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Hi Vivian,
Sorry for the confusion. When I refer to bedtime, I am talking about the time you place your little one in the crib or sleep space to fall asleep.
When you said that your little one’s bedtime is currently 9 pm, I took this to mean that he is in the crib falling asleep at that time. Hopefully, that’s correct.
You can encourage your little one to have an earlier bedtime, so shift it from 9pm to 7pm. You do this by gradually shifting the bedtime 10 – 15 minutes earlier every 2 -3 nights. This will also mean that you will need to start his bedtime routine 10 – 15 minutes earlier.
So, for example, if you have a bedtime routine that takes 15 minutes, it might look something like this:
– Night 1,2,3 – you start his bedtime routine at 08:35 pm and his bedtime (so the time you lay him in the crib) might be 08:50 pm
– Night 4, 5, 6 – you move his bedtime routine earlier by 10 minutes and start it at 08:25 pm and lay him down in his crib at 08:40 pm
– Night 7, 8, 9 – you move his bedtime routine earlier by 10 minutes and start it at 08:15 pm and lay him down in his crib at 08:30 pm
You continue doing this until you reach 7 pm bedtime.
It is possible to make this process quicker by shifting it earlier, 15 minutes at a time instead of 10 minutes. You will just need to be guided by what your baby can cope with. For some babies, the 15-minute shift is just too big, and 10-minute shifts work better.
Regarding the catnaps, my preferred method is to just go with it and work on those foundational skills in the meantime.
I hope that’s a little clearer.
Emma