How long do bedtime routines REALLY take?

[arewethereyet]

Can anyone give me an idea of what a real bedtime routine looks like and how long it really takes with a 15 week old? We're trying bath, bottle, bed but it takes at least two hours and we're not sure if it calms her or hypes her up. Is that normal (sorry, new parent alert)?

[bozza]

Well we managed to get ours down to 1/2 hour but maybe not so quick at 15 weeks. But stick at it. Which part is taking the longest?

[meep]

Ours took around 30mins to an hour at that stage. Dd was very quick with her bottle

[Seona1973]

our bedtime routine doesnt include a bath so ours is quite quick - about 1/2 an hour to do 2 kids

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[arewethereyet]

We start as soon as she yawns, usually about 7.20, but she rarely sleeps before 9.30. It's the settling after a bottle that takes ages she seems to know she's going to bed and starts crying.

[berolina]

Bedtime 'routine' at 15wo meaningless IME. And babies don't need bathing every night. We've only just started doing 2.8yo ds1 every night because he goes to kindergarten now and gets grubby. ds2 (16wo) we do once a week.

ds1's bedtime routine emerged during the second half of his first year - brush teeth, wash (now bath too), change, book, lullaby, bed.

[Rantmum]

When ds was about the same age it took about an hour - he had a bath every night.

These days (3yrs) it takes between 15 mins (no bath) to 45 mins (with bath)

We only bath every other day these days...

[Voj]

When my twins were very young the bedtime routine could take two hours but we persevered and now we give them their bottles about 6.30pm and they are in their cots about 7pm. It gets shorted and shorter as time goes on.

[Rantmum]

Hehehe

"We only bath every other day..."

HE only baths every other day (I only bath once fortnight, is that wrong?)

[arewethereyet]

DD seems to have an off switch at 9.30 regardless of what time we start but fusses so much before that the we think she's sleepy and try to put her down. Am tempted to just hang out with her in the living room until 9...

[ma2zer]

depending how old the child. i found that putting the child down awake but sleepy after a set bedtime routine works you get tears but you have to ignore them after a week or so the child may well ask to go to bed or not even make a fuss. it does depend on the child. i had my first son doing it at seven months then each night i bought the time earlier by 15 mins at one he was in bed by eight now he is nearly two he is in bed by seven.

[sophus]

I started bedtime routine at 5 wks. I had to as my mother was dying in hospital so needed to sort out ds's shocking inability to go to bed. it took about ten days and we just did the same thing day in day out. if it didn't work it didn't matter but we kept going. And it didn't involve tears I hasten to add. he's now 17 wks and bedtime is bliss. bath at 7, bed by 7.45. he doesn't need a bath but he loves it.

[sophus]

I started bedtime routine at 5 wks. I had to as my mother was dying in hospital so needed to sort out ds's shocking inability to go to bed. it took about ten days and we just did the same thing day in day out. if it didn't work it didn't matter but we kept going. And it didn't involve tears I hasten to add. he's now 17 wks and bedtime is bliss. bath at 7, bed by 7.45. he doesn't need a bath but he loves it.

[sophus]

hmmn

[DaDaDa]

Takes ages when they're that little, but since about 9 months we've been down to around 40 minutes from running the bath to sleep. Stick with it and she'll speed up.

[Karen999]

My bedtime routine takes 45 seconds....take clothes off, stick jamies on and fall into bed...somtimes I can cut it down by not putting my jammies on!