How to set a bedtime?

My baby is 5 months now and we were wondering how to set a bedtime for her. She usually naps through the day and evening, so wakes up after 15m to 45min right upto around 10.30pm then she only goes for a proper sleep at midnight after she is fed. She then sleeps in until 10.30am (waking up for feeds but sleeping very shortly after). We have a bedtime routine for her which we start to do from around 8pm but she doesn't seem to calm down with it. She only falls asleep if we feed her, and even then it doesn't always work if she's not sleepy. Our nighttime routine is a wash, creams, nightsuit, teeth brush, dimmed lights, quiet atmosphere....any advice? I'd really like to try and have her sleep earlier and wake up earlier in prep for when I go off maternity leave. Any advice appreciated,, thanks!

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You already have a bedtime. It's midnight. Your baby is a bit of a night owl. You'll just have to wait and see with time if that shifts at all. My baby sleeps anywhere from 7 - 10 p.m., depending on the day. Up around 7am. I'd almost prefer your schedule.

The key to a decent bed time is getting up at the right time. Between 6 and 8 am is pretty normal for a baby that age. If you want an earlier bedtime, you'll want to be getting her up around 7 or 8 am, definitely before 8. It will set the entire day for naps, especially when she starts dropping them and staying awake longer!

I would feed her to sleep at 10.30 and when she wakes treat it like a night wake and put her back down

That’s actually perfect timing ! My children also had similar schedules to that

Atleast you won’t be sleep deprived

I would make sure her last nap is not too late. At 5 months they should be able to stay awake for up to 2 hours at a time, so plan her last nap to end no later tham about 2 hours from when you want her to sleep

My timing similar to yours

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