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PattiB
01-13-2004, 01:03 PM
Hi everyone,
Just wondering what time you experienced parents put your newborns to sleep? My DD is almost 3 weeks old and we've been trying to keep to a regular bedtime so she eventually gets her nights and days correct. We've usually started the process at 7:00 and end up putting her to bed between 8:00 and 9:00 (I hope someday this process gets a bit shorter!) Also several authors I've read say that the earlier you put them to bed, the later they sleep in the morning (I realize this probably doesn't apply to someone so young, but we did want to keep her bedtime the same so it's not a big change in the future).
Anyway it's quite apparent that she doesn't want to go to bed so early. She doesn't really settle down and stop fussing until midnight so I end up in her room holding her until then (on and off). At this point it would be easier on all of us to just move her bedtime to midnight. I'd frankly rather spend my time downstairs with her, holding her while watching TV or reading, instead of picking her up from the crib and rocking her in the glider for 4 hours on and off. I'm just not sure if it will make it more difficult to move her bedtime to 8:00 later on, or if she'll be restless for about 4 hours no matter what time I put her to bed.
Any words of wisdom would be most helpful!

Patti

bnme
01-13-2004, 08:01 PM
I wouldn't worry about a bedtime yet! Relax with her downstairs, like you mentioned. This is your time to cuddle and relax. My DS was up feeding every 2-3 hours at this age so I never really felt like he had a bedtime. Also it is common for babies to have a "fussy hour" at night between 4-8 weeks of age. Something to do with being over-stimulated due to their bodies not being able to produce a certain hormone or protein yet that helps in calming (read this in Weissbluth). When I read this it was a great relief!

My DS is 1 year and goes to bed at 6pm -earlier then I'd prefer but it is when he is ready. His regular bedtime came into play kind of naturally at around 6 months -at first it was around 8pm and got earlier as he got closer to sleeping through the night at around 8 or 9 months.

I don't think NOT having a regular bedtime or bedtime routine at this point will effect having a regular bedtime later. She is still too young. I found info in "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth to be very helpful in understanding babies sleep patterns & needs. Even if you are against his strong CIO stance I would highly recommend this book.

Good luck and congrats!