[sarasprings]

Since nightweaning, my son has been sleeping better. He recently has been going to sleep around 9:30 -- no matter when we get into bed. I stopped nursing him to sleep, but I'm not sure if that is the problem.

Anyway, I'm wondering when your children's bedtime is. I know books say that early is better, but that hasn't seemed to be true for my son (of course, nothing a book has ever suggest worked with him, in regards to sleep).

 

[CraftyMommaOf2]

DS used to go to bed around 10pm. Now his bedtime ritual is to try to be in our bed at 8-8:15pm so we have plenty of time for a story or two and then it is time to go to sleep at 8:30. When he was going to bed around 10pm he was setting his own bedtime. Since I'm pg I wanted him to have some sort of routine to help him out when the babe comes. He gets up anywhere from 7:30am-10am depending on how tired he was. But, he has to linger in the bed for about 1/2 hr before he's ready to get up :LOL Not a problem for me at all! I think that it depends on the child and if they have to get up at a certain time. HTH

 

[mountain mom]

My dd goes to bed between 8:30 and 10:00 depending on whether or not she had a nap during the day. She usually will ask to nurse and then fall asleep on my lap and I will put her to bed. (We cosleep) She is 31 months and seems to really follow the seasons with her sleep. She goes to sleep when the sun is going to sleep. During the dark winter months she headed to bed earlier...at about 7:30 or 8:00.

We encourage her natural rhythm. Plus we are often outside enjoying spring and our gardens until at least 8 pm now.

 

[phathui5]

My ds (3 1/2 yrs) goes to bed at 9:00. He nurses, but doesn't nurse all the way to sleep. My dd (9 months) goes to bed around 9:30. Her I nurse to sleep.

 

[Piglet68]

From almost day one, until she was about a year old, DD went to bed at 11 pm, give or take a bit. There were brief phases where this would change, but overall she kept pretty constant with that time. It was okay with me, b/c I'd rather stay up late and sleep in, than have to get up early. She rarely woke before 8:30, and usually closer to 9:30.

Around 1 year, which coincided with her mastering walking and becoming much more physically active, her bedtimes switched rather quickly to around 9 pm, and then more gradually to around 7 pm. She goes to bed at around 8, give or take 30 minutes, on average. Sometimes as early as 6:30 or 7 if she skipped her nap, or as late as 9 or 10 if she had a very late nap. So long as we keep naps at a regular time (around noon to 2 pm) she is pretty consistently asleep by 8 pm.

I also nurse her to sleep. Many nights she asks to go to bed and have "milkies" all on her own, most other nights I just suggest it and off she goes. It's rare that she refused to go to bed, lol.

 

[karlin]

My 9mo DS goes to sleep around 6:30pm. He takes after his mama (thanks god, or it would not be fun getting up with him as early as I do).

 

[KyleAnn]

Ever since ds turned about 3mos (14mo now), he has been a "schedule baby." We didn't put him on it, he just always wakes, naps and eats at the same time...always.

He has been going to bed at 10pm and sleeps until 8-8:30ish. It is wonderfuuuuulllll.

 

[rainbow dancer]

My dd goes to sleep around 11 pm, sometimes midnight. We can all sleep in most of the days, so it isn't a problem, although I would love to have some time in the evening where I can get things done, since she is sleeping in my arms for all her naps.

Piglet68: good to know that there is hope in the future that she might go to bed earlier....

 

[Marsupialmom]

I think one of the biggest disservice we do to our selves is get locked into the "Early to bed, Early to rise," mentality.

This does not mean I don't think having routine and regular bed times/rise time a bad things but I don't think going to bed early is always good for the child and family.

I honestly do not see what it matters if the family/person goes to bed at 12 am and gets their complete amount of rest than 8pm. Now if this late to bedder is getting up at 6 am with out enough sleep then there is a problem.

Studies do show people have different times of the day they are at their best. I think we as adults need to acknowledge and respect this as much as problem.

Now, my children go to bed at nine. We did have them going to bed at 8 but that was not respecting their needs. We developed the 8 bed time because my husband and I needed time for "us". We have always had a good marriage but after the third child we felt like two people drifting on opposite sides of the raft. For a while my children did not like this 8-bed time but dh and I needed time to come close. After we got on the same side of the raft (the entire family need this) it was easier to be much more flexible. We discovered 9 was more respectable to ALL of our children's needs. After the initial coming back together we were able to switch when and how we made our marital emotional needs met.

Now my husband and I are discussing the merits of keeping them up later and letting them sleep in later so all of our needs can be met.

 

[Annoia]

Ilyas (9m) goes to bed between 8 & 10, and always wakes up between 7 & 8 am. I never really put him on a schedule, he just developed a real consistent rhythm.

 

[ameliabedelia]

Lately DD has been going to be between 9:30-10:30 and getting up between 5-6! YIKES. However, she pretty much sleeps ALL afternoon. I am talking between 12-4 or 1-5, sometimes she will sleep as late as 6 (and she is always down for her nap by 1:30). I think she follows the natural rhythm of the sun. I noticed she started going to bed later and getting up earlier as the days are getting longer. During the winter, she goes to bed later, gets up later (but takes a shorter nap). She pretty much gets up as soon as the sun gets up. I am the same way. I CAN NOT sleep in the mornings, once it is light outside. My body is seriously unable to sleep in, I am NOT kidding. Even in college, when I stayed up later, I still got up really early. I think the latest I have ever slept in my life is 9:30.

 

[Bearsmama]

DS is usually asleep between 8-8:45. We try to start the whole bedtime process on the early side, though, but inevitably it's this time when he finally konks out. Oh-and he needs mommy & daddy in bed with him to fall asleep now. It is quite a process and I am hoping that this stage is not forever!

I have a friend whose DS is almost 3 and is asleep in bed by 6:45 each night! I'm not kidding. And he sleeps until 7 the next morning! Amazing to me (BTW, this particular friend did the whole "sleep training"/CIO thing with her kids). Perhaps this has something to do with the early bedtime???

 

[stafl]

much, much later than anyone else's kid's bedtimes, I'm afraid.
DD1 has resisted any sort of scheduling in her life, but when DH was working days, she did go to bed between 9-11pm most nights.
My sister expects her children to sleep like 13 hours every night, and a nap during the day! I think that's a bit unreasonable. My children, even my tiny baby, don't get that much sleep all day long. In my sister's case, I think what really happens is the children cry and scream for hours alone in their beds until they would have gone to sleep on their own anyway.

 

[sarasprings]

Thanks for all of your responses.

All my friends' kids go to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 (without any problem), so I'm glad to know that many other children stay up later, like my son. DS has been going to bed later and later the whole week, which is hard because DH has to be up at 5:30. Luckily, he is done with school in 1 1/2 weeks for the summer, so he'll be able to sleep in with us.