9 month old bed time routine?

[Blueunicorn]

Can you lovely parents share your rough routine with 9 month old? :)

Also have a toddler! So if you have an older sibling too into the routine, it would help lots and lots! Thanks

Struggling to find a good routine. :(

We always did Bath, books, boob/bottle and bed aiming to get them in bed by 7pm.

6pm, propped in front of tv to clap enthusiastically along with In The Night Garden for 30 mins.
6.30 bath.
6.45 bottle and pj's
7pm BED and breathe.

We were reading Peepo to him every night just before bath but it sort of turned into a wrestling match so I gave up on it and In The Night Garden took over.
Fully intend to bring the book back when he has a little more patience for it.

Nursery pick-up at 6pm
Home at 6:30
Play 6:30 - 7
Milk, wash, pjs, teeth brush (well, gums!) and book 7-7:30.
Then bed after that and he’ll eventually settle some time between 7:45 and 8:15.

We were doing bath at 6:30 but swapped it to mornings on nursery days to be able to have play time in the evening. No toddler here though!

I have an almost 9 month old and a 4 year old.
Bedtimes are stressful so watching with interest but this is generally what happens....
4.30-5.30pm - 4 year old watches tv and baby gets grumpy while I cook - I am going to start sitting him in highchair watching with 4 year old for a bit of this time.
5.30pm dinner (i.e. chuck some bits on highchair while fielding multiple strops from tired 4 year old).
6pm or whenever dinner is finished - upstairs
Either both in bath together or sometimes 4 year old only bath/shower or get 4 year old changed straight into PJs if running late.
4 year old teeth - baby on landing with toys, usually crying due to faceplant
Into 4 year old's room for story time - sometimes baby will wriggle on floor with toys, often baby is tired and grumpy and I have to jiggle him on my knee while trying to read the story.
Read a bit of a book outside 4 year old's room while continuing jiggling grumpy tired baby.
Into baby's room, sleeping bag, milk and bed.

At some point I need to swap them round so baby goes to bed first but the only time I tried that baby screamed a lot because he could hear me next door talking to his brother.

Weathergirl - When older one went through the phase of refusing to sit still for a book I used to read him a book in the bath...

@buffysummers4

It's sounds very similar to our routine!

Problem is once I've got both finally to sleep around 7-7:30pm! The little one still won't settle right, until he's had another bottle at 8:30pm. Should he be having 2 bottles still before bed?

The eldest didn't. 7pm milk and he was out for the rest of the night till 6am. So this is new to me that he won't settle properly until then.

Thanks for sharing! It's all very helpful :)

Hi Blueunicorn - my eldest slept through by about 7months so I'm pretty fed up that this one is still waking up multiple times a night (every 2-3 hours urgh). I'm breastfeeding (wish I'd started a bedtime bottle with hindsight so husband could help at weekends...) and usually though not always baby goes to sleep ok at first with one feed. I usually feed him again when he wakes up but I think quite often he's not really hungry - it's the quickest way to settle him though so I take the lazy option....
I'm seriously contemplating offering him formula or water instead though when he wakes up as I'm so sick of feeding him in the night and I really don't think he needs it nutritionally. He keeps getting constipated though so that is holding me back (also I know it will involve nighttime screaming and I'm not sure I have the energy...)

PS sorry that was a bit waffly but I think if yours is sleeping through the night after the second bottle I wouldn't worry too much!

@buffysummers4

Wow, I feel guilty for moaning now! Hope it gets easier for you soon :)

With the night feeds I just stopped giving him them eventually cutting one by one. So when he woke I just settled him and eventually he would sleep. He would then only wake once instead of 3 times but dropped the last bottle himself. Other than when he's ill he doesn't usually have a night feed now. So maybe try just comforting without feeding? Sorry I'm not much help!

Hmmm thank you I am devoutly hoping he will drop some feeds by himself as if not I will have to cut them down somehow and I know there will be screaming...! I expect it would work better to cut down feeds if husband went in at night instead of me for a night or two but I really don't think he will be willing to do that. (And it might not be very fair on 4 year old who will have to listen to the screaming).
Fingers crossed he will improve by himself...

Have dd 4 and dd 8mo, I'm lucky that dd2 is always desperate for bed by 7 so I do bath sometimes with dd1 but often just a change, feed and bed. She just rolls over asleep *til 3am feed! She gets books at other times.

DD1 watches tv or plays downstairs til I'm done then it's her turn, wish it could be that simple with her!

DD2 has slept through 3 times with no sleep training (dd2 too disturbed) and I'm hoping this will gradually improve by itself.

Could you bring that 8.30 bottle a little earlier every day by 10 minutes or so that he fuses them together in his own time?
At 9 months my DD was on 3 meals a day and 4 bottles but I started cutting the day time ones down until she dropped them entirely then she’d have 8oz at 7.30 for bed then next feed would be the next morning.
I’ve nevet done a complicated bedtime routine; bath every other night although often an hour before bed then bottle in the dark and into cot

I’m just waiting for mine to fall asleep!
Dinner at 530/6
up for bath about 645/7
Last feed in bedroom
Book and into sleeping bag and bed, asleep by 730/745
He’s still up every 3 hours overnight, hoping to tackle it when I have the energy...

I’ve got a 2 year old and 4 month old and no sensible routine so watching this with interest.. Thank god I can divide and conquer with help from DH or other family most nights but when I’m on my own I just basically race through my older ones bath, story and bed then take the baby through and bf her to sleep. I then usually spend the next few hours running between the two of them as my son is annoyed at being rushed and my daughter seems to wake up the second I am not in physical contact with her

I am finding it mind-bogglingly difficult to get into a decent routine with the 2 of them for some reason.

8 month old - sometimes bath, pyjamas about 6.30pm, breastfeed downstairs while watching TV with 4 year old, into bed for 7.
Then 4 year old, sometimes bath (with baby), pj's, story, bed for 7.30pm.

From what age can you put a baby into the bath with a toddler? I’ve completely forgotten form last time what age they can sit up themselves in bath

I've bathed them together from newborn but she could sit from about 7 months. Still need to keep a hand on her though.

5.30 dinner
6pm bath
6.30 In The Night Garden & milk
6.50 upstairs for breast milk in bedroom
7.00 into sleeping bag, prayers and kiss
7-7.15 she tosses and turns and grizzles a bit
7.15ish sleep! Hopefully!!!

Thanks for the replies!

Hmmm, every 3rd night I do a bath (ezcema made worse by regular baths) and top and tail with both the other two days in-between. Also always bathed together since 3/4 weeks old. They aren't overly tired, but both seem to find once we come up the stairs that they want to cry and moan! I've tried earlier but they don't sleep.

It's more the settling. If he would settle between the feeds that's fine. But he rolls and eventually bangs his head on cot or starts rubbing eyes. And no amount of shushing or pating helps. So I lift him onto the bed where he stays and where I'm then stuck too until his 8:30pm. He's not the biggest milk drinker. It's a fight these days to get enough milk into him (always had to encourage him with milk!) So the night bottles are half of the daily amount.

He refuses to drink until 10:30/11am the next morning. Then another around 2 and one at 4:30 but that's only 3/4 Oz a bottle in the day. Even though I offer 6oz.

More just to have an hour downstairs alone haha but with the unsettled Ness it never happens.

I usually make 1 hr gap before doing the next activity.I let them take the dinner at 5:30 then 6:30 is bath time, then 7:30 is bed time.

He only needs about 18oz of milk a day so I wouldn't stress about it - maybe make his weetabix/porridge with 3oz formula in the morning?

When are his naps in the day?

I'd probably try reading them a story together, or while giving baby a bottle. Baby into bed and leave him to it while you settle toddler, then go back to the baby if he's still awake once toddler is asleep? I'd probably try not to take baby out of the cot after bedtime.

@MollyDaydream. I'm not to worried about milk intake, more fluids as he's still just playing with his sippy cups mostly. Not actually drinking so like to see him having plenty milk. Also can't have porridge or wheatabix. Constipates him??

Tonight I've bathed and brushed teeth, dressed and then put toddler into bed which he kept up and down. Wanting this and that.

The cd player with stories on as youngest wants to be held. Tried feeding in different chairs, bean bag etc. He won't do it unless held sat up/lay back on me. So can't read at same time.

Toddler went to sleep eventually. He's quite good once he settles and accepts its bed time. Baby eventually settled.

Now he's in his cot and already rolling around. Just waiting for him to wake as per usual.

To put baby into bed would require sleep training now? He would cry and wake toddler..? And single parenting I'm opting for the easiest option so probably rod for my own back and should accept my situation.

I was Looking for the magical answer I suppose.

Eldest is now awake. So both tonight arent settled ;(