What age do you start a bedtime routine?

[erised24]

My LO is almost 3 weeks old so too young for a routine but wondering when to start and what works best for a good nights sleep?

I started one with DD2 at 8 weeks. As in we bathed her at the same times as DD1 for easy and then she settled down on my boobs for the evening to watch TV. At this age just do whatever is easiest. Remember until 6 months all sleeps should be in a room with an adult.

We started at 2-3 weeks.

Bedtime was 6.30pm after a bath and a feed. All other feeds were treated as night feeds after that, so might be feeding at 9/10pm but it was a feed in quiet/dark surroundings and back to bed.

Worked well and gave us an utterly blessed couple of hours to ourselves before bed (albeit with lots of running up and down to check, plus a baby camera/speaker on downstairs).

I think I tried to do vaguely the same thing every evening from about 4 weeks. She was a lover of routine from very young though. However, my DD HATED baths so our bedtime routine was basically bottle, cuddle, change into a baby grow and into bed. Very short.

I think I started at 8 weeks. It was (and still is at 18 weeks) bath/bottle/bed. My baby LOVES baths, he'd sit in one for hours if it were up to him. I also put him to bed upstairs after that, have a moniter on me and check on him a lot.

Its worked really well I think. He goes down well at night. I dont do it at a specfic time though, I start it anywhere between 5.30 and 6.30 depending on my son. The time isnt really important, its the sequence of events that he recognises.

When they are finishing nursery so 3-4 years whey they are beginning to talk at least. But if you mean for new borns then probably a year. I hear of if people doing it sooner however due to randomly needing to consider the new born I'd say a year roughly

From pretty much straight away I did change of nappy and into pjs and sleeping bag and last feed in the dark to signal bedtime. At first that was when I went to bed and then brought it to earlier when both my children got older.

I’m really shocked at the number of people who don’t follow SIDS guidelines.

I started with them from the beginning. Last feed in pj's and low light to signal night time.

At the beginning I went to bed when they did- 8pm! But we gradually got an hour then two to ourselves 😁

Bathed time, feed time, bed time 😊

They are 13 and 16 now so a long time ago!

3 months but she was still sleeping in my arms until we went to bed. She went down in her cot at 7pm between 4 or 5 months.

I’m really shocked at the number of people who don’t follow SIDS guidelines.

@Lockdownseperation - me too.

The day I brought them home from hospital, although a loose routine.
Bath roughly 7pm, massage, feed and then darkened/quiet room at 7.30-8 pm. If they fell asleep during the feed I'd put them in the cot/Moses basket and sleep too, if not then I would just cuddle in bed or on the sofa until they went off, but it was always quiet time after 8pm.