Member Questions

I start bedtime anywhere between 7pm and 8pm depending on how tired he is. Somedays he takes less naps than others so this affects his exhaustion, although he doesn't like to nap much as it is. My husband wishes it was later because he doesn't get home until about 7:30 or 8 but I don't think it's right to keep him up. I found out early on that he gets up early no matter what time he goes to bed so its best if he goes to bed early. However, I have noticed here lately that he seems to wake up and roll around on his own a little before actually falling asleep, even if he's fallen asleep in my arms.

I'm a SAHM, but wasn't always so enforcing bedtime at a decent hour was always very important. I find that having children 11, 8, 4, and 2 makes bedtime around 9pm works for everyone. It used to be 8:30pm, but as the older two got older and we moved the 4 yr old in with the 8 yr old, it was too hard to make the younger one go to bed w/o the older one. So working in the extra half hour was good for all.

We start our bedtime routine around 8 pm, but its not unusual for him to not fall asleep until 9pm or later (he's 22 months old). I know that seems very late for a toddler, but he sleeps ten hours on the nose - rarely a moment more, so getting him to bed around 9pm means that he won't wake up until around 7am. Usually. Hopefully. We tried, for a while, moving his bedtime back to 7-ish (mostly in response to some tut-tuting from other parents of toddlers about my son's "super late" bedtime), but all that happened was he woke up sunny and ready to go at 5am.

Of course, 9 pm also means that I get a good amount of time with him in the evening. Its not unusual for me to lie in bed with him for the full hour reading 6-8 books, or just singing songs and talking about what tomorrow will bring. I had an extended bedtime routine as a child as well, and I think this time we spend, just he and I, being quiet and snuggling and sharing things we like is the best part of the day for both him and I.

I am lucky that I get home from work by 4:30, but I have the whole afternoon and evening planned out into a mental schedule to get him in bed by 8 pm. We play together for an hour or so, he "helps" me cook dinner, we eat at 6ish, play and clean up unitl 6:45, take a 30 minute bath, eat a bedtime snack, read books at 7:30, then do prayers, nighttime songs, and kisses goodnight. I don't like feeling rushed to get him to bed so early, but he usually wakes up around 6:30 am when he goes to preschool (at the school where I work), and I really believe he needs good, quality rest, especially the night before he goes to school. He's usually up around 7:00 on the days he stays home with Daddy. So early to bed, early to rise, I guess....

we start bedtime around 8pm. mostly because there are nights i dont get home until 7:30 and i want to see my baby boy! maybe it's selfish... but then he also sleeps until 7:30ish in the AM ;)