Bedtime woes...

Bedtime is not getting better...

We have stuck to our routine, and one little guy goes down perfect... the other however kicks and screams, literally. He will turn his head from side to side screaming so feeding a bottle is next to impossible, all while is feet are kicking like mad. He fusses for an hour or more, while his brother is down in 30mins.

What is his deal? I do think one is a morning person and the other a night person...but some nights it is very trying. Is this his temperent? Is it our inability? Or could it be something more- like a neurological issue?

 

I wonder the same thing. My daughter is the same way. She will put up a mean fight to get to bed, where her brother is sound alseep. Wish I could help, but i'm in the same situation as you.

 

If he is not a night person would it fit your schedule/routine to let the "morning" baby get up early and the "night" baby stay up a little later? Maybe try staggering by just 30mins and see what it does...if it doesn't help no loss right?! Could he be too tired?

 

I too was going to suggest what MrsWright did. As much as we want to and hope to get them on the same schedule, sometimes it just doesn't happen-for whatever reason. But I think we also need to realize that they are individuals as well. So one may be more of a night person while the other is a morning person. With my boys, Anthony was just not a napper. I should say not a *long* napper. :laughing: It drove me crazy!

So I would either try staggering the bedtime a little bit. How long does he sleep at naptime? How close to bedtime does he wake up from his nap? That might be something to look at as well. Good luck and I hope you figure something out soon!

 

Is the one who's fighting it over tired perhaps? I mentioned this on another thread too that if they're overtired they will fight it harder.

 

I think overtiredness could be the cause... I just cannot seem to get that afternoon timing right. Along with getting them to stay down long enough to make it until bedtime. I try to start their late afternoon nap at 4ish... in hopes they will wake around 530, and start bedtime prep at 630. However, somedays they only nap for 35mins at 4,then want another nap at 6. So then we start bedtime sooner, and then they are difficult to get down (at times just want to sleep and don't even care about their bottle) and usually up for a feeding sooner, thus causing us to get up an additional time throughout the night.

We have mastered the morning nap (2 hrs in length)... the afternoon nap is shaping up (1.5hrs)... it is that late afternoon nap that is such a challenge (35mins). Naps are usually 1.5hrs apart... if we go 2hrs, they are monsters!

 

How old are they? maybe they are ready to drop the late late nap and eventually will nap better for the afternoon nap and just go to bed sooner. Mine started going to bed at 6p-7a around 10 months...no one could believe it...but they did!

 

4 Months...sorry, I forgot to include! Perhaps...but they get cranky after 2hrs. So if they napped during the afternoon from say 12-2..I don't think they (us included) would make it until 6.

 

They are def too young to drop the late afternoon nap. One of my boys is like that. I put him to bed later then his brother. Nathaniel, my sleeper, and the one that goes down without a peep, he actually gets excited to go to bed, is down at 6:45. William goes to bed around 8. Aside from maybe moving his routine around a little, I have no idea what could make it easier on you.

 

I was thinking they were older. This is a tough one! (no it is not a neurological issue) Could be overtired, but I tend to think at this age they are still finding their schedules biologically. I would vote on prolonging the bedtime 30 - 60 mins since there is a 4 pm nap, not going over the two hours of course. I would not drop the third nap. It isn't really bedtime to me yet at this age...we were still doing night wakings. Are you having night wakings for feeds still? Like a PP said, once we morphed into a schedule closer to 6.5/7 mos we were going to bed between 6-6:30 pm. And we still do most days at 20 mos.