tl;dr does anyone put their baby to sleep at like 10pm and wake up at 8-9am instead?
Every single sample sleep schedule I see online has us waking up at the crack of dawn with the baby and putting them for their first nap at like 8am. Right now my almost 5-month-old is doing his own thing and we are struggling with nighttime wake-ups (waiting for a GI appt to confirm but pretty sure he has infant dyschezia… separate topic) so we will eventually sleep train when we clear up his stomach issues. He currently refuses to go to sleep before 11pm & since he barely sleeps overnight he sleeps in late too. Eventually when we want to follow a schedule I want to know if it’s possible to have the baby sleep/wake later? Me & my husband are night owls & work from home so we can start our days a little later.
You can use whatever sleep schedule your baby will accept. Many folks find it convenient to have adult-only time in the evenings, and/or have to get out the door in the morning. But I’ve nannied for families with babies who did great on a night owl schedule. There’s plenty of time to shift things before Baby starts school.
My 6mo does 10pm-10am. He’s always been a night owl and a late sleeper. And hopefully remains this way because it’s definitely my preferred way of living.
Wren said:
My 6mo does 10pm-10am. He’s always been a night owl and a late sleeper. And hopefully remains this way because it’s definitely my preferred way of living.
My baby is the daughter of two night owls and is very clearly an early bird like her uncle. It’s been a rough few months.
Wren said:
My 6mo does 10pm-10am. He’s always been a night owl and a late sleeper. And hopefully remains this way because it’s definitely my preferred way of living.
My son sleeps late and wakes at 10am too. He’s almost 3 now and still sleeps late. It’s great; however, now that he’s in daycare, waking him up in the morning has been a bear.
Wren said:
My 6mo does 10pm-10am. He’s always been a night owl and a late sleeper. And hopefully remains this way because it’s definitely my preferred way of living.
Yeah, I’ve never been a morning person and see no reason for that to change. Baby goes to bed around when we do and wakes up with us too.
Mine does 8-8! I think all those schedules are like that because people usually have older kids who are in preschool or school and need to get up early for drop-off. We tried 9-9 but the days just get LONG.
Vic said: @Fintan
We are also 8 - 8 people. Some days 9 - 9, but usually 8 - 8. That’s just what we all landed on.
That I can do!! Just the 6-7am would be a lil rough for us.
Oh same, for sure. I do think we’ll have to transition to 7-7 because of work + daycare, but I’m hoping to push that off as long as possible. My job has always started at 9 am, so getting up before 8 am will always be a slog.
If it’s feasible with your schedule then by all means, do what works for your family! I will say that if eventually your child goes to school outside your home and needs to get up earlier, you will certainly have a transition on your hands.
From what I’ve read, babies will usually settle into a pattern where they wake up at 6-7am no matter what time you put them to sleep, so it’s good to get them to sleep earlier so they get more sleep total.
@Vero
Do we think natural light has anything to do with this, or does this also happen with blackout curtains for example? I’m lowkey hoping for a way around the very early bird morning wakeup if at all possible lol.
