8 week bedtimes

Ok so these 2 are giving me a run for my money! I know I can't expect anything too predictable at this point but I have to ask, what time are you/did you put your 8 week olds to bed? We have been keeping them up til 9-10pm or so with us (with lots of naps during the day) but they are soooo fussy in the evenings. I'm wondering if that last nap should just become bedtime instead? Our oldest is 3 and was and still is an amazing sleeper and never really had a fussy period. We lived by HSHHC with her and I've reread it again this time around but he doesn't say a lot about this age and I dont remember what we did with her. Thoughts? I'll be honest, part of why bedtime is late right now is because if we all go to bed at 10pm they'll sleep til 3 and then 7 meaning I'm only up once in the night

 

If you try to move bedtime up, you can do a dream feed at 10 still and you might get your only up at once thing still. Though I know it is always nerve racking to mess with bedtime. I wish I could remember what our bedtime was at that age but I have already forgotten!

 

This is what we did.....we did a bedtime at 7pm, then a dream feed (no lights, no talking, etc.) around 10pm.

 

We did the 7 pm bedtime with a 10 pm dream feed as well with our twins and single son. With my 4th baby, if she went to bed before 9 pm she was up every 1.5 - 2 hours over night. After 9, she would be up every 3.5 - 4 hours (she napped a lot during the day, too). She just wasn't having the earlier bedtime. Now she is almost 9 months old with two naps a day and has settled into a 7:30 bedtime. So even if your twins go to bed late now, it doesn't mean that you're stuck with it forever! Go with what gets you the best sleep!! Congratulations on your twins!

 

Around eight weeks their bedtime was around 9 PM between 8 and 12 weeks or so it gradually dropped to 8 and now at 16 weeks we are around 7. It took us about two hours to feed them, sooth them, re sooth them a million times before they were finally out because they were pretty fussy, startling easily, acid refluxish. We just tried to stay patient and now they are taking a lots less longer to feed and sooth (45-75 minutes).

 

Are you breastfeeding? All my babies would be up all evening cluster feeding at that age until maybe 4 months? 8 weeks is still so early in the grand scheme of things you just have to go with what works for the moment. If it's not working for you having them up in the evenings, change it. Otherwise just do what you're doing and enjoy your night's sleep - sounds pretty fab to me! Wish my 8 month olds were so kind!!!

 

I have 9 week old twins and they just started getting into a sleep organization routine. I am also reading a Marc Weissbluth book "Your Fussy Baby" and he mentions that at around 6 weeks of age babies start to organize their sleep patterns. This means they start to sleep longer at night-which mine started to recently. I put them down between 8-9:30 and they wake up around 2:30-3 and then again b/w 6-7. During the day they may get a mini early morning nap (before 10 am), a mid morning nap or a long afternoon nap (3-5 hours). Then they are fussy from 5-8- unable to sleep long periods and wanting to cluster feed.

 

By that age, ours were at a 5:20/6:00 bedtime that gradually moved to 6:00 for the first year or more. I never really understood the purpose of a dream feed so they were up at 1:00 and 4:00 overnight. By 12 weeks, DD was STTN and DS was just up at 4:00.

 

Thanks everyone We've been putting them down earlier (around 7pm) and if nothing else, it means we avoid the evening fussy period. I sooo appreciate all of your feedback!

 

It made us all so much happier too to avoid that evening fussiness! Hope it keeps working out!