My 7 month old's bedtime..?

Question

My son has never been able to adjust to a schedule i tried to create, but he's put himself of one over the last couple of months. Only thing i control is his bedtime routine.. We do it same way at almost same time ( depends on him )... But lately he's been so hard to put down.. His last nap used to be 4-5pm.. Now when he's tired and is rubbing his eyes around that time, i try to lay him down, and he'll scream and scream untill i get him up, then fuss if i sit him down to play and squirm if i try to hold him.. So we end up staying up and doing the routine earlier, and he's down for the night at 6:30.. (its usually 7 - 7:30 ) I realyy don't like the idea of him going to sleep so early.. But there is no way to put him down for that last nap, or try to keep him up for longer.. So he just spends the last 3 hours fussing at everything..

Anyone else have this problem?

Answer 1

I have a similar problem but ours is by the time 830pm rolls around he will cry and cry cause he is over tired... Our 7 month old sleeps from 9pm til 5am and then goes down at 730am til 9.00am then 11.00am til 11.30am then 2pm til 2.30pm then 430pm til 5pm then he is awake til 830-9.00pm so by then he is over tired and doesnt want to settle he does eventually tho. I have learnt that its impossible to live by expectations like your baby should have only 2 sleeps that are 2 hours each if I did that and tried to live by that I would end up with one unsettled baby and one stressed out Mummy so I just go day by day. I hope this helps you.
Try laying down with your baby for his night tme sleep.
I also think he screams and screams because u pick him up Ill paste this great article to you:
The Feed / Play / Sleep System
Feed / Play / Sleep is an important part of establishing a good routine. The 3 steps need to remain separate.

Feeding is in your arms
Down is where you play
Sleeping is in a cot
Establishing the Feed / Play / Sleep routine will enable you to watch for and recognize tired signs. When you see tired signs and you know that baby has already been fed, you should implement the settling techniques straight away. Do not wait until your baby is already hungry, tired and grumpy, thus allowing them to fall asleep in your arms.

This does not however mean that love and cuddles are sacrificed. These should be incorporated into their playtime as much as you wish to, and don’t forget that you are still feeding in your arms, the only difference is that you are not letting them fall asleep in your arms.

Answer 2

At this age its totally normal. Exploring their world and using their bodies is waaay more fun.

Babies adhere to schedules because you make them, not because they want to. If a child leads, you're following, and they dont know they way.

Some times they just reach a point where they HAVE to cry it out. You comfort them, do the same routine, keep the same schedule, and let them fuss and carry on about it until they finally sleep. Its part of growing up. For both of you.

Beyond that, a child who is too tired will not sleep right. A single one hour nap is not enough for a 7 month old who needs nearly 15 hours of sleep a day, in some cases even more. Their bodies require it for their growth and repair. The fact that he's pooping out so early is a sign that hes not getting enough sleep during the day, and because of that he wont be able to fall asleep even though he is completely exhausted.

Answer 3

I had the same issues with my son. He only took one nap for the longest time, and then when he gave that up (on his own) he'd be a nightmare and then fall asleep for the night at 6pm and be up at 5 am! What I had to do was adjust my afternoon routine (dinner, etc) to keep him active when he wanted to try and nod off. Then right after dinner, it was bath, pj's and bed (usually by 7 ish). It made a big difference. You might want to check out this site: www.opmom.com. I found some great advice there. There are circles devoted to various motherhood/parenting topics. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

It is normal to reduce from three naps per day to two around this age. I would suggest looking to his other two naps during the day to try to correct the problem. Your baby evidently needs a little more sleep. So he is either going to get it by extending one of the earlier naps or going down early at night. Consider letting your baby extend his daytime naps for an extra half hour. For example, 9:30-11:00am and 1:30-3:00pm. Even if your baby wakes up midway during the nap, let him cry it out. He will learn to soothe himself back down and get those extra winks that it sounds like he needs.

Answer 5

He may be adjusting out of that last nap. I would try being lively and keeping him up until seven. Good luck!