My son is almost 6 weeks old and weighs over 12 lbs. My daughter is 6 and goes to bed at 8. I got my daughter on a routine very early and she has been a terrific sleeper ever since. We would like to get the baby on the same or earlier bedtime schedule. We talked to his pediatrician and she said he is definitely ready for this and is big enough to let him cry for a period of time when getting to bed. My question is: What time should I put him to bed? I have been trying 8 oclock, same as my daughter but he is tired earlier and gets really fussy and therefore has a hard time settling into bed at 8. Should I be putting him to bed when he is tired at 6:30 ish? I remember my daughter went to bed very early as an infant and am wondering if it is too early to start him at this bedtime. I realize I still will feed him when he wakes up every few hours but afterwards he goes right back to sleep. It's the initial getting to bed that has been a problem. Please do not respond that you do not approve of crying it out or he is too young. I do not expect him to sleep through the night or for more than a few hours at a time. I just need to get the bedtime set and create a routine from there. Thank you!
So I started the bedtime routine early and started putting the baby to bed at 6:30. Last night he slept 6 hours before waking to eat briefly. He only cries for 15 minutes at most. The thing that has made all the difference is that we bought something called a nap nanny (basically a wedge that cradles the baby) and put it in his crib. He didn't like lying flat down in the crib which is why we were having a problem. He was sleeping great in his swing but not the crib. He will still fuss when first put down but I think he may need an even earlier bedtime.
But what if you just CAN'T set a bedtime at six weeks?
I've never heard of it - I agree with the first two responses.
And in response to the post below - 4 months is a lot older than 6 weeks. And sooner rather than later still should not apply to 6 weeks old.
My daughter is 3 months old and goes to bed at 8, but she takes a cat-nap around 6 for about 30-45 minutes. Good luck.
I'm sorry, I really disagree with your Ped.
I would NOT let a 6 week old, cry it out. At all. Their brain/nervous system is not even fully developed yet. They ALSO have an instinctual 'startle reflex" which they CANNOT control... and this wakes them too.
AND they need to feed on-demand.... and per their growth-spurts and per their 'cluster feeding'.... which is 24/7, day and night. For the 1st year of life.
Each baby is different... and for me, I go by my child's cues.... and needs....
My daughter, my firstborn, was REAL difficult... to put to nap or bed.
My son, my 2nd born, was real easy and still is.
For both, I went by their cues and needs and feedings, on-demand.
BUT despite that... as they have grown and matured and gotten older... they are SUPER good sleepers. Naturally.
Sleep... is never finite nor static in a baby. And, per age-stages and phases... a child will ebb and flow, per sleep or naps. Older children, Pre-teens, Teens, College kids, Adults, Elderly... ALL have differing sleep patterns or difficulties... and no person I know has slept the same way, they did as a baby, nor gone to bed at the same time since they were a baby. It changes.... per age.... and age-related development....
Go by HIS cues.... a newborn typically naps a lot. They get "tired" after about only 2 hours of awake time....
DS went to bed at about 11-11:30 when he was that age - meaning we put him in the crib after what we hoped was the last feeding. But don't all babies just sleep when they need to and wake when they're hungry? He was pretty much in a schedule of wake, eat, change, be awake a little, then sleep - repeat every 3-4 hours. Didn't matter if it was in the bassinet, crib, stroller, carseat or being held, or on the floor. So bedtime seemed like a pretty artificial concept.
I always thought of 6-7 as the first bedtime then when my son was up 4-5 hours later as the "real" bedtime....
Also, I agree with the pps who say that 6 weeks is too young to CIO for any length of time, so I guess I disagree with your ped too.
My son was never awake during the day for longer than a couple of hours at a time - therefore, it was not at all unusual for him to have an evening nap (in fact, I found it quite necessary b/c he would just get overtired and harder to put to sleep at night if I didn't let him nap at night) I usually tried not to let him sleep past 7:00pm or so. Anyhow, what worked best for me, was to put him to sleep for the night a couple of hours after his late afternoon/evening nap. Also, I went to sleep with him because this allowed me to sleep for 5-6 hour stretches along with him.
With each of our grandkids we have had in our home they usually set the schedule. They slept when they were sleepy then they woke up hungry, cuddled/played a bit then went back to sleep. They slept 75% of the time at this age. I think the baby should go down a bit before the older girl so you can have some one on one time with her.
Our 8 month old is finally on a scheduled bedtime of betwen 7-8 with the rest of the kids, other then that I fed on demand so some night she would eat around 5:30 then go to bed or some days she would eat around 6:30, or 7:30 I think her bedtime got consistant closer to 6mo of age. Congrats on your new little one!
I had my second daughter in January 2009, and it was so funny because I really couldn't remember those little things from the first daughter who was born in 2005. . .With the second one I found we were much more in a routine just because of the activity schedule of the older child.
One night my husband came home and the baby was only a few weeks old and I was boucing the aquarium bouncer with one foot calming the baby as I was running back and forth into the kitchen making dinner for my 4 year old. Husband looks at me and says, "Why don't you put the baby in bed?" What????!! It is only 5:30 and I know for sure that my first one would NOT sleep in bed for naps and I don't think I put her to bed until we were actually going to bed too.
Well low and behold I picked her up and put her in bed and there she slept. We continued to keep this routine and sometimes she slept for a catnap but soon she actually starting sleeping until 9 or 10 before needing another feeding. When she was sleeping through the night 5:30 or 6pm was her bedtime and she slept until 6 or 7 in the morning (she is my good sleeper, first daughter was not as giving). I think bedtime has shifted to 6:30 or 7pm in the fall of this last year, once the older started Kindergarten. . .The earlier I get her to bed though, the better she falls asleep and stays asleep, and naps the next day.
I did think that 5:30 was really early, but asking the leader of one of my mommy & me classes, she said that that sounded great.
Good luck and yeah for you that your son wants to sleep earlier, because I found it gave me nice quiet one-on-one time with my older for her bedtime routine. It was the incentive to keep the older one more relaxed and quiet, because if she woke up the baby because she was too rambunctious, then I had to tend to the baby and she had to share her time. . .
E.
6pm is the best bedtime for infants. I know it seems early, but this is the time their little internal clocks want to fall asleep, and as you've noticed, he seems tired at 6:30. I think it's best to put them down before they seem tired. This way they can fall asleep on their own, and that is a VERY useful skill. He should be able to sleep through the night at that age and weight, but the trick is to put him to bed early. He will sleep 12 hours straight once he gets the hang of the new routine. Best of luck!
"Please do not respond that you do not approve of crying it out or he is too young. I do not expect him to sleep through the night or for more than a few hours at a time. I just need to get the bedtime set and create a routine from there. "
Why?
Why do you need to create a routine?
I think he should sleep when he's sleepy
and eat when he's hungry and poop when he needs to poop.
Did your pediatrician define a "period of time" in this discussion?
Does it exceed 5 minutes?
I always go by my feeding schedule which is every 3 hours. Right now my DD feed around 7, 10, 1, 4, 7. So 7:00 pm is her last feed and then I put her down for the night around 7:45. If she's fussy I feed her earlier around 6:30 and then put her to bed.
7:30 was the bedtime for our infants.
I would go with about 1/2 hour before he starts getting cranky (assuming its a fairly predictable time each night). Since he's waking up multiple times at night, it really isn't going to matter as far as how long he sleeps, etc. (Unless he wakes up to stay up at too early a time for you, but at 6 weeks he probably mostly sleeps anyway).
As he gets a bit older, I would adjust it to the time that you want him to go to bed as a toddler and preschooler.
You have to do what works for you. If she is tired earlier than 8:00 then I would put her to bed earlier than 8:00. My 4 month old goes to bed at 7:00-7:30 and sleeps until 7:00 - 7:30. I get her up at 10:00-10:30 and feed her one last time and then she sleeps the rest of the night. At night time, except for that last feeding before I go to bed, I dont' think that you should worry about waking them up to feed them. They will wake up and let you know if they are hungry! Good Luck, and personally, I don't see anything wrong with the CIO method. In my experience, I have had to let my kids cry it out at some point in their development, and would rather get it over with sooner than later ~
Hi there -
I consulted w/a sleep expert and did CIO but didn't start until my babies until they were a little older. 6:00 is a GREAT bedtime and you will find that 5:30p-6:30p is the time to put a baby down at that age to bed (yes, that sounds early but my dd would sleep from 5:30-6:00a, at 12 weeks). Sleepy signs are KEY. Yawning is actually a 'late' sign. When the baby stops having eye contact w/you - that's the first sign. I think some people have misconceptions about CIO. If you put a baby down 'at the right time', there should be very little to no crying. It's if they are not tired or overtired, will they cry more. If you would like more info - get Davis' video. She is AMAZING! Both my babies slept 12hrs/night at 12 weeks and had great napping/sleeping schedules. www.3daysleepsolution.com
Good luck! :)
