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Original poster

Baby’s bedtime - routine or no?

8 replies

ChamomileHoneyTea · 27/09/2023 18:17

Hi all, LO is 4 months. I’m trying to create some sort of a routine but I’ve realised that as he is EBF, I can’t really put him to bed at a specific time as I have no idea how long he will BF for. E.g if I aim for a 7pm bedtime, I can start his final feed at 6.30pm. Sometimes he will feed in 10 mins whereas on other nights he wants to feed for a full hour. Should I abandon the idea of a routine?

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Emma543 · 27/09/2023 18:21

I think the key is a loose routine lol. My little one has a 7pm bedtime.. last night it was 7.30 after she projectile vomited everywhere and then tonight it’s 6.30 as she’s shattered.

routines are great but making them too rigid just causes unnecessary stress in my experience!

Lookingforasilverlining · 27/09/2023 18:21

I would go for a routine, say things in same order eg bath, book, breast feed rather than a schedule eg bath at 6.30 etc.

Newtothis12345 · 27/09/2023 18:23

Totally up to you what you would like and what works for you.

I used to start the feed at 6:30 to aim for a 7:30pm bedtime. If it was a quick feed then they sat in their bouncer while I cooked supper or folded the washing before I read them a story and then put them in their cot at 7:30. Although usually by the time they’d fed and been winded the timings used to work well. If they fed quickly and then fell asleep I would try to rouse them but if they were fast asleep then I’d just assume they were v tired and put them down. If they had a very long feed then they just went down a bit later although I found that they rarely fed for more than half an hour, or if they did it was just comfort sucking rather than getting milk so up to you if you want to let them do that or need to get them into bed to care for other children etc

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Sleepygrumpyandnothappy · 27/09/2023 18:27

I think of it as a rhythm rather than a routine - an order they can expect things to happen in. It’s only when DS hit 9 months or so that we started having a very strict bedtime. Hell at four months we didn’t even have a rhythm.

faban · 27/09/2023 18:31

Yeah have a routine like bath, book, feed, bed. Doesn't have to be set times but it is helpful having some structure

UnravellingTheWorld · 27/09/2023 18:31

At this stage it's more about what you do rather than the time you do it. You could set up the routine in preparation for eventually having a 7pm bedtime

We couldn't even think about it until 6 months, and honestly I don't even think it made a difference until around 10 months. I would say do make a start on one, but really don't stress about following it rigidly

VivaVivaa · 27/09/2023 19:19

We didn’t have a clock based routine until on 2 naps and 3 meals so like…8 months maybe? Until then it was a total shit show more baby led. Like others said we aimed to do things in a set order, but not at a specific time. Apart from morning start, we tried to be pretty religious about that.

PinkRoses1245 · 27/09/2023 19:21

As others said, it’s more the order and less the exact times. It’s about gently teaching them that bed time is coming and helping them relax and sleep well.

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