Introducing bedtime routine around cluster feeding? Pointless?

[barmybunting]

DD is currently 3 1/2 weeks. We would like to start some sort of a bedtime routine with her in the next few weeks basically incorporating bath, story and feed. She cluster feeds most evenings from about 6pm until sometime between 10pm and 1am depending on the night. I am not fussed about the timing of bed for her, more about establishing a routine which she associates with bed at some point. She is ebf and mainly feeds to sleep.

Is there any point in trying to start a bedtime routine in the next few weeks when she is cluster feeding? If there is, how did you do it around feeds?

Thanks!

[Bilberry]

We started by at a certain point in the evening we would go upstairs and bath. After that any interaction (feeding, changing) was in low lights, soft and quiet and interactions were kept to a minimum. To be honest, there was still quite a bit of feeding, rocking, burping, changing at this point so 'nighttime' was really only distinguished by type and location of interaction rather than quantity but it gradually changed so they settled quicker at 'night' and woke less often.

[Redling]

I agree, at this age there will be no difference in what you have to do night and day as feedings etc are so regular, but from almost day one I took DS up to bedroom at night (11-12) and stayed until morning, resisting temptation to just go downstairs with him at 3am as he was so awake! Also I did everything bedroom in quiet and low lighting (now very low, just nightlight, but back then the landing light was on). Then downstairs at the same time every morning (this was mainly because a birth related coccyx problem made it too painful to sit in bed with DS, if you want to snuggle In bed more then I would!) but making daytime bright and noisy. Started regular bathtime 6-7 weeks. I still try to do everything in the dark upstairs though so I tend to do a little snuggle and story on sofa, feed, bath (lights on in bath obviously!) then into bag, possibly feed some more if needed but often just a quick snuggly rock and dummy does it. Looking back though the newborn craziness was quite nice though, by all means encourage the difference between night and day, but don't stress about routine. I still do bedtime anytime between 6.30-8 depending on what kind of day he's had, it doesn't seem to matter what time I do these things more that I do them.

[barmybunting]

Thanks both of you, some good ideas to get us started.