Confused about how to start a bedtime routine???

[didsnbump]

I want to start a bedtime routine for my 6 week old son but im a little confused and need advise about how to do it timings wise.

He is taking feeds roughly every 4 hours at the momment, and normally has a feed at around 7/8ish in the evening depending on if we have been out in the day or not. But after this he is wide awake and wanting play time. His next feed is then not till 11/12ish which is then to late for a bath etc.

How have others managed time wise to introduce a bedtime routine?
What do you do when you have been out for the day and the time has moved due to sleeping more??

mmm it's a tough one. my son was about this age when we started getting him into a routine at night and put him to bed at 7:30. If your baby is easy going if you're a lucky beggar!) then you should be able to prevent him from napping after 4:30pm, let him nap whenever up to this point if he needs. Try to establish the rputine on a week when you're not going anywhere after 4:30pm.

Bath him around 7:00ish and feed in a darkened room (preferably the one he sleeps in.) Also we tried baby massage before the feed which relaxed him no end but loads of babies hate it but can't help to try it. He should by now be tired if he's been up since 4:30. Alter the times and play about a bit to suit your family and your lifestyle. It worked for us and after 4 weeks of this ds was sleeping through 11 hours a night! Woohoo.

Also, I don't know if you do this already but try a dreamfeed at the time you go to bed. We put ds to bed at 7:30 and greamfed at 10:30pm til he was nearly 6 months old. It just gives them a few extra calories to go through the night and may prevent any night feedings (maybe not for a while though as he is still only 6 weeks old!). Good luck

sorry, dreamfed not geramfed doh!

im trying to do the same and couldnt help but read ur msg...and sorry if i sound silly but whats a dreamfed??

id give the bath/bed routine a try starting after the 7/8 feed... even if hes quite awake after the feed, the bath will be calming. get into the big bath with him and swish him about, is a lovely bonding time. (its a nice thing for a dad to do too, esp if he feels he misses out on close time if baby is bf)

then have him in dimmed room, and just generally be realxed while getting him dressed for sleep... and then doing whatever you do to get him to bed.

if you do the same thing every day for a fortnight, he should get the message. and if he doesnt, then try something else!

yeah, what the hell is a dreamfeed?? i see that all the time on here and i have no idea!

Bedtime routine at this age for us was to keep baby downstairs in moses basket. Feed when required. Swaddle and settle. When I was ready I'd go up to bed taking the baby in the moses basket and place the moses basket in the cot at the side of our bed.
Feed/ bring into bed/ put back into moses basket as required/desired throughout the night.

a dreamfeed is where you feed them at around 10.30/11pm - a lot of people manage to do it without waking the baby - I never managed that and dd would wake up - drink her milk then go back to sleep (hopefully!). It is meant to give them that wee bit extra to help them sleep a bit longer. So for the Op if her ds feeds every 4 hours or so and goes to sleep at 7.30 - do a dreamfeed at 11/11.30, 4 hours later.

they eat when theyre asleep??

I think gappy's idea sounds worth a try; you have them after the 7pmish feed(after a relaxing bath if you want) in a dimmed room, keep it all very bed-timey, and maybe you might try rocking him after his feed so he feels drowsy instead of play-timey!

I think they don't know it's bedtime unless you show them it is.

However having said that I would never, ever struggle to impose this on a baby; if he drops off, fine - if it's agony all round of course you'll just have to give up and follow something like juule's approach which works for alot of people I think.

We did the 7pm ish bedtime with ds from about this age and it worked a dream, his best sleep was during the evening....but as I say, we offered him the routine and he slotted in. Don't let it be a struggle

Don't know if it'll help, especially at only 6 wks, but I found doing the same things at bedtime every night helped, didn't really matter what time I put my dd down to sleep, but bed time was always bath, into pyjamas, feed, story or song, and into bed.

Babies don't know the difference between night and day so you have to teach them and eventually my dd figured that these things signified bedtime.

Having said that, my dd didn't really start sleeping consistently through the night til about 5 months when she went into her own room (I blame dp's snoring!) but even now (she's 1.7) we still have the same routine every night, usually starting around 6pm and she's in bed by 7. (Although we have to fit in In the Night Garden too!)

I think i will try what you said Gappylabore, and bath after his feed and then put him in his bed clothes, story and bed and see how that goes. As his evening feed should be around 8pm tonight hopefully, so prob buy the time he has bathed and that he will be nearing the time he has usually gone to sleep by.
Im not to sure if there is any point trying this dreamfeed thing as he will want one at 12ish anyway, and i think im hoping to much that he wont wake at 4 just yet.
I guess im best to wait until he starts to sleep longer through the night before i start to intruduce a dreamfeed!!!