Bedtime routine

[StrawberryQuik]

Can I be nosy and ask what your bedtime routines are for your babies? DS is about to turn 6 months and I would like to start one. Do you read stories to your little ones? (To be honest he'd just grab the book and try to eat it) Also do you stay in the room till they've fallen asleep?

Thanks

[MrsAukerman]

A story might not mean much now but good habits are worth forming early so that the children know no different.

If DC will tolerate you leaving them to fall asleep by themselves then it's definitely a great pattern to get into. When DC wake in the night they generally want something to help them get back to sleep and that's generally the same thing that got them to sleep initially.

[thehungrymummy]

Yep, dinner at 5.30/6pm, let dinner go down whilst doing calm activity or watch end of beebies til 7, bathtime at 7, about 7.15/7.20 out of bath, get ready for bed (in he bedroom they sleep in), story/stories and lullabies, hopefully of to sleep by 7.30ish.
You could try a very short baby story to start just to keep his interest. We were given a couple by HVs, one is called Where is my nose? My one year still enjoys reading that one now. I read a few before bed so it isn't just one book then bed.

[Pombearsrunaway]

Ours is extremely set in stone but it works brilliantly:

Bottle (always feed far away from putting to bed so there is no feed to sleep association)
In room and naked play time while I run bath
Bath
Out of bath and into room while soothing music plays (always the same song on loop)
Into pyjamas
Read story (always the same story)
Turn music off, into gro bag
Sing lullaby (always the same one)
Place in cot, kiss goodnight, lights off, white noise on and leave room

DS is 7 months

[thehungrymummy]

Missed your last question... I don't sit in room while he goes to sleep, I gradually withdraw myself. Sing lullaby sitting down having a cuddle, keep singing as I put him down into bed. Keep singing as I make my way to do the door then stand outside the door and just keep watch for a min. I keep the lamp on until he goes to sleep, then I will creep in later and switch it off and nightlight kicks in before I go to bed. The lamp thing isn't an issue, you could turn it off after you put him down. Depends on your babe.

[Floridasunset]

My dc is 6 months too. We do bath at 5.30, massage and into babygro. Milk and once that's settled upto bed between 6 and 6.30. Into grobag, put them in their bed, give a dummy, a lullaby and leave them to fall asleep.
Dc sleeps until 6ish

[Floridasunset]

Also..I don't stay in the room until asleep but we have a video monitor so I can see how they're getting on

[StrawberryQuik]

Thanks all, today we did-

7.30 dinner ( well dh and I had dinner, DS played in the high hair)
8 clean nappy and into babygrow
Breastfed then put him in the cot and he rolled about a bit (I stayed in the room) made shhh noises if he was getting agitated and if he didn't calm down I got him out again and breastfed, did this a few times, went to sleep for 9.15.

I will look into some baby books so he has a nice calm activity once he's in his baby grow so he gets a bit of transition between 'wide awake' and 'in cot'

[glueandstick]

Our routine is:

Yawning about 6. Into bedroom. Bottle. Sleep.

Short and sweet. No bath every night as don't like to dry the skin out. Tonight was bath, into bed, turn around and fast asleep.

[DollyBarton]

6-6.30pm bottle. 6.45-7pm pop in cot and walk out.

[Batteriesallgone]

Lots of breastfed children are fed to sleep OP so don't feel you shouldnt do that.

Our current routine is night garden and offer supper/late snack if wanted. Upstairs to bedroom. Play with 'quiet' (non electronic) toys for 10min. Brush teeth. Drink of water. Change nappy, put pyjamas on. Offer a feed. Feed to sleep. If not asleep read two books and cuddle. Offer feed again. Play bedtime music. Always asleep by 8. This routine started at 13m, she started consistently falling asleep for the night between 7:30-8 so I figured she was ready for a routine. Before then I tried a couple of times but it was like pushing water uphill.

At 6m the routine was quiet room and feeding until she went the fuck to sleep

[scrumptiouscrumpets]

A question to those who just put their DC in their cots awake and leave the room, at what age did you start doing this ? Was there a lot of crying to begin with and if so, how did you deal with it ?

[Turneeps]

Interesting reading.
I want to know answer to above question too ( about putting in cot and walking away).

We go upstairs, close curtains, nappy, pj's, grow bag, story, bfeed to sleep, into cot.

I have tried brining feed earlier into routine but it just ends in tears/screams... 😦

[Rozdeek]

scrumptious

We did it at 6 months and had to do controlled crying. Had 1 night of 1.5 hours crying, 2nd night 20 mins, 3rd night self settled instantly and no issues since!

[Tumtitum]

OP, we do dinner at 5 (except today as DH took her to see her uncle and is late home! ), bath at 6, clean nappy and PJs, into grow bag, breastfeed with dim lights and lullabies, then into cot, white noise on, kiss and leave. Some nights she sleeps with no fuss, others she cries a bit and occasionally there's full scale crying and rocking to sleep but that's normally due to teething etc.
Scrumptious, our DD normally still cries for about ten mins before any of her sleeps, not overly distressed crying (otherwise I wouldn't leave her), more angry, why are you leaving me when I want to play squawks. We started leaving her to whinge for a bit then going in and cuddling her to sleep and over about a month she started settling her self. I think every baby is so different tho.

[firsttimemothergoose]

We go up at 7.30pm to fit in with toddler, bath, pjs, into our bed for stories. Baby (4 months) breastfeeds to sleep after bath listening to the stories then I put down in the cot asleep. Toddler goes into cot and straight to sleep at 8.30pm. I fed to sleep with toddler until 11months and glad I did, we tried control crying and it was a disaster. People tell you not to feed to sleep but you do what works for you. Took until 18 months to be able to put down in cot and walk away but before that I would stay in the room. Used gradual retreat when I stopped feeding at 11 months.

[StrawberryQuik]

YY I'm happy to feed to sleep, he goes into the cot fed and awake but then when he fusses and isn't calmed by my going shhhh he gets picked up and fed again, he usually falls asleep then. If not I repeat it.

Last night he slept in the cot from 9-12 midnight and I watched a movie and ate ice cream without a baby in my arms. It was fab.

[villainousbroodmare]

I started walking away from an awake baby at 3 months.