How do I start to introduce a night time routine?

[zambooloo]

My baby is only 5 weeks old but I wanted to start to introduce a bedtime routine. Do you think it is too early?

DD co-sleeps as she refuses to go down anywhere else - she manages about 1/2hr in the cot. She is feeding approx. every 3 hours during day and night although at night she has gone for 5 so I know she can do it.

She cries quite a bit during the evenings so not sure if she has colic.

How do I start a routine? Every evening feed times seem to be different - just not sure how to start introducing something and what sort of things I should do?

Hi zambooloo, my ds is almost 10 weeks, and when he was about 5 weeks we started trying to put him to bed in his Moses upstairs in our room alone at about 9, it turned out that it was a bit too soon for him and he wouldn't have it! Gradually though, his bedtime started getting earlier naturally, and now, for past three weeks or so he has been going to bed between 7 and 8, started off shushing and rocking alot, but now much quicker and he just needs a bit of calm, lullaby time in nursery and then into Moses awake but sleepy if poss and drifts off, might need to go and pop his dummy in a couple of times but so far so good! Now I'm working on getting him to sleep longer when he's there! Still walking two or three times a night! Ho hum. I hope/think that as long as bed time is same time every day everything else might just slot into place?? Also, I had to start making sure that he got enough sleep in say, two shorter naps and one long 2 hour nap, sometimes more, as ds was getting over tired and grumpy at bed time which actually made it harder for him to get off to sleep. Hope this helps!

Oh, also, with day time naps, I put ds into Moses when he's awake as well and let him drift off, at first this was hard work and had to shush rock etc quite alot, but now, touch wood, he tends to drift off on his own with a bit of perseverance and putting dummy back in!!

5 weeks is tiny. I also wouldn't get too hung up on night feeds - it'll change a lot.

DD is 9 weeks and I'll start a routine soon as a pattern is emerging at bedtime. With DS we had to tweak it to encourage a routine for bed at 4 months.

The crying will be tired/fussiness. Little babies get tired very quickly!

Bedtime should be short and sweet - a bath is unlikely to relax many babies unless you do it in low lights etc as all the touching and handling will stimulate. No reason not to do one but I never count it as bedtime although it can signal bedtime is soon. Maybe just a change of clothes in a dim room, lullaby, feed, cuddle?

However if it doesn't work, ditch and try again later. I think 3-4 months is a widely recommended time as babies will have night/day sorted.