Johnsons bedtime bath - WITCHCRAFT!!

[SleepDeprivedGrumpyBum]

For the last couple of weeks i have been implementing a bed and bath routine for DS, even though he's only 9 weeks. It seems to be working fairly well. Bath between 6.15 and 6.30 followed by a big feed upstairs in our darkened, quiet bedroom and he's usually asleep by around 7.00 - 7.30.

However, DS rarely sleeps more than 4 hours solid, he's a big baby and feeds alot! He also has a bit of reflux which can make his nights more disturbed.

Cut to last night and DS slept from 7.30 - 2.00!! The only thing that i'd changed was to use Johnsons bedtime bubble bath!! I swear it must be some kind of witchcraft on johnsons part!! Now very tempted to go and buy out their whole range in readiness for growth spurts, sleep regressions, injections and all other manner of things which can upset sleep

Dd2 is immune to witchcraft of any kind. Although she has now started sleeping more.

Oh, yes. ten minutes before school runtime she will fall asleep and refuse to wake up. Come 7:30pm and she is wide awake and ready to party

She was a very good sleeper when she was a baby though, so I guess this is my payback

and @ your sleeping baby. I'll swap you? Dd2 can go to the toilet alone.

Wasn't there a manufacturer of washing-up liquid who was supposed to be a satanist, thus leading to fears that its bubbles might have witchy properties?

I think we should be told.

DooinMeCleanin he doesn't usually sleep, hence the belief its witchcraft. Most nights he does one 3.5 / 4 hr stint then is awake every 1.5 hours wanting to feed. Tempting swap though, DS has some pretty explosive nappies!!

BloodyMofo Sorry to hear about your dd's skin, my DS gets a rash with the baby oil, but the bubble baths dont seem to be a problem

Really? hmm maybe the lavender? We also cant use Johnson's but will look into lavender.
Pleased for you op :)

Johnston's is evil for skin but a lavender candle or oil burner in the bathroom would do the same job :)

See i wasnt sure if it was just lavender thats in it, it smells different to just lavender IMO. Although i am basing that on cheap joss (is that the right spelling?) sticks i burnt at university

Bouncer why is Johnsons stuff so bad for their skin? First time mummy here and i kind of assumed it was bit like ronseal and does what it says on the tin?

If your baby's skin is fine using Johnsons then keep using it. Some baby's skins are more sensitive and react more. My DD's skin is super sensitive and I even have to control the amount of mild organic stuff I use on her!!

DS has always has johnson bedtime bath and massage with the cream afterwards. He always settles in the evening between 7 and 8.

Don't think it's got anything to do with the johnsons stuff, it's just cos it's a consistant routine.

You can actually see his mood change when DH walks in from work because he knows what time it is.

When Daddy comes home, it's dinner, then naked time, then bath, then milk, then bed. Always.

Is the cream any good? Oil seems to clog up DS' skin and leave him a bit rashy but i dont want his skin to dry out now he's having a bath every night IYKWIM.

Routine is definately helping, we used to have awful evenings with him being overtired and lots of false alarms with settling for the night. Havn't noticed mood changes when DP comes home, although he does seem to get a bit quieter almost like he's winding down (after a hard day of eating, sleeping and pooing )

How old is your DS btw HelenLG, just with you mentioning dinner i assumed he must be a bit older? or do you mean your's and DH's dinner?

DS is 6 months now.

The cream is ok, it's a bit like whipped body butter, if that makes any sense. His skin seems fine with it, but it doesn't go on his face, as his face is quite dry and seems a bit sensitive.

It makes him smell lovely. I guess he is a bit older, but we've been using it since he was about 6 weeks and at about 8 weeks or so he settled into sleeping in the evening.

That doesn't mean he sleeps all night though...

SleepDeprived, Johnsons does not agree with some people's skin - doesn't mean it's not OK for your baby. I couldn't use any other wipes on DD1's bottom than Johnson's, as the others all brought her out in a rash, even the sensitive/unscented ones.

It's just really chemically, Sleep, that's all - our community midwives all told me not to use it because it has been linked to so much eczema. Thought nothing of it until I discovered loads of people I know had problems with it. Love the smell though :)

Ah well the magic died anyway not a bad night per se, just no where near as good as the night before.

Does anyone else try really hard to do exactly the same thing the following night if they have good night? IYSWIM. I have visions of myself and others desperate for sleep turning round three times, on one leg, singing "three blind mice" because the night before it gave them 4 hours sleep...............

never bloody works though does it!

I so identify with that, Sleep! Only now I'm on baby number two can I just accept a good night for what it is, and have no expectations for the following nights. I'm afraid the same applies to good weeks and months!

sprout I remember the thing about the washing powders...(very strict religious upbringing) It was allegedly Proctor and Gamble iirc. I may even google and have a look.

Apparently there was a suspicious wizardy type logo on the packaging and it was Very Dangerous to use that washing powder. All turned out to be a load of old nonsense I think.

Sleepy - yes I remember doing weird things because I connected them with 'that one time DC slept for more than 10 seconds/stopped screaming' etc etc. With Pfb, was convinced there was a right way to do a soothing 'shhhhhhhhhhh'

SleepDeprived - just stick religiously to your routine and over time his sleep will improve. Each step in my DD's night time routine has remained the same since she was a newborn (even if, in those days, she was waking up 2 hours after I "put her to bed") and now she's 2.5 yrs old she starts yawning as soon as it's 7pm and I take her up to put on her PJs (even if she's been running around like a mad girl just 5 mins before!). And when the story books come out she sometimes even falls asleep before I've finished the first one. She recognises each step of the routine now and it signals her body and mind to start resting.

Oh and ever since she's been able to understand me I've been going on at her about how wonderful sleep is and how much I love sleeping and how going to sleep means the next day will come round sooner. Bedtime stories tend to be around sleeping eg Dr Seuss's Sleep Book with lots of yawning creatures going to bed (she often falls asleep whilst I'm reading that one!) My DH says I've brainwashed her into thinking sleep is the best activity in the world!!!

Orissah that sounds like a bloody good idea to me!! must remember to buy that book next time im out and about; if it works then bring on the brainwashing

1st time im doing the bedtime on my own tonight. Bit apprehensive, but then to be honest DP only really helps out with the bathtime as DS wont take a bottle (different thread) so feeding and settling is all me. Wish me luck though, can guarantee this will be the one evening it goes to pot

I know the feeling. On Boxing Day I put DS down in his cot with his eyes open and sang "Hush Little Baby" about fifty times and he fell asleep IN HIS COT!!! and slept from 7pm to 2am. Surely if I replicated this magic formula it would be an end to our sleep nightmares!

Never done it since. Nowhere near. And is now waking up every hour and a half ...