When did you start an earlier bedtime?

My babies have been sleeping from @11pm till about 8am for almost 4 weeks now. It is great. I was just wondering when I should try to put them down earlier. I tried like two weeks ago and they woke up at 3:30am hungry. I do not think they were ready to give up the last feeding. I would much rather have them sleep the straight 9 hours instead of waking up in the middle of the night. But HSHHC says to start looking for signs for an earlier bedtime. They do get fussy in the evenings and I just wondered when I should expect an earlier bedtime to work and allow them to STTN.

 

At about three months, my boys started sleeping from 12-6 or 7 in the morning. Sometimes they were staying up until midnight and sometimes they were going to bed earlier. If they were staying up that late, they were really grumpy, so I started putting them down earlier and earlier (now they go to bed at 7:00). At first they were still waking up in the middle of the night (2-3 a.m.) for a feeding. Although I didn't like getting up in the middle of the night, it was easier for me than trying to deal with two fussies until 11 or 12. When I fed them in the middle of the night, I only fed them enough to get them to go back to sleep. About two weeks into it, they dropped that feeding and now they sleep from 7-7, or should I say they don't eeat. Sometimes they still wake up for comforting, but I don't feed them anymore. Hope this made any sense.

 

I started putting mine to bed at 7pm at around 4 months. It really helped. They would go to bed at 7pm & wake at 3am to eat and right back to sleep till 7am. This is not the case anymore but I wish it was. :angry:

 

we put them down at 6:30-7pm, but do a dreamfeed at about 11pm before we go to bed. we started the earlier bedtime around 8 or 9 weeks old. before that, we spent the entire evening trying to calm fussy babies who obviously needed to go to bed. they hardly wake at all now for the 11pm feed, and then generally sleep till about 6am. at some point, we'll try to drop the dreamfeed, but i'm too chicken to do that now. of course, this had been our sleep pattern for the last month until both babies came down with bronchiolitis this past week, so we have been all screwed up with sleep while they have been sick. i do love having the evenings with just DH and the dog -- it's nice to eat dinner and hang out without holding a baby (or two!).

 

QUOTE(fluffhead @ Feb 5 2008, 12:22 PM) [snapback]606608[/snapback]
we put them down at 6:30-7pm, but do a dreamfeed at about 11pm before we go to bed. we started the earlier bedtime around 8 or 9 weeks old. before that, we spent the entire evening trying to calm fussy babies who obviously needed to go to bed. they hardly wake at all now for the 11pm feed, and then generally sleep till about 6am. at some point, we'll try to drop the dreamfeed, but i'm too chicken to do that now. of course, this had been our sleep pattern for the last month until both babies came down with bronchiolitis this past week, so we have been all screwed up with sleep while they have been sick. i do love having the evenings with just DH and the dog -- it's nice to eat dinner and hang out without holding a baby (or two!).


We do the same thing, the pedi said we should start working on eliminating the dreamfeed, but I'm too scared because it is working so well!

ETA, after the dreamfeed they will usually sleep until 7:30 a.m., I really try not to feed them until 8, as if DS eats when he first gets up, he projectile vomits. Plus I don't want them to get used to an early early feeding b/c I like to sleep in!!

 

The twins go down between 6 and 6:30pm. Lately, they've been waking up at 8 to eat again. I'm trying to stretch that one to 9:30 or 10pm. Then, they still eat 2-3 ozs @ 2am (weaning that one this week). They are up at 6am for the first feed.

I couldn't keep them up past 7pm- they are toooooo cranky and fall asleep wherever they are and then won't transfer.

I'd try putting them down earlier and waking them by 11 for a dreamfeed. I'm hoping to do that soon.

Good luck!

 

we've been putting them down between 9:30 and 10 pm, they sleep till about 4 or 5. They would sleep longer, but we have to wake them up to feed them.

 

Mine are 4 1/2 months. At about 4 mo they started eating at 7:00/7:30; to bed; up again around 3:00/4:00 for a bottle; then to sleep again until 7:30 a.m. They recently started going a little longer, from 7:30 to 4:30/5:00 a.m. One clue we needed to move back the time, was my son kept falling asleep during his 8:00/8;30 bottle and would not even take it, so we moved the time back

 

We started putting ours down around 7:00 at about 3 months. They were so fussy in the evenings, it was just nicer for everyone if they were asleep. Sarah started sleeping about 11 hours at 3.5 months -- Amy kept waking for 2 feedings (roughly midnight and 4:00 a.m.) for a few more months, but it was still nice to have her sleep except for when she was eating.

We tried the dreamfeed around 10pm, but it didn't help -- they still woke at midnight. So we figured it was better to just let them sleep a long stretch 7pm-midnight, and we went to bed early ourselves.

 

We started the 7 p.m. - 7:30 bedtime around 4 months, still doing a dream feed.

Around 5 months, dropped the dream feed and they did sleep through until morning.

Now, at almost 11 months, their bedtime is 6 p.m., but it's been a gradual thing to get it there. They sleep through to 7 a.m.

 

I am totally the minority!! I started it by 6 weeks with a very set routine. It meant they would wake up earlier but I wanted my evening of down time with dh rather than having screaming babies (which we still had!). If it is working for you, I would stick with it. You could ease back slowly. What are they doing until 11?

 

Mine started sleeping through the night at 2 months, we'd put them down by 10 or 11 and they'd sleep until 8am. This past week they started sleeping 8 pm to 7am.

 

QUOTE(mctwins @ Feb 5 2008, 08:09 PM) [snapback]607570[/snapback]
I am totally the minority!! I started it by 6 weeks with a very set routine. It meant they would wake up earlier but I wanted my evening of down time with dh rather than having screaming babies (which we still had!). If it is working for you, I would stick with it. You could ease back slowly. What are they doing until 11?

They eat at 8 and then at 10:30. The are usually awake in between feeds for a little while and then sleep downstairs in their PNP. After the 10:30 feeding I take them upstairs to their cribs and they STTN. I was just hoping to get them eventually to sleep straight for 11-12 hours

 

QUOTE(kristen3525 @ Feb 5 2008, 08:34 PM) [snapback]607721[/snapback]
Mine started sleeping through the night at 2 months, we'd put them down by 10 or 11 and they'd sleep until 8am. This past week they started sleeping 8 pm to 7am.

I'm SOOO jealous!