Question about bedtimes

[Rainbowbrite]

OK this might be a stupid question, but what do you do if bub is not tired at bed time?

MJ's bedtimes vary from day to day, as does everything :p Some nights she will willingly go to bed & to sleep at 7pm, other nights she will not settle till after 9pm, or when i go to bed. I dont mind it sometimes but others when i KNOW she is tired, but she fights it what can I do?

I HATE letting her scream :( so controlled crying is NOT an option. We cosleep once i'm in bed, but some nights she just wont go off. She will be whingy, rubbing her eyes, & so restless but will not go to sleep. I've been told to just hold her down till she goes off but she screams like i'm killing her :eek:

Any words of wisdom?

RB

[tickle]

Hi
Oliver goes to bed when he's tired. We co sleep to go to sleep most of the time, even if I'm not going to bed, I'll just lie down with him for a couple of minutes.
If he's tired but is being what I call silly, I ignore his antics and pretend to sleep and he quickly loses interest. I think it really depends on the child though and Oliver is 18 months also. I personally wouldn't hold them down until they are quiet. I don't do anything that I wouldn't like done to me to my child.;)
Good luck!:)

[Rainbowbrite]

Thanks HL, love the pic BTW :)

I've tried to ignore MJ, which leads to her either pulling my hair, taking my glasses off, or crawling right over me :rolleyes:

RB

[tickle]

Probably easier for me with Oliver being older. If he does something to hurt me I say no and then if he ignores me I leave the room. Bit hard to do when they are younger though. Sorry I can't help more....:o
Does she like her hair being touched or anything that might calm her down that way?
Also does she have bedtime rituals so she can anticipate what might happen?
Even though some days Oliver goes to bed at 6:30pm (after no nap) and other times he goes down at 9:30pm (with a big afternoon nap), I will still do the whole cup of milk, brush teeth and read a story thing so he knows it's bed time.:)

[Me]

Hey RB,
I don't have a lot of experience but my suggestions would be the same as Happy Lady - try lying with her pretending to sleep until she settles.
I also got given a Majors for Minors CD that has a bedtime half on it which I always use as part of bubs bedtime routine - perhaps a relaxation CD of some kind might help calm MJ?
Good luck I hope you find something that works for you both.

[zenifa]

Not sure if I can help RB, as my DD sleeps in her cot. Her bedtime varies from 6pm-9.30pm, depending on how many/how long her daytime sleeps are, whether she's teething etc.
We don't really have a set bedtime routine, but she does have the fisher price ocean aquarium which we turn on, put the dummy in, she cuddles her lamb toy and usually off she goes. Now that she's rolling, we sometimes have to flip her over.
If she doesn't settle, we will try to bf, have a relaxing bath, try baby massage or soothing rocking to some soft classical music.
Good luck with it. Z

[AM]

My son's bedtime is pretty flexible, as his day sleep is quite all over the place, and we just go with the flow, let him race around and tire himself out, and when i can read the signs, we gradually quieten the house down, turn off a few lights, and generally create a space of calm and quiet, and he will get the message that it is bed time.
I'm pretty shocked at people telling you to hold her down until she goes to sleep???!!! WTF!!! :eek:

[Rainbowbrite]

I'm so glad others dont have a set bedtime :)

We usually let her play on the floor after her dinner, bath & BF till she gets tired & comes up for cuddles. Then we sit with her on the lounge watching tv (bad mummy).


I'm pretty shocked at people telling you to hold her down until she goes to sleep???!!! WTF!!! :eek:

Tell me about it. I have some great "friends" dont I.......NOT.

RB