What time should I put him to bed?

[sharvs]

I'm wondering what time I should be putting my 13 week old to bed. I usually try to keep him awake until 8-8.30pm, give him a bottle & put him to bed. He doesnt usually drink much because he is so tired so I give him the rest as a dream feed about 10pm. He sleeps through till 5-5.30am.

He sleeps well during the day, usually 4-5 sleeps most are 40 minutes with one 2-3 hour sleep around lunch time.

Am I putting him to bed too late? I would love him to sleep an extra hour in the morning, someone told me the more sleep they get, the more they want?

Sharon

[maddysmama]

Hi

My 4 month old bubs is usually in bed by 6.30-7...theres no way I could keep her up longer and she wakes up at 6-7am. I've found on the occasions she has gone to bed at 8 or later she still wakes up at the same time, so maybe try putting bubs to bed earlier and seeing what happens? Even if he still wakes up early you may have an extra hour to yourself in the evening!:D

I definately find when bubs has good naps during the day, she sleeps well at night too. I think sleep promotes sleep, as overtired babies may wake easily and find it hard to settle.

[stoked2be-a-ma]

I think you are doing a great job. I cant get my bub to go to sleep until we go to bed at around 9pm, he is alot older than yours but he has always been this way. He does co sleep though which is probley why. I also did hear that sleep does promote sleep and it is right for me. My little man sleeps till about 8 am but he wakes about 2 - 3 times a night ( breast fed) but thats another story...
Unless you are unhappy with what time he goes to bed I wouldnt worry if I were you. If hes tired before hand he will let you know.:D

[Rhys'Mum]

My little man has pretty much always gone to bed around 7pm and his night sleeps have been pretty good. Even when he has woken needing a feed or a bit of a comfort he pretty quickly goes back to sleep. [Now day sleep are another matter we seem to only recently have got the knack of that lol, and recovering from humid hot holidays and moving to solids was not so nice (he woke every two hours for quite a while there) but hey you can't have everything... ]

I have read quite a few articles from sleep 'experts' that recommend an early bedtime. Some suggest that it can assist with early waking probs once they move to longer sleep cycles, some talk about setting a pattern now that will make it easier once they go to pre-school or day-care, some just say that for some reason it seems to work...

Whatever you decide we have found that consistency really helps. Do the same thing, say the same thing and try to do it about the same time. It took a couple of weeks but we noticed that halfway through the bedtime ritual he was starting to yawn and flop a little, even if you would swear he wasn't tired when we started. Good luck with it all. :fingerscrossed: