleep at night now - although she seems to do better with only one daily nap, I think. From my limited experience, it seems that my daughter generally wakes around the same time regardless of when we put her to bed. And if I put her to bed later, she needs more sleep in the day time. At the moment, my husband isn't seeing her much - he's studying part time for about 4 months... but after his exams, he'll be getting home around 7 or 7:30 again and he'll still be able to see her a bit before bed. That's if I'm still doing the same bedtime routine by then
Hi Nicolejoy - I see that you have changed the sleeping time for your baby a few times. We're in the process of doing that for our almost 6 month old baby too and was wondering what tips you had to get your baby to go to bed earlier after being on a schedule of going to bed later.
Our baby sleeps now at around 10/10:15. Usually he naps for 1/2 hour or so at 7:30. Then at 8pm, I give him a quick breast feed, then daddy gets home at 8:30, plays with him for a 10 minutes while dinner is being heated. Then our son sits and watches us eat. After dinner, he plays a little bit more with dad and at 9:30, we feed him again (short BF, supplemented by a bottle of formula given by dad) and then bed by 10 or 10:15. Last week, we tried to put him to bed earlier by switching his 8pm feed to 8:15 and then when dad comes home giving him his bottle of formula right away and then putting him down before we have dinner so he goes down by 8:45. Well, he would have none of that and cried and cried and cried.
So I was just wondering how you went about putting your baby down earlier. Thanks for any advice!
carang
Registered User
you can't change overnight and expect baby to be ok with it. it has to be done VERY gradually... like 10 minutes per day.
also, you can't "play" with him and then expect him to sleep right away. he needs "wind-down" time just as much as the rest of us.
is there anyway that you can get dinner ready before hubby gets home so that it is ready to go when daddy walks in the door? then forget the playing, go straight for dinner. after dinner, then give the bottle?
if you cut out the "playing" that might help and it would also bring bedtime earlier by up to 30 minutes to start with.
once that is done, then you have to decide whether daddy can get home earlier or not. if not, then baby will have to go to sleep before daddy gets home, if you want an earlier bedtime.
also, you can't "play" with him and then expect him to sleep right away. he needs "wind-down" time just as much as the rest of us.
is there anyway that you can get dinner ready before hubby gets home so that it is ready to go when daddy walks in the door? then forget the playing, go straight for dinner. after dinner, then give the bottle?
if you cut out the "playing" that might help and it would also bring bedtime earlier by up to 30 minutes to start with.
once that is done, then you have to decide whether daddy can get home earlier or not. if not, then baby will have to go to sleep before daddy gets home, if you want an earlier bedtime.
Thank you karmah1 and shenzhennifer!
So basically it's about starting a bedtime routine early, say at 6pm or 7pm, and the baby will sleep for longer stretches over times (hopefully through the night in time), despite waking up every 3 and 4 hours for feeds now.
I'll try that TODAY! Thank you very much.
So basically it's about starting a bedtime routine early, say at 6pm or 7pm, and the baby will sleep for longer stretches over times (hopefully through the night in time), despite waking up every 3 and 4 hours for feeds now.
I'll try that TODAY! Thank you very much.
Many "rules" that the ladies are talking about here don't apply to newborn babies (and a 2.5-week-old is definitely a newborn).
I'm not the best person to ask about how to get your newborn to sleep well because my son didn't sleep at night or for more than a couple of hours at a time until he was 1/2 of a year old.
I've heard lots of advice--you just have to try everything and see if any of it works for your child, I think. Unfortunately, none of that advice worked for my son until later.
i didn't really do much more than give my baby a full bottle of milk before bed time, at whatever age she was, and she would just sleep longer and longer stretches during the night....i kind of followed what she needed and it more or less matched Gina Ford's recommended schedule (though everything was shifted back an hour to an hour and a half)...i think if you really listen to your baby, it will happen "out of the blue" but then when you go back to the books you will realize that it wasn't all "that out of the blue!" I'd relax and go with the flow! seriously....each baby is different and you HAVE to be flexible or you will give yourself alot of pressure...
carang
Registered User
with a newborn, you just need to relax and enjoy the first few months. i know it is difficult when you are feeling so sleep deprived, but i honestly believe that it is impossible to enforce a routine on such a young baby. i breastfed on demand and enjoyed every minute of it. once baby gets to be about 12 weeks old, they usually start to get into their own routine.
there are those that love gina ford, and those that hate her. i tend to fall into the latter category. (i just find her way too strict and so many people follow her verbatim.) i always prefered to listen to the cues my baby was giving me and plan accordingly. you will find that once you reach the 10-12 week mark, your baby already has a routine. it is natural for babies to develop them, all you really have to do is follow their cues and your instincts.
and don't worry, EVERY new mother is totally overwhelmed at some point. it's only natural. we have produced (with a little help of significant other) a new human being. it is a phenomenal process, that at birth is only just beginning. mothering instincts will kick in eventually, afterall, no one knows your baby like you do. you just need to relax and listen to that little voice inside your head.
good luck! you are doing an amazing job!
there are those that love gina ford, and those that hate her. i tend to fall into the latter category. (i just find her way too strict and so many people follow her verbatim.) i always prefered to listen to the cues my baby was giving me and plan accordingly. you will find that once you reach the 10-12 week mark, your baby already has a routine. it is natural for babies to develop them, all you really have to do is follow their cues and your instincts.
and don't worry, EVERY new mother is totally overwhelmed at some point. it's only natural. we have produced (with a little help of significant other) a new human being. it is a phenomenal process, that at birth is only just beginning. mothering instincts will kick in eventually, afterall, no one knows your baby like you do. you just need to relax and listen to that little voice inside your head.
good luck! you are doing an amazing job!
nicolejoy
Registered User
Hi Nicolejoy - I see that you have changed the sleeping time for your baby a few times. We're in the process of doing that for our almost 6 month old baby too and was wondering what tips you had to get your baby to go to bed earlier after being on a schedule of going to bed later.
Our baby sleeps now at around 10/10:15. Usually he naps for 1/2 hour or so at 7:30. Then at 8pm, I give him a quick breast feed, then daddy gets home at 8:30, plays with him for a 10 minutes while dinner is being heated. Then our son sits and watches us eat. After dinner, he plays a little bit more with dad and at 9:30, we feed him again (short BF, supplemented by a bottle of formula given by dad) and then bed by 10 or 10:15. Last week, we tried to put him to bed earlier by switching his 8pm feed to 8:15 and then when dad comes home giving him his bottle of formula right away and then putting him down before we have dinner so he goes down by 8:45. Well, he would have none of that and cried and cried and cried.
So I was just wondering how you went about putting your baby down earlier. Thanks for any advice!
Well, for me, I tried to get my daughter to go to bed earlier and the main time that it really worked was when we got back from a trip to Australia - the time difference is 2 hrs, and when we were in Oz, we'd adjust her bedtime to match Australian time, then try to keep it the same when we got back to Hong Kong. I could adjust her schedule by a whole hour like that
The only other thing that's kind of worked is to try and change very gradually - like 15 min earlier for a whole week - then in a month's time, that's an hr earlier... It's a bit hard to all of a sudden go to sleep an hr earlier than you're used to!!
One other tip for getting them to sleep earlier, I don't let my daughter sleep too late in the afternoon these days... If she wants to have a nap around 3, that's about the latest that I'll put her down for a nap. And I make sure she's up by 5 at the latest too... because otherwise there's no way that she'll be in bed by 8... and I really do want to try to stick to the 8:00 bedtime as much as possible...
Shenzhennifer
Registered User
As far as sleeping through the night goes, I haven`t heard of too many babies who are breastfed doing that. It seems to be the `in thing` to give the baby a bottle of formula right before bedtime to make them sleep longer. Trust me, I will be trying that for my next one after breastfeeding has been established.
Thanks! For babies who sleep through the night, did it happen out of the blue one day, or does one have to 'train' the babies to do so?
I cannot wait for The Day, though I have a suspicion it's gonna be a long wait haha.
For my son, it was a combination of growing into an older stage and following the advice in the book "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" to sleep train him including the "pick up, put down" method. Oh, and I stopped breastfeeding him and after that not only did he sleep better, but we also did.