Late Late Late Bedtime!

Updated on January 02, 2011
E.A. asks from El Paso, TX
12 answers

Hi. My daughter is 9 months old she sleeps from 11 pm to 730 am sometimes wakes up only once at 5 am Im wondering if i should move her bed time earlier and how? she used to go to sleep around 9 930 around 5 months but then we went thru teething and a cold and things changed. she wakes up everyday at 730 and will take a nap around 11 them another nap later around 5 or 6. She's never been a great napper she will sleep 30 or way less so i try to put her down for as many lil power naps as possible. I've tried to not let her take a nap after 6 but it happens because if she does not sleep she is a lil terrorist. she gets 8 hours of sleep at night and whatever sleep she wants during the day i'm not too fond of schedules i JUST go by her signs if its working for us should i leave it at That or push for an earlier bedtime?

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Try to move her 1st nap to 10:00 and an afternoon nap at 2:00, this way she can be given a bath at 7:00pm and asleep by 8:00pm..

2 moms found this helpful

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.M.

answers from New York on

If the current schedule is working for you, your daughter and your family, then there's no need to change it. My children had late bed times, because daddy didn't get home until 8:30, and that way he could spend sometime with them and help with bedtime routine. It's what worked for our family. I never could understand parents who tried to put their kids to bed at 7:00, it just seemed so early to me.

1 mom found this helpful

B.A.

answers from Austin on

Here are some sleep tips and check the link for more:

sleep patterns mature over time just like other developmental skills.

http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2010/01/09/...

* Polls tell us that one-third of American children and their parents sleep together some or most of the time before children start school. Co-sleeping varies hugely by culture and ethnicity. So think about what you want to do, and discuss the pros and cons with your pediatrician.
* Make sure your crib is safe (locking rails), that your older child’s ‘big bed’ has side rails, and if you are co-sleeping, that there is plenty of room.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.T.

answers from Victoria on

i also have a nine month old. she takes a nap around noon and sleeps for a couple of hours. if she wakes up after thirty mins i leave her in for ten mins and see if she goes back to sleep. more offten than not she will. then thats it for her she only gets the one nap. then around 7 or 8 she is down for the night. and wakes up around seven thirty. the other thing about her waking at the same time every day could be the sun light in her room. we use white noise, comfy temp, very little light in the room, and black out shades. hope this helps ya!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I agree with Laurie A!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.G.

answers from Austin on

I wouldn't say it is working for you as 8 hours isn't enough sleep at night. You have gotten some great ideas on how to change the schedule. Here is a chart that talks about how much sleep children need to be healthy:

http://www.parents.com/baby/sleep/basics/age-by-age-guide/

Another benefit to getting her down sooner is that you have some down time before you go to bed. That will be good for you and her to get some "you" time.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.A.

answers from Atlanta on

Well you say you don't like schedules-which is a personal preference but I couldn't have survived without one but I also had twins so it was almost necessarry in order to remain sane-lol!
Personally 11 p.m. for a 9 month old is way too late imo and if she is typically falling asleep for a nap around 6 it makes sense as to why she isn't going to sleep until 11 p.m. if it were me I would cut out the 6 p.m. nap and start putting her to bed around 7:30-8:00 you might even want to push the envelope some and do bedtime around 7:00-7:30 since she is going to be such a monster without her nap at 6. You might just have to play around with the schedule for awhile to see what does work but just remember to allow time to "adjust" she is probably growing out of one of those naps anyways....you could cut out the morning nap and try a nap in the afternoon but don't wait until 6 p.m. if you can help it.
For me it was always the same thing. I would feed them their "dinner" and give them a bath afterwards. By the time I got done with bathtime it was close to bed or it was bedtime. I always felt like a nice bath at the end of the day always helps me to wind down and relax so why should it be any different for my kids? I have read and always heard that children thrive to a schedule and I might be a little extreme but I had to be in order to survive that first year with twins. I don't know if I would have been any different for a single birth though because my kids thrived off of this kind of schedule and believe me if something happened you better believe the rest of the day was wacko or the day after....it worked for us and that is all that matters.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.T.

answers from Austin on

I have to say I don't agree with those saying leave it. Even if it's ok for your daughter you need your down time and not have to rush to bed. You don't have to be on your daughter's time she can be on yours. Move naps earlier. 1st nap around 9 and second nap around 2pm, bath around 7:30 or 8 then book and bed by 8:30, 9 at the latest. If she's burning lots of energy for a long stretch of time you'll find that she will go down earlier and sleep longer. To start this out get up early and wake her by 6 or so when your hubby gets up for work get her up and start breakfast maybe cartoons if she'll watch them then once he leaves some play time then nap at 9. Awake by 1030 or 11 then not down until after lunch. Only hour and half nap time maybe 2 hours but up by 3 or 330. It won't take long for her to get on this schedule. Before long she'll sleep from 8:30 or 9pm till 8am. The longer the stretch between nap and bed time the longer she'll most likely sleep. The first couple of nights she'll have to adjust and may wake up at night but she'll get the sleep time down. Even if your not fond of schedules once she gets into this habit you can go back to watching her signs and still get you time in the evening. When I was a SAHM I loved the down time bc then I could work on crafts or projects I really wanted to get done that were hard to do when my son was awake. Plus my husband likes the us time we are able to have before bed. Now back at work we are both tired when we get home and there is still a list of things to get done before we go to bed. Once the kids are down it's a little easier to get done and can give our full attention.

J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

when my 2 yr old was "off" on his bedtime, I had him skip his nap one day and that got him back on track, as he ZONKED out come early bedtime that night. Yes he was a terror, but at least he was a terror just for that one night. Pick it to be a night when not a lot is going on.

With daylight-savings, maybe that will help her get on track too, or maybe that's made it worse? Look and see what she does with the sun being up sooner. She may need a MUCH earlier bedtime if she wakes up when the sun does.

J.B.

answers from Houston on

well my boy is 9 months and sleeps from 7:30-8 to about 7am daily. He naps from like 9:30-11 and again from about 2:30-3 to like 4:30. I know all kids have differing sleep needs but I think she might not be getting enough over all. I think at this age most kids need about 12-14hrs. The thing I always think is my baby doesn't know what time it is, so I put him down when I think it is appropriate. Mine has a mobile in his crib that plays soft lullabies. I put him in there and he watches the mobile, listens to the music and knocks out. I think if it were me I would just put her down at 10pm the first night, then 9pm the second, then 8:30, then 8. Over the course of several days, I think she will adjust. Also a bedtime routine helps. I do dinner, bath, jammies, a few minutes of floor time, brush teeth, nurse, sleep. He knows once those jammies go on that bed time is near. I can actually see him shift into the chill out mode, it is really cute. He used to fall asleep nursing but now he stays awake, I have him tell everyone goodnight I put him to be with the mobile and he sleeps great. She may cry some at first because she is old enough to have her own opinions about things!! But I think if you let he cry a little in a couple days she will be sleeping great!! Good luck:)

C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I haven't read all your other posts but I think she needs to be going down earlier. When my daughter was that age, she did go to bed between 10-11pm but then would wake up 1x to eat around 6am and sleep until 10. So it doesn't not sound like she's sleeping enough.

My suggestion would be to first cut out her 2nd nap. Then she'll be tired enough to fall asleep around 8pm. You may have to adjust to her getting up earlier (if she really only will sleep for 8 hours at night) but I have a feeling once she gets into a better sleeping habit she will sleep longer. My daughter is 3 years old now and just now is sleeping around 12 hours a night (where as she used to sleep 9-10).

Also make sure to have a good sleep routine. Bath, books, soft lights, etc before bed. Don't just go from playing, playing, playing to putting her in bed. Ease her into it and she'll expect it and her body will naturally signal to her that it's time for bed and she'll start getting tired.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.T.

answers from College Station on

While it is not my choice for a schedule, if it is working for you, leave it alone. My first 2 were not good sleepers so I understand your dilema. You may want to push her 11am nap to 12 or 1 to see if that helps her any.

Good Luck

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions