You'll be happy to know that babies who are put to bed earlier tend to sleep better. Quality sleep tends to happen before midnight for most babies (and adults!) so don't be afraid of an earlier bedtime.
When your child is falling asleep well at the later time, you can start gradually making your child's bedtime earlier. This might be about a week after you start bedtime fading. This involves making bedtime about 15 minutes earlier every few days. You do this until you reach the ideal bedtime for your child.
A newborn baby cannot follow any sleep routine but from around 3 months you can start to establish a routine that gets them used to the idea of bedtime and snuggling down. So, find a good time for your baby to go down - ideally between 6.30pm and 8.30pm - and try and stick to it each night, or as near as possible.
Bedtime in newborns is naturally late, usually around 9:00pm or later, but it is important to start moving the bedtime earlier around 6/8 weeks. By 2 months, baby's last nap should be ending by 6:30pm. Bedtime should be around 6:30-8:30pm and should occur about 1-2 hours after the last nap ends.
If your baby is getting less day sleep than we want, they can keep their sleep balance by sleeping at night. If you find your baby had short crummy naps, then an early bedtime will do the trick. You have a cat nap in the late afternoon.
So, if she has a bedtime of about 7:30 p.m., be sure to gently wake her from her nap by about 4:00 p.m. Keep in mind, though, that younger infants may be able to nap until closer to 5:00 p.m. and still fall asleep easily at bedtime.
It is usually best not to start an evening nap after 5-6 pm and – instead, move bedtime up a little during the transition phase. Most babies are sleeping about 3 hours total during the day at this point. By 18 months children drop down to one nap. This nap often occurs mid-day and may vary in length from 1-3 hours.
Many four month olds do best with that 7 to 8 pm bedtime. However, some babies do hold on to a later bedtime just a bit longer. So please know, if your baby is thriving with a bedtime between 8 and 10 pm, there's no need to change anything yet.
To extend your baby's morning sleep, consider gradually adjusting bedtime by slowly shifting it later in 15-minute increments until your baby's wake-up time moves closer to 7am. This will help their internal clock adjust to the new schedule.
While the start of night sleep should remain somewhat flexible, earlier bedtimes between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM are common. They can also ensure that your 4 month old gets enough sleep and remains well-rested.
Most toddlers are ready for bed between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm. This is a good time, because they sleep deepest between 8 pm and midnight. It's important to keep the routine consistent on weekends as well as during the week.
For babies 4–9 months old, bedtime should be about 1 hour and 45 minutes after the 3rd nap, as long as the main two naps are at least 1–2 hours each. Bedtime should be earlier if naps are shorter. Don't be afraid of a 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. bedtime.
Bedtime for a 3 month old
At this age, we start to see bedtimes shift earlier. Plan for bedtime to be 12 - 14 hours after waking for the day but no earlier than 6:00 PM. That means an optimal bedtime for a baby waking around 6:00 AM will be between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
Most babies are ready for bed between 6 pm and 10 pm. They usually take less than 40 minutes to get to sleep, but some babies take longer.
One of the biggest factors in early waking is the way daytime sleep affects night sleep. Babies only need a certain amount of sleep in a 24 hour period. So if they have too much day sleep, they genuinely don't need to sleep till 7am and will wake early in the morning simply because they aren't tired enough.
So, if you are seeing your baby wake up at the 30 minute mark, or the 45 minute mark, it's because they are shifting between sleep cycles and briefly moving into a lighter stage of sleep. This is often referred to as the '45 minute intruder'.
Many experts recommend the 2-3-4 approach for babies needing two daytime snoozes. It works by gradually increasing the time between naps throughout the day: two hours of staying awake before the first nap, three hours between the first and second naps, and four hours before bedtime.
Once your baby's sleep matures at around 4 months of age, you'll want to start aiming for an earlier bedtime anywhere between 6pm-8pm.
3.5 - 6 months old - 7-8:30 pm. 6 - 12 months old - 6-8pm. 12 - 24 months old - 6:-7:30pm. 2 - 10 years - 7-8:30 pm.
Key Takeaways for better baby sleep
Babies are naturally sleepy between 6.30 and 7.30pm so try to map your bedtime routine to wind down in that window. If naps have been particularly short or your baby is fussy, moving bedtime as early as 5.30pm can help.
Should I wake my baby up in the morning? # Most little ones need their daytime to be about 12-13 hours long. A good rule of thumb is to start your day no later than 8:00 am (or 12-12.5 hours after bedtime).
Try laying your baby down at the same exact time for naps each day. Consistency over a couple of days is usually enough to reset your baby's clock and get back on track after a major or minor sleep debt.
Babies take their cues from you and what you do together; if you do the same thing each nap and bedtime, they'll start to realize it's time for sleep. Routines are how babies know day from night, and when to transition from one to the other.