8 week olds - what time is bedtime at your house?

We've been trying to keep our babies from going to bed any earlier than 10pm or even later. Then I read so many places that earlier bedtime means better sleep. DOes that apply to babies so young though? What time is your 8 week old going to sleep, and what does their night look like, how many times do they wake, is there any predictability to their waking, and what time do they get up in the am to start the day?

 

We've been trying to keep our babies from going to bed any earlier than 10pm or even later. Then I read so many places that earlier bedtime means better sleep. DOes that apply to babies so young though? What time is your 8 week old going to sleep, and what does their night look like, how many times do they wake, is there any predictability to their waking, and what time do they get up in the am to start the day?

 

Ah yes Randene,

I find myself always replying in your posts because i think our twins are a few days apart (mine born Nov. 28)

Again we are so in the same boat.

We totally need to talk...LOL

We do our last feeding at 9:30 and try to get the girls to sleep around an hour later. But that always depends on them for us....sometimes it take an hour just to get them to stop crying and to fall asleep..most the time I find myself bringing the girls into bed with us and them falling asleep on our chest. Are your sleeping in the other room yet? We try but we are yet to get to get them in a full nights sleep in their crib because of the crying. Once they fall asleep they usually awake around 3:00 for a feeding...

Am I being to soft by letting them in bed to cuddle to fall asleep. Am I creating bad habits already...at this time I am still in what i call the "shock and Awe" phase. I will do what I have to to sleep..

I am going to buy a book this weekend called Good Night Sleep Tight
I have heard GREAT things about this book and plan on giving it a try... but sleeping is a big thing for us...my wife will refuse to let them cty...but this weekend I am taking over and doing the CIO program...lets see what happens...is it to soon wit hthe girls being so young? (almost 8 weeks)

 

I remember posting something similar around 8 weeks of age. I believe at that time, we were putting them down around 730/800. It worked better for us. HTH!

 

It applies to all babies! Overtired babies sleep badly, but well-rested babies sleep better and longer. If you want, you can try putting them to bed between 6-7, that seems to be a good bedtime. If you neeed to change their bedtime by 15 minute increments, that's fine. My 8 week olds woke up at 2am and 4 am (to eat) with a 6 am wake up time.

The first 3-4 months are the hardest, just hang in there - you're doing great!

 

So is 8 weeks to young to try the CIO?
Are babies seem to sleep whenever they want..should i have them on a sleep schedule already? we fed and change in a timely manner and at the same time everyday..but when they fall asleep they fall asleep...I am so confused....can some one just come over and help...LOL

 

Mine are 7 weeks. I put mine to bed around 7:30. I do bath, nurse, and to bed. (I have to do one at a time, so one goes down 1/2 hour later than the other) They seem to be alternating- one wakes up twice (12ish & 4ish) and the other wakes once (between 1-2). And they switch the next night! I have a 6:30ish wake up and feed every 3 hours during the day. I follow the feed, play, sleep pattern. My opinion is it's too young let them cry it out, but I do wait a few minutes to see if they'll settle back to sleep.

update: They slept 8 hours last night!! 7:30-3:30, then got up for the day at 6:30. I went to bed at 10-- so got 5 or so hours myself and feel like a million bucks! Wooo hooo!

 

Mine are almost 8 weeks, born 11/27.

We feed them at 7 pm and then they go to sleep (we don't do dream feds).

- twin girl: sleeps until 4-6 am straight (usually closer to 4, but she has done 5 and 6.20 am) and then until the morning. My oldest was very very similar and she slept 12 hours straight 7-7 at 3 months, so I am kind of expecting the same to happen with her.

- twin boy (the trouble maker): sleeps until 11.30 pm - 1 am and then until 3-6 am (very wide range) and then until the morning. So he wakes twice between 7 pm and 6 am (never more). He's completely stuck and doesn't make a lot of progress. He screams bloody murder when he wakes up, he has reflux too. I am giving him a few more weeks, and if he's not improving, we're going to do CIO for sure.

He's very tired when he goes down and has a hard time settling for the night (he naps well and self soothes very easily) so tonight I am going to feed him at 6.15 / 6.30 pm and have him in bed at 7 pm and see how that goes.

I try to start the day between 6.30 - 8.00 am. I wake the other one when the first one wakes to have them take their first nap toghether. But again, they're so freakin different, it's very hard at this age.

 

For the last 4 nights, I've had mine in bed by 8:45pm and it's working well. I prefer an earlier bedtime, so I'm going to start moving it up in 15min. increments. Ava wakes around 12:30-1, then 5-6am...... Aidan tends to sleep a little longer, wakes around 2:30-3:00, then again at 7am. I feel we're doing well. Some nights it takes longer to get them down than others. I refuse to do baths every night, but I do make the lights dimmer and get them in jammies right before their last bottle.

During the day,I don't let naps go longer than 2.5 hours, which is rare anyway. Just think, as soon as we all get our babies sleeping well, they are going to start teething!!!.....LOLOLOLOL!!!!!

On the CIO issue, believe me, I'm all for it. Everything I've read said the earliest to even start thinking about it is 8 weeks AFTER the due date. That's still 2 more weeks for me. I'll only be doing it for the initial going to sleep in two weeks. My babies are little and I know they still need to eat at night for now.

Crystal

 

We started our bedtime routine at around 7pm ending with a bottle and then to bed and asleep by 8. We did dreamfeed between 10-11pm . . . as close to 11 as possible. Mine still had night wakings until 5.5 months. Good luck!