Many parents find it difficult to know when to put their two-month-old baby to bed. Many factors influence this decision, such as the time of day, the baby’s feeding schedule, and the length of naps.
Suppose your little one is two months old and usually gets super tired and starts sleeping soundly in his crib around 6 pm. In that case, you may want to know whether this time is too early for him as bedtime.
Generally speaking, 6 pm is considered too early for two-month-old babies to start sleeping in their crib.
What Time Should a Two-Month-Old Baby Go to Bed?
Some pediatricians recommend putting a two-month-old baby to bed at 7 pm for a midnight wake-up time.
This is because babies who sleep during the day have a more difficult time sleeping at night. (However, some parents find it easier if their two-month-old baby sleeps with them in their bed and then transfers them into their crib once they are asleep.)
Nevertheless, studies have shown that the recommended bedtime for toddlers is 7:00 pm thereabouts.
What is a Good Schedule for a Two-Month-Old?
It is recommended that babies should have a bedtime routine. However, this will vary as per the age of the child. For a two-month-old baby, you want to observe the following:
A bath: To calm their muscles and relax them before they nap.
A bottle of breastmilk: As their last meal of the day, it is to provide them with necessary nutrients for the next day and give them comfort before they go to sleep.
Reading time: Babies need soothing and loving attention from caregivers before they sleep. Reading can be a great way to do this, even though they don’t fully understand the context of what you read.
Note: 2-month-old babies should not sleep on their stomachs or chests because they can suffocate and choke easily in these positions.
How Much Awake Time Should a Two-Month-Old Have?
The amount of sleep for a two-month-old baby is different from the amount of sleep for an older child or an adult.
Regarding how much awake time a two-month-old should have, The NSF states that infants should have 12 to 15 hours of sleep in 24 hours.
This is broken up into naps and nighttime sleep. Newborns typically sleep about 16 hours in 24 hours, but this gradually decreases.
Babies under two months old should not be awake for more than 3 hours at a time during the day. Older babies can stay awake for up to 8 hours during the day and 10 hours at night.
It is, however, important to pay attention to your baby’s cues and not let them get overtired.
Do babies sleep better at earlier bedtime?
It was tricky to come to a definitive answer to whether earlier bedtime is better for babies or not. So, I knew that the best way to find the answer was to ask other parents, and here is what I found out:
Parents report that their babies sleep better with earlier bedtimes in most cases. However, there are also some disadvantages of having an earlier bedtime for babies.
For example, they might wake up more often during the night and have a hard time going back to sleep.
Is it OK to let a two-month-old sleep through the night?
It is a common misconception that babies should be allowed to sleep through the night. This is not true, as it can be dangerous for the baby’s health.
Meanwhile, the advantages of allowing your baby to sleep through the night are that you don’t have to get up at night and feed them, and they will sleep better.
On second thought, doing this will prevent your baby from learning how to self-soothe, which can lead to future behavioral problems, and you may not be able to get a good night’s sleep yourself without being woken up by your baby.
But I strongly believe that letting a baby sleep through the night will help them develop better sleeping habits and improve their well-being.
Conclusion
Infants need a lot of sleep to grow and develop. A good bedtime schedule for a two-month-old baby is around 7 pm. This way, they will have enough time to sleep and get the necessary rest. It is important to note that each baby has their sleep patterns, which might be different from what you are used to.