bedtime routines

[eenybeeny]

Hi All!! I was wondering, what are your bedtime routines with babies? I have an 11 week old and I was wondering what was the norm as far as what time I put him to bed etc.

At the moment he goes to bed around 7:30, it usually takes between 20 and 60 mins to get him to sleep, then he sleeps til about 11, then he is up off and on until 7. He will only sleep in his cot the first half of the night. Thanks for sharing your routines.

[eenybeeny]

bump

[neilsmum]

ds is 12 weeks old. he was a good bbay until 2 weeks ago.bath at 5.45, then a feed and then lots of cajoing until he got to bed at 7.30/8.00.woke up at 11.00 screaming for a feed. woke up at 3.00 am , then 5.00 and then 7.00.Since the last couple of weeks, will sleep till 8.00 pm and then wake up crying. will have to lull him to sleep .sleeps till midnight, feed, wakes up at 2.30, then 4, then 5.30, then 6.00.Hope its only temporary or else i will jump off a ledge!

[eenybeeny]

I dont blame you!! thats how we are feeling atm.

[USAUKMum]

Hiya -- Babies usually have a growth spurt around 12 wks. It should only last a few days.

If I can remember back into the hazy past -- our routine was usually just milk then bed (once old enough, milk, book, bed and finally teeth, book, bed ) and finished (baby asleep) somewhere between 7:30 & 8:30.

[mckenzie]

I think at that age I was doing bath at about 6pm followed by milk and a cuddle and then bed at about 7pm. I was very lucky with DD and she started going right through until 7am ish at this age but with DS I would then wake him at about 10/10.30pm for another feed and most nights he would then go through until morning.

Does your DS get cold I wonder, the fact that you say he will only stay in his cot the first half of the evening?

Is he in a sleeping bag?

[prettymum]

dsis now around 15 weeks. he has over the last two weeks settled into a good routine.

he has is last nap around 6-6.30. i'll bathe him at 7 with dd. and he falls asleep by himself by 8.30.
he wakes again at 3 in the morning for feed and sleeps through till 7.30-8 or earlier when dd decides to climb into his cot and jump around him!!

[taylormama]

Hi - DS has had the same routine since he was 3 weeks old. Feed, bath, feed and bed. As he has got older i include some quiet play after each of the feed times, so it isn't just feed and right into bed. I split feed him so he has 6 oz at 5.00 pm and then whatever else he wants at 6.00 pm ish (usually another 2 - 4 oz). He has just started to sleep through (well the last 2 nights).

[chipo]

My dd's bedtime routine is, bath at around 6.30, milk, soft quite cuddle and then bed. Sometimes she doesn't eat very well so have to finish feeding her in her cot. She will then be fed when I go to bed between 11.30-12.30 and she will sleep through till 5ish-6 when I feed her again. I then put her back to bed and she will sleep till 7.30-8.00.

[olivo]

eeny - have posted on the post natal thread

[eenybeeny]

thanks all for your input! I Am just trying to get this sleep thing right as I think it will make a huge difference

[jambot]

Bath, Bottle and Bed at 6:30pm, feed at about 2am and then through until about 6:30. Dropped her night feed at 13 weeks.

[mama30]

Bath at 6ish, feed at 6.30ish and attempt to put ds to bed at 7.15pm. He is 11 weeks old. I then wake him up at 2.30am for a feed and he goes through till 8am. So the night is very good. The problem is putting him to bed. It takes 1 hour plus of rocking and walking, he cries the moment he know he is off to bed and resists it. This is the worst moment of his day, very unsettled. Suggestions of course welcome!

[neilsmum]

i cant believe it when mums on this forum say "my 11 wk old ds has to be woken for a feed and then sleeps through till 8.00".how on earth do you manage that?and here is my 12 wk old waking up 4 times.i am so envoius of you guys.

[jambot]

Are you breastfeeding Neilsmum? If you are, you'll probably find that those going through at 3 months are more than likely bottlefed. I bottle fed and never did more than one feed a night from birth, but that wasn't the same for my friends who breastfed. I think in general bottle feeding does fill them up for longer, so it's pros and cons for both ways.

[neilsmum]

yes, jambot i am breastfeeding.that probably explains the disparity!

[jambot]

Great that you're breastfeeding Neilsmum, as it was a disaster for me, but I suppose I secretly and selfishly am thankful that bottlefed babies do sleep through earlier.

[mckenzie]

my first was breastfed but my second was bottle fed from about 3 weeks old. It was my second that slept through the 12 hour stretch from about 11 weeks. My first born, the breast fed baby, not until he was 5 months.

[WriggleJiggle]

Goodness, everyone has routines and bed at a reasonable time. When mine was this age bed time was 10pm . Mind you, excepting the night time feeds, we both then enjoyed our lazy sleep in till 10am.

[oneweemite]

wj, thanks for posting that, my 13 week dd doesn't go to bed til 10 either and i was just reading this thinking i was the only one the lie ins til 9 are great (when we get them!!)

[WriggleJiggle]

The later bed time suited us very well because I was working then, and wouldn't have seen her awake. It also made it easier for dh looking after her as he either got a lie in or could get up and have some time to himself.

[mama30]

Just to confirm that my ds (now 12 weeks) is breastfed (never has had a bottle). I have stopped waking him up at 2.30am so he now goes from 7pm to 7am with no feeds. I have to say I am as surprised as you are. My dd woke up for a feed until she was 8 months. Secretly I worry he is not getting enough feeds. He only has 4 feeds at 7.30am, 11am, 2.30pm and 6.30pm. But he just doesn't wake in the night!

[poppynboo]

Every baby's different. We started dd on a routine at 6 weeks and she's stuck to it ever since (she's 12 weeksn now)- some babies just like a rountine and some don't.
Essentially its no different from most; 6.30 bathtime, then feed, quiet play and then bed. She's usually down and out for the count by 7'ish.

When we first started it was hard, she did kick off but we just went into her, rubbing tummy to reassure but did not pick up her up unless she had really gotten into a paddy. Then we waited until she wqas quiet again and then left the room. It took about 4 days of going up every 5 mins for 2-3 hours but she very quickly got the swing of things and is a much happier baby we think.

If I had any advice, it would be to stop the rocking etc and just put them to bed. Don't go into them until they cry and then do so very quickly so they leqarb that you've not left them - but don't pick them up, reassure them from where they lie in the cot.

I hope this all helps - I also don't wake her for late evening/night feeds but rather wait til she wakes herself. Slowly but surely she's going from waking up at 1am for a feed to 3.40!

Good luck!