Bedtime Routines
 

My 13 month old son is really hard to put to sleep at night. We've tried about everything to get him to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. I couldn't tell you when the last time was that he went to bed before 10:00. Most nights it's 11:00-1:00 AM. He is like clock work getting up though, 9:00 every morning. He wakes up a couple times during the night so it's not 8 hours straight sleep. He doesn't take long naps either. Usually from about 12:30-2:00. Then he is up real late. He plays non-stop basically all day. He gets his bath at around 8:30 and we try to have quiet time after that, nothing works. :( It's frustrating that hubby and I have no mommy daddy time of an evening. I guess I want to know how you get your little ones settled down at night. It's 12:40 here and my son is still awake and running wild. LOL

Is he still in a crib? This is tough love advice. When my daughter was younger than yours I put her to bed at 7PM...in the beginning I let her cry but had set a time of 15 minutes. If she cried longer than that...I would've gotten her up, but gradually every night...the crying lasted less long and she never made it to 15 minutes. It's hard to listen to them cry...but worked for us.

I'd advise not laying down with him nor putting him in your bed either. Those are hard things to break later on. I know someone who intended to lay down with hers...for just a few minutes, but it had gotten so the minute she got up to leave...the baby woke up.

If he goes to bed earlier he will not sleep until 9am in the morning. Mine routinely woke up at 6:30 or 7. You may want to try putting him down for his nap earlier in the day...say 11 so he's tired earlier in the evening.

Babies and toddlers need 10-12 hours of sleep a night.

Be consistent. Put him to bed, if he's not in a crib and gets up....take him back to bed.

Good luck! It is worth it in the end

He isn't in a crib. He is in a racecar toddler bed and the mattress rests on the floor so the sides of the car is like a bumper for him. He loves his bed, he hated the crib and never would sleep in it. We always lay down in bed with him and play music till he falls asleep. Today for his nap I had to lay down with him and sing to him while playing with his hair. We've also been naughty by letting him come to bed with us in the middle of the night. I just hate hearing him scream, I know that he thinks he is the boss because we just cave into him. I'm more guilty of this than hubby. My son gets what he wants when he wants with me. :( I don't mind what time he gets up as long as he is reasonable on what time to go to bed then I could go to bed a little earlier.

I never have time for laundry, dishes, or anything around the house. I find myself in the middle of the night trying to finish everything up and by time I get to bed it's 3:00 and I'm exhausted. I've heard people say I won't let my kids stay up past X time and I would honestly love a stress free evening. No screaming, slapping, no fights for bedtime. I know he is still young but I'm afraid he is in a bad pattern that will follow him for years.

I guess my hubby was like that when he was younger and my in-laws gave into him. Well hubby ended up sleeping with them till he was 7 or 8. Which is waaay too old. I don't want it to be that bad. LOL

Be consistent....be consistent...be consistent....

I would start getting him up at 6:30 every morning...that way he will be ready for a nap earlier....don't let him sleep longer that an hour and a half...and start the bedtime routine around 7:30...snack...bath....story then BED....no if ands or buts..bedtime no later that 8:30...He must stay in his bed. Watch nanny 911....I am a true believer in her bedtime routine....
Most importantly never deter from the schedule...and also BE CONSISTENT!!!