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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

3month bed time routines

27 replies

34at32 · 17/02/2013 22:11

Just info gathering/curious...

What time at night/evening do any of you start your bedtime routines? And by what time are your LOs then asleep?

What do your routines contain?

I have started to try and get my LO into a routine for bed and so I thought I'd check out what others are doing to see if there are any good tips I can pick up.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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Purplecatti · 17/02/2013 22:45

At first sign of tired grumps or yawns and its bathtime, big feed in a darkened room and bed. Bathtime is usually between half 6 and 7. We've been doing this since week 10 and my 15 week old baby goes down like a lamb within 30 to 45 minutes after her bath. Getting her to stay that way however.......

JiltedJohnsJulie · 17/02/2013 23:00

I was bfing so did a bath and massage starting at around 7 pm then settled down on the sofa for a long bfing session. Took them to bed when I went up.

ThreeWheelsGood · 17/02/2013 23:21

Probably a bad parent, but midnight for us. She feeds to sleep then sleeps til around 9 or 10am. No routine as such though.

Original poster

34at32 · 18/02/2013 07:56

Mine currently starts around 7. Bath, massage, book, bottle, bed.

It can take until 8.30-9pm to get him to sleep though and often I need to go up after the bottle (DP does the bottle of expressed milk) to top him up direct from the boob.

OP posts:

meganw · 18/02/2013 10:33

My DD has a bath about 5 (she doesn't love it so we can't do it when she's tired). We then have a massage, a gentle play, a cuddle on the sofa then when she starts to get tired I feed her (between 6 and 6.15). We then have a burp, one more cuddle then put her down for bed between 6.30 and 7pm. She then sleeps all the way through till between 6.45-7.30 in the morning. We've been doing this since she is about 9 or 10 weeks, she is now 14 weeks. :-)

mummy2lola · 18/02/2013 18:50

I start our bedtime routine with a nice calming bath at 5.30 with lavender oil in it, keeping the lights low, followed by 5oz formula and a lovely cuddle, and then put down in Moses basket in warm blankets. Bloody annoys me when I work so hard to keep the bedtime routine calm for dd, and then the other half comes home and is all excited and trying to play with baby......grrrr!!!! Makes you wonder why you bother!!!! Men, eh? Xx

mummy2lola · 18/02/2013 18:51

Dd then sleeps swaddled from 6pm until 5am.... At last I get some sleep!!,

Original poster

34at32 · 18/02/2013 20:55

Wow, Megan and mummy2lola, you both seem to have it sorted!

Do you reckon the difference with sleeping through comes from formula?

I find that once my LO is down, he is then looking to feed again at around 1am, then again by 4am and 7.30am, hopefully due to a temp growth spurt as he used to only wake at 5am and them again at 8am.

OP posts:

StarlightMcKenzie · 18/02/2013 22:10

Just checking you know that the SIDS guidelines recommend keeping your baby in the same room as you when they are asleep (as opposed to your room iyswim).?

ThreeWheelsGood · 18/02/2013 23:33

Mummy2lola - why not do the bedtime routine later so your DP can have some time with baby while she's awake? Seems unfair to do bedtime routine so early if it means he misses out.

Starlight - lots of posts on MN I've seen imply people don't understand the baby is meant to be in same room whenever asleep, not just in your bedroom when you aren't there! This is part of the reason we don't have an early bedtime routine now baby isn't in (portable) Moses basket, as we rather she just slept when we did in the bedroom. Works for us.

nicelyneurotic · 18/02/2013 23:38

Wow. Our routine is rubbish. We give her a bath at 8pm but then she won't sleep and wants to feed (bf) on and off until midnight, sometimes gone 1am. She'll then sleep until 5-6am. :(

meganw · 19/02/2013 08:42

34at32 - I don't think formula makes babies sleep through - perhaps they would do a slightly longer stretch than bf babies, but even formula won't get a baby sleeping for 11-13 hours. I think it's more to do with an individual baby's metabolism, and how quickly they get the difference between night and day.
Also, how quickly babies learn to self settle will make a difference to them sleeping through. My DD stirs often in the night, but is very quick to put herself back to sleep without our help. We used to have to pat and shush her to get her back to sleep (once we realised that she was only taking an ounce or two in a feeding so wasn't really hungry) but after a week or so of this she just does it herself.

I'm also a firm believer in an early bedtime, I think babies need more sleep than we realise, and their quality sleep comes between 6/7pm and midnight. If they can get this, then they might just keep going through the night eventually!

SanneSannes · 19/02/2013 09:02

Very short "routine" here as 21 wo DD is too tired in the evening to enjoy bath, books etc. so have done below since she is 12 wo

Feeding on and off (ebf) between 5-6pm
Sitting on my lap whilst I have dinner with DP and 2 yo DS at 6.15pm
In her sleeping bag and getting ready for bed at 6.30pm
Cuddle, lullaby and In her cot at ca 6.45pm in our bedroom, but we do not stay there as need to take care of DC1 then.
Usually asleep by 7pm

She wakes at 2.30 and 5.30am for feeds though but immediately asleep thereafter so i kind of deal with those half asleep myself.

I am aware of the SIDS guidelines but bow you keep a sleeping baby in the same room with you and a toddler running around at the same time is beyond me....

MadameJosephine · 19/02/2013 09:21

DD used to cluster feed in the evenings so bedtime was at the same time as me after several hours of feeding on the sofa. When she was about 10 weeks she seemed to get tired earlier so I started to take her up to bed when she seemed tired (about 8pm) she has slowly moved the 'tired time' forward herself so now it's bath time about 6pm followed by a massage and a BF and she's usually out for the count by 7 (she's 14 weeks now). She usually wakes once to be fed about 2-3am but last night she slept a full 12 hours (my boobs were killing me when I woke up though!)

Twattergy · 19/02/2013 16:47

Wow a number of tiny babies sleeping for 12 hours! I'd have killed for one of those! Just to say I don't think a bed time routine will be the reason why a baby does or doesn't sleep through. I'm totally in favour of routines and did so from about 12 weeks but at three months two or more night feelings are still very normal. Just don't want OP or others to think that bed time routine dictates sleep patterns.

kalidasa · 19/02/2013 17:00

I do the two last feeds (bf) quite close together at about 6 and 8, and we keep him awake between them. He goes into night things and sleeping sack thing before the last one, then straight to bed after it. It takes him up to about 30 or 40 mins usually to go off, and then sleeps through from 9 or 9.30 till around 4 or 5 usually though last night he woke at 1, 3, 5 and 6!! Poss a growth spurt as seems v hungry, hoping it won't last. He's 11 weeks and has been doing one 7 ish hour stretch for about the last 10 days, before that he was going to bed later and only doing 4-6 hours.

scarlett33 · 04/07/2013 08:04

Hi, I need some advice - sorry if this is a stupid question my LO is coming up to 8 weeks now and I want to start establishing a gentle routine for night time. She is breastfed and generally sleeps well but is crying out for a bit if structure. But I am c!

scarlett33 · 04/07/2013 08:08

Confused as to how to do this. All the device I have been given say that she should be sleeping in the same room as us for all sleep, day and night, but all baby routines talk about putting baby gown to sleep at 7 ish and then 'going downstairs' ? Should I not be establishing a routine until she is older than 6 months or should she be ok sleeping in a room on her for a few hours now? Thanks in advance :)

MiaowTheCat · 04/07/2013 12:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

noblegiraffe · 04/07/2013 12:54

We have dinner with my DH and 3 year old DS at 7, then DH puts DS to bed while I feed the baby. DH comes back down and we watch TV. Baby plays with DH and occasionally feeds till she falls asleep. No dark room or mute button needed. We then take her up with us when we go to bed around half ten, when she has a (dream) feed. At 3 months she was falling asleep for the night around 10, now at 5 months it's around 9.

When she hits six months and can be safely left alone to sleep we will probably put her upstairs around 8, after her brother has gone to bed.

tessie31082 · 04/07/2013 19:15

We FF our 15 week old so might not be so good if you BF- 7oz at 5-5.15pm, 5.45-6pm bath and massage. We offer him a 5oz between 6-7pm as well as play/read/relax. At 7pm we take him upstairs and walk about with him in our arms for anywhere between 5-10 mins and then lay him in his cot (he has a dummy for sleep time ONLY) with his snuggly blanket. It can take anywhere between 5-45 mins to get him settled. We then wake him at 10pm for another feed- he takes 2-7oz depending what he has had at the 6-7pm feed. He then goes until 5am and then sleeps until between 8-9am.

ladypop · 04/07/2013 20:33

Our 11wk old DS has a milk feed between 6-6.30pm which can be before or after his bath, depending on when he last fed. He is swaddled an cuddled for a few mins before settling him in his cot at about 6.45pm. He then sleeps until between 12-1am for a feed, then goes back down again until approx 5.30-6am. I often bring him into bed for a cuddle at that point and he usually goes back off to sleep until about 6.30am when our other son comes crashing in! He then has a feed by 7am.

ladypop · 04/07/2013 20:37

I should add that as of this week he sleeps in his own room. Prior to this, he was going to sleep in our room after milk/bath.

philbee · 05/07/2013 06:04

We have two DCs so it's a bit different. I feed 10wk old. dD2 at dinner, about 6/6.30. Then DD1 has her bath, which DD2 shares a couple of times a week. If not, whoever isn't doing DD1's bath gets DD2 into a new vest, gro and her sleeping bag. Then I feed her again downstairs in the living room and DH rocks her to sleep in front of TV. I usually get in bed about 8.30 and he brings her up when he thinks she's settled enough and puts her in her cot. I would like to have more of a routine where she slept in her cot sooner rather than being in the living room. But having read this thread I think maybe we will stick with this for now so there's someone about with her while she's sleeping. What age do they say they can be on their own asleep?

ladypop · 05/07/2013 08:10

6 months philbee! Personally (and I will probably get shot down for this) I want more of a life and reduce the risk of pnd, so opt to put our little one down upstairs for his bedtime. I am not sure how viable having the baby in the same room as you for every sleep is!?

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