Infant Bedtime - Papillion,NE

You can't put a two month old on a schedule! She will make sure you know when she's tired and when she's hungry and everything in between.
I see people on here all the time putting these little babies on schedules when to me it seems insane to do that...she's only been in this world 8 weeks, and it's a bright, noisy, strange place. She has spent the last nine months in very tight, warm quarters, sleeping when she feels like it. Let her rest when she's tired. And at 8 weeks just be greatful she's not up every three or four hours trying to eat!

There is no such thing as a bedtime routine for a 2 month old. They sleep when they are tired. If you keep them up past that time, then they will be overtired (hence the difficulty getting her to sleep at 10 PM) and cranky. My twins are 16 months old (now able to regulate their sleeping habits better) and they get to bed at 7:30 and usually wake up at about 630 Am. 10 PM is just a bit too late for a young baby. It is normal for your 2 month old to get up twice in the night. (A five hours stretch of sleep is considered "sleeping through the night", so you are doing fine.) Let her maintain her current schedule of sleeping, she is doing fine. She needs all the rest she can get. Also keep in mind that some babies may take up to 9 months to finally regulate their sleeping (as in, understanding the difference between night and day), so don't be surprised if it still some time until you begin to see longer sleep stretches (I have heard a lot of women say their kids were good sleepers by around 6 months, mine took almost until 9 months before they got into a routine that worked for them and us!).

After 4 months of age, you can start thinking more about a 'routine' to put your little one to sleep-- though she may still wake up in the night. But before then, there is little sense in trying to dicate to her when she ought to sleep. I know it is tough (I had two waking me up constantly for 9 months!), but hang in there. They are not that little for very long (even though it sometimes feels like it at 2AM) and she will settle into a sleeping pattern that is more in tune with you soon enough.

Best of luck!

E.

Hi E.,

What works one week won't work the next. Let her sleep when she's tired and don't expect her to sleep through the night yet, she's too young. About 4-6 hours at a time is all you can expect until she's a few months older. My son did the same thing as your little girl and I just went with it. Don't be concerned that some people say their baby slept through the night at 6 weeks. I don't believe most babies do that. My son started sleeping longer and longer at night and at 6 months he was sleeping 10-12 hours and going to bed at 7:30 pm. Hang in there. It will get easier.

hi i also have a 2month old little boy. he was born aug 12 and he eats every 3 to 4 hours. i have been givin him cereal form 2 weeks and it didnt help him sleep thur the night. but now he takes a nap about 8pm and i let him wake up on his own and then give him a a warm bath and a bottle with cereal in it and he goes to bed at about 10 or 11pm and sleeps till about 4am or 5am then he gets another bottle with cereal and sleeps till about 9 or 10am . use to he would go to bed at 10pm and be back up at 12,2,4,6,and 8am. so i think it helps with what i do becuz everyone say to sleep when they sleep but thats hard becuz you wouldnt have time to do stuff around the house. well i dont know if it helps but thats what i do

My little guy has slept through the night since he was about a month old. We swear by bedtime cream/or lotion. He gets a bottle around 8:30 and then a baby massage with bedtime cream and he'll sleep until about 8:00 am, we usually have to wake him up! If he doesn't get his baby massage and lotion he'll wake up around 4-5am so I swear by it. My mom actually bought some for herself too because she wasn't sleeping very well at night, and she claims it helps her sleep longer also. I think we use the johnson & johnson brand. It comes in a purple tube and they have bedtime bath too.

If she goes to bed easily at 6:30, and is only waking twice, at 2 months old-- go for it! That sounds great, and it sounds like you are doing a great job setting up a routine. My 8 month old knows when the lullaby music starts and I hand her "Baby", it's time to sleep, and rarely fusses-- and we didn't start as early as you! You'll be so thankful later when you have a good sleeper. I totally think those two wake up times are normal though-- does she go back to sleep after the 5 am? As long as she does for at least an hour or two, I'd say you're right on the money. Good luck!

i would try keeping her up a little longer each night until her bed time is later so she will sleep longer. also make sure she's going to bed with a full belly and a freshly changed diaper...that will help her sleep longer. I have a 6 month old and we have a very set bed tiem routine...bath at 8, jammies & new diaper at about 8:30, then battle and lulluby cd, then she's ususally down by 9 and sleeps till about 7. i give her a bottle then and she goes back to sleep till about 9 or 9:30. when you daughter wakes up in the middle of the night...don't make a big to-do about it. change her diaper, give a bottle or her paci and rock or cuddle her and she should hopefully fall back to sleep. I can pretty much promise that as she gets older, she will start to sleep longer. one more thing...is she getting a late after noon or early evening nap? if not try it...put her down for a nap around 3:30 or 4 and let her sleep till about 5:30 or six. that should give her enough energy to stay up a little later in the evenings. hope this helps...M.

My son has had the same bedtime since he came home from the hospital. He goes in his bed at 7:00pm everynight. He may not fall asleep at 7:00 (closer to 8:00) but he gets calmed down by laying there.

Routines are good if they are consistent. Babies at this age are prone to waking up 2-3 times per night because they are hungry. Give it a few more months. Your 6:30 pm bedtime and waking at 12 and 5 sounds very appropriate for her age. Good luck.

E.,
At 2 months old, you really should let her let you know when she is ready for bed. I have a feeling you have a few mone months of getting up in the middle of the night, I suggest you take naps with her during the day if u can and let her go to bed at 10 and stay up with her when she gets up in the morning, before long things will work them selves out!

i have four kids and they were all diff. when it came to bedtime . my best sugg. for you is what some body already said let her till you when shes hungery and when she sleep . i say take naps with her when you can . it will get easyer and she will make her own routine

Get the book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weisbluth. He advocates an early bedtime, like 6:00 and not to let the baby be awake for any more than 2 hours at a time. When the baby's been up for about 90 minutes, then get ready to put him/her down.

We put our kids to bed at 6:00 every night when they were babies. They were tired, and the were more likely to sleep a longer stretch at this time. If we waited later, then they would sleep less and be overtired.

After having 2 kids, I would suggest putting the baby to bed at 6. At 2 months, you can let him or her cry for a few minutes to learn to self soothe. Also, if bedtime is at 6, then you have a little time for dinner, and with your husband. Then you and your husband take turns getting up for the night feedings. If the baby's up at 12, then your husband gets up. Then you get up at 5. Eventually, the 12:00 feeding will get later and later, and then merge into the 5:00 feeding.

If you are breastfeeding, then pump a bottle for your husnabd to give the baby. My mother had an emergency appendectomy a few months after my "exclusively breast feed" brother was born, and I won't bore you with the horrible details, but hence I am a big proponent of at least one bottle a day, just in case.....

Good luck! and know that you are not alone!
-B.

When my baby was 2 mo. she didn't go down until 9:30 or so. She usually would wake up once, maybe twice. Don't expect your baby to make it through the night until she is around 4 months old. It's best to start a routine. We give our little lady a bath around 6:00, let her play, read books around 7:30, feed her around 7:45, sing songs and down for the count at 8. We've been doing the routine for about a month now and she has finally got the hang of it. She knows what's going to happen next and has come to expect bed time. I wouldn't worry about a set time just yet, just go with what she needs. If she needs to sleep, let her sleep, etc. My daughter is also in a great routine schedule for nap times. She goes down 3 times a day and after a month, she has finally realized what nap time is and how good it feels so she goes down without a fight. No rocking, singing, etc. It's worked out beautifully! I contribute all the success I've had to the book "Healthy Sleep Habits: Happy Baby". It tells you how to create a schedule the works for your baby, how to get your baby to sleep through the night (we chose the extinction method where you let them cry it out), and warning signs that your baby is sleepy. My personal advice, if she is tired at 6:30, let her go to bed. (P.S. Another thing mentioned in the book that may be helpful to you--after they wake up in the morning, they should go back down no later than 2 hours later b/c they will continue their REM sleep.) Good luck!

babies that young wil set their own schedules....and mosdt 2 months olds should wake up to eat during the night. My daughter used to wake up every 3-4 hours at night and now sleeps 8-9 hours straight through at night. follow her schedule and the two of you will be happy!

I have a two month old, and I've found that anywhere between 8:30 and 9:00 is best for her. We have a routine of bathtime around 7:30 or 8:00, eat right after, stay awake for 15/20 minutes, then bedtime. It was pretty hard at first, but now, she actually falls alseep on her own. It's nice that I can put her in her crib and she'll doze off alone. The only thing is, she has to have some kind of noise and light. I keep the television on and muted, and play either a cd of classical lullabies or Celine Dion's cd she did with Anne Geddes. Sometimes, I just leave the television on with sound. I know my electric bill is going to be outrageous, but it's for my little girl. Oh, and she only gets up once during the night to eat. Hopefully, I've helped you!

As long as she isn't waking up for long periods of time at 12 & 5, I would continue to put her to bed early. If you are tired of waking up at 5, you might try and post pone laying her down by 15 minutes to 30 minutes each night until she is going to bed closer to 7:30 or 8.

Babies are all different and need different things. My daughter was a night owl who didn't go to bed until 11 or 12, but slept until 9, my son goes to bed at 7 and wakes between 6:30 & 8.

I am a first time mom too, and I have a 4 month old. He goes to bed when I get off work around 11:15-12 every night. It might be late for some people, but thats just the schedule I have. On the good side, he doesn't wake up until around 7 or 8, but you can put your baby to bed whenever it fits your schedule best.

I don't know how many other mothers would agree with me, but I did this with both of my daughters (now 17 months and 5 months). At 6 weeks I started to "attempt" about a teaspoon of rice cereal mixed with formula (fed with a spoon) and then their regular bottle at around 7:30 or 8pm. After I fed her, I laid her down to go to sleep. With my first daughter I patted her to sleep which turned out to be a bad idea in the long run. She was very difficult to get to go to sleep on her own when she got a little older. My second daughter has always put herself to sleep. I lay her down and tuck her in and she goes to sleep. Ohh yeah, they slept through the night starting at 6 weeks. I let them cry it out for two nights and then they didn't wake up again. I have heard many peds say not to do this until they are atleast 6 months, but both of my daughters have thrived. It was excruitiating to let them do it the first two nights, but that third night when they sleep through it is absolutely amazing. I am better for the sleep and so are they. Now my 5 month old goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at around 7:30am. She is in the 50% for weight and the 75-90% for height. She is also already started on her hands and knees and scooting. I know it is long, but I hope it helps. It sounds to me like your daughter is already ready for a full night sleep as well since she is going for 6 and half hours. Good luck!