Please help! 7 week old night time routine

[Sophiedrop95]

We're trying to start some sort of bedtime routine for my 7 week old BF baby (1 formula feed before bed ideally around 10-11pm as he sleeps longer with this) but I don't know how to plan his feeds around the bath as he can feed on me for around an hour and can then go straight back to sleep! Do I need to work backwards and make sure we're getting up in the morning at the same time each day to try and structure his feed times?

Baby’s don’t need a bath each day, one or twice a week is plenty.
At this age I’d follow baby. When they want to eat let them eat, He’ll find his rythm in the next few weeks.

Don't worry about a bedtime routine until they actually start getting to put bed, whatever age that is (it varies - my DC started going to sleep at about 7pm for the night in her cot from around 5 months, and that was entirely 'driven' by her (we didn't train her into it, it just happened after a week or so we noticed her going for a nap at 7pm and just not waking up for much longer!)

My baby is 9 weeks and we have always got her up at around 7/7.30am but that’s only because that’s when her sister gets up and we have to take her to nursery/do whatever we’re doing. It has helped massively with the evening routine though, she stays downstairs with us until we go to bed at around 10.30/11 but she does settle to sleep from around 7/7.30pm. As others have said though, we only bath her 2/3 times a week (and it’s not always in the evening)

Babies don't have/ need routines at that age.. especially BF babies.. they feed on demand.. just keep that up.... keep them in your bedroom until at least one year old ..

Maybe have a read about the 4th trimester.

Breastfed 7 week olds don’t need structured feeding times.

If you want to start a vague bedtime routine then focus on doing a series of things in the same order each night, not on the time on the clock.

Babies that young don’t need a daily bath either, it dries out their skin and they really don’t get that dirty until they start solid food.

Go with the flow. Give him a bath at some point in the evening when he is happy and awake 3 or 4 times per week. It doesn’t have to be at a set time or in a set relationship to a feed. Likewise, give a bottle when it fits, as opposed to trying to structure it into a routine. It’s too early at 7 weeks.

Waking at the same time every morning is great sleep hygiene and is really recommended for older babies and especially toddlers, who really do thrive on predictability/routine. My second born has been more predictable than his older brother, which I think in part is needing to be up for the school run by 7am (but also he is naturally ‘easier’ anyway, so hard to tell cause and effect).

We had a routine from that age (earlier, actually) and it has worked wonderfully for us. He has just turned 1 and it still works wonderfully.

We did work backwards and wake at 7am no matter what which meant that he always went to bed at 7pm no matter what. Daily baths too and his skin is absolutely fine.

Going with the flow doesn't work for every baby, a routine has suited mine much more.

Could you offer a short feed before bath and then a bigger feed after bath in the hopes that he will then go to sleep? Or maybe a small bottle and then top up with breastfeeding after bath?

7 weeks might be a bit early. We started around 12 weeks but were led by her as she stopped wanting to cluster feed in the evening and seemed to want to go to sleep. It was like we were disturbing her! Once she started this we introduced a bath/massage/story/feed routine which we've stuck with ever since other than dropping the massage. She seemed to really respond well to it and has always been a good settler, although that may well be luck of the draw!

I think a bath helps to relax them. Plus I'm never confident I've got all the milk dribble etc out of her neck creases without a bath. If they enjoy a daily bath go for it.
We started a loose routine about 2 months. Bath, clean baby grow, breastfeed then sleep in the bedroom, then obviously breastfeed again when they wake. However I'd recommend following the baby's cues as to what time they will be sleepy. Our baby liked to usually start her deep sleep around 7.30 at that age so we'd do a bath around 6-6.30.

Oh I forgot to add definitely DO NOT structure his feeds or attempt to. That way madness lies. All the advice and research suggests to feed on demand. My routine suggested above is just to help them sleep well. Feeding should always be as the baby wants it.