what is a decent hour for a 5 month old to go to bed at night? is 10.30-11.30 too late?

Question

will this be a habit in future? we will give a last feed at 11.30-12mn.

Answer 1

I wouldn't worry about it at this point. Until they reach one year you really don't need to worry about it. If by the time baby turns one he/she isn't taking one to two naps a day and sleeping from about 9pm to 6 or 7am then you will want to take a look at his/her schedule and make some tweaks.

Answer 2

That was the same with our son.... then after a few months, he actually switched to 9:30pm, that's what time he goes to bed now.... so no, I don't think it's too late, and won't be a bad habit in the future... they learn to get their own schedule down... and as he gets older, he won't need that last feeding you are doing right now.... add up how many ounces of formula you are feeding, and the doctor should be able to tell you if they are on track.... and what you can do is try to push that feeding up a little if you think your baby is getting enough. I know there were times when our son wouldn't go to bed until 1am.... but now he goes to bed around 9:30pm-10:00pm the latest- and, sometimes he will wake up at midnight- but that's usually when teething. He also wakes up around 8-9am- it used to be 9, but because of the time change, it threw him off a little.

Answer 3

I think it depends on your schedule. If you plan to wake the baby up again at 6 then yes it's too late. For parents that don't get off of work until maybe 8 or 9 ofcourse it's not. You should still have time to spend with your baby. Besides if you aren't reporting to work at 8 then they can sleep the adequate amount of 11 hours with no problem. Eventually you will have to make them go to sleep earlier when they have somewhere to go(daycare, school, church, etc) but until then I wouldn't worry about it. As long as they are able to lay in their crib for at least 11 hours or so uninterrupted I think it's fine.

Answer 4

My 5mth old was going to bed around 9pm at the latest... we've been gradually moving that up so that at 12mths she's in bed by 8pm. You want to make sure your baby is getting enough sleep, so if your baby is taking a later nap than I could see that being OK, but the avg 5mth old wants to be in bed every 3hrs. My girl typically resisted the late afternoon nap, but if yours doesnt... I know at first I didnt realise how tired my girl really was, I thought she was like the energizer bunny who wouldnt stop. Then I discovered it didnt matter if I put her in bed a half hr earlier than normal, she'd go right to sleep, as she really was tired - it was just she was having so much fun hanging out with mom and dad she didnt show it. And about this age you might want to think about moving up the last meal so that it doesnt come right before bedtime. If you're nursing perhaps one last comfort nurse before bed would be ok (I typically did that) but the big meal should be at least an hr or so before bedtime so that these become too separate activities (eating vs sleeping).

Answer 5

Yes, dear, 10:30 is too late. Your baby needs to sleep. Sleep helps their immune system, is good for brain development and it's when they grow. Depriving your child of sleep is as bad as depriving them of food. I'm not saying that to scold you, just to give you ammunition in your own mind when you put your baby down to sleep.

My 5 month old is crazy tired by 7:30pm, sometimes earlier. We put him in his crib no later than 7:30pm and he sleeps till 6:30am. On top of that he gets on average 3 hours of nap time during the day (some days it's a bunch of 30 minute naps, some days its a couple one or two hour naps.)

In response to some of the earlier postings, my experience has been that having my baby on a schedule is easier for me, not harder. And starting a bed time routine will help you get your baby into a good sleep pattern. Really, the earlier in your baby's life you do this, the easier, so you don't have bad habits that need to be corrected. What works for us is a bath, which relaxes him, followed by a warm bottle and a story. We walk out of the room after that and he falls asleep on his own. (Sometimes he falls asleep on the bottle if he's really tired!)

Good luck.

Answer 6

it really depends on how you feel about that routine yourself, as a mother of a 3 year old who no longer sleeps during the day and also a three month old, i above anything (besides my kids) value my personal 'me time' in the evening without which i think i would go insane. Most nights i endevour to have my kids in bed by 7.30 and whilst i guess i am lucky that they are co-operative with this, I think partly it is because i have always had a bedtime routine which indicates to them that the day is over and its lights out. Bath, a bottle. a book and finally a kiss and cuddle from both my husband and myself and then its peace and quiet for us for the rest of the evening.....ahh the serenity!!!! If you don't mind this lack of time to yourself...don't change a thing.

Answer 7

Putting your child on a schedule is best for both you and the child. It will help in establishing a routine as well as allow the child to know the difference betweent the hours of sleep and wake. They pediatricians recommend that you put them to bed between 830pm-900pm or as close to your bedtime to help with routine. I put my children to bed between 730p-830p when they were that young. For the most part in the beginning it was hard but after about 1 month they where able to get the routine and slept throughout the night.

Answer 8

I have seen the pros and cons to your question and believe that "if possible" try and get your bub into a routine. It is definately hard but its a huge success in the long run. My niece now nearly 3 and nephew nearly 1 are in a routine and I have really seen the benifits of it all. At first they are not happy but persist with it and it really works ! They are both in bed by 8pm which gives the parents adult time !!! Good luck with youe decision

Answer 9

Right now, your baby is still very young and they need lot and lot of hours to sleep. You might want to have your last feed (with cereal) @ 8.30pm. Let your baby to rest for half an hour and turn off the light by 9pm. Believe me, with enough sleep your baby will grow stronger as well as they will wake up with a big smiling face. As time goes by, they will stick to this habit.

Answer 10

I have two boys aged 27 months & 10 months. the 10 month old goes to bed no later than 10pm. My toddler goes to bed around midnight. Some children just have different sleeping patterns. They both have a routine before bed