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Sleep

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Original poster

Starting a routine!!

17 replies

BumpyMo · 21/11/2006 15:56

My baby is 12 weeks old and doesn't settle doen for her proper sleep until about 10/11pm, is this too late? how and when is best to get into some kind of routine?!! x x

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sunnysideup · 21/11/2006 16:34

With my ds, we got ourselves into a routine of giving him a bath, letting him have a little rolling around playing time on the changing mat, then dressed him for bed, he had his milk, then into his cot by about 7pm. I remember at 12 weeks I did have to rock him off to sleep but once he was asleep he went through the evening nicely till I fed him again at my bedtime....

I think it's really worth seeing if your baby will slot into this kind of pattern as it means you get your evenings back - I still remember the BLISS of those uninterrupted (usually!) evenings, some adult time again.....

There were evenings when ds would wake but usually he was fine and I think there's no harm i establishing this kind of pattern - children do thrive on routine and knowing what comes next....

Original poster

BumpyMo · 21/11/2006 16:43

Thank-you Sunnysideup!! I think that will probably work as we bath her at about 6.30/7 anyway but usually keep her up with us or wait until she goes into a deep sleep before puuting her down. As i'm BF i could feed her in our room and put her in her moses basket and hopefully she should go through until i come up to bed!! x x

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SoMuchToBits · 21/11/2006 16:48

Strange, because it was at that stage (11-12 weeks) we decided we had had enough of ds being awake all evening, and decided to get him in a rooutine.

We just started giving him a bath, then feeding him and putting him to bed about 6.30-7.00.
He did cry intially, as wasn't used to settling himself, but we popped back in every few minutes to reassure him, and the first night he was asleep in about half an hour. Within three nights he was going almost straight to sleep when we put him down. I would then wake him for another feed at about 10pm, change his nappy, and put him back down. He would always go straight back to sleep then.

Hope you get on all right - it made a huge difference to us having our evenings back, being able to cook proper meals and relax a bit.And ds (now nearly 6) has been great ever since at going to bed and sleeping through.

Nemoinapeartree · 21/11/2006 16:51

bumpymo..with my DS i never had a routine and he would be downstairs with us until 11pm plus. With DD thanks to ds going to bed at 7,30pm I just automatically put her in bed too and did the whole bath milk bed bit. She sleeps soooo much better than ds ever did and still does. DS is now 3.1yrs and wakes a couple of times a night and is up early[6am]. DD who is 11mths from 7mths old has gone to bed at 6.30pm and sleeps until 8am plus and I put a lot of it down to getting her used to settling into bed.

Original poster

BumpyMo · 21/11/2006 16:57

I think i better start some kind of routine soon then!!! my dd is a really good sleeper of a night anyway so hopefully she will take to a routine quite well, fingers crossed!!! At least if she goes down by about 7, by the time i come up to bed she will have another feed and will go straight back down as she usually does in the night anyway. x x

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Notyummy · 21/11/2006 17:02

Just to echo the other posts. My dd is 18 weeks, and since she was 3 weeks old we have done bath at 6, feed at 630, asleep by 7/730. There have been times where she has been unsettled due to cold/wind etc and will take a while to settle, but as a rule it has been great. I then feed her again about 1030 when I go to bed. Dh and I get to eat/watch tv/talk/cuddle up in peace!! I would say that it took her a couple of weeks to accept that this was the routine; we had to keep going up to the nursery and resettling/soothing her and putting her back down. We alaways kept it dark and calm and never took her back out of the room once she was put to bed, although we would pick her up in there and sit with her if she was upset. I genuinely think she then recogised that this wasn't going to change and accepted it, and now usually goes down very well.

Original poster

BumpyMo · 21/11/2006 17:06

its sounds like you all have a good routine that works so i will give it a go. i think i will just have to be patient and stick with it until my lo gets the hang of it. Do you think i have left it too late to start trying a routine? might it take a while? x x

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CantWaitForTheSnow · 21/11/2006 17:11

Definitely not too late. Only started with night time early bed routines at 5 months (if I remember correctly), and had no problem with it. Now a daytime routine we're still struggling with!

Original poster

BumpyMo · 21/11/2006 17:15

did it take long to get ur 5 month old into the routine?

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CantWaitForTheSnow · 21/11/2006 17:26

No, bed time routine was really quick and easy. I'd say 1 week of hard work, 2 weeks of keeping fingers crossed and occasionally having to go back to her, then no problems since. She has even started sleeping 8pm-8pm!!!

olivhohoho · 21/11/2006 17:27

bumpy - sorry if i'm repeating what has been said, havent read other posts but we used to keep dd up with us after 6.30 bath, she just dozed on her mat. for last 3 weeks, we bath at 6.30, story, feed then bed around 7. she sucks her thumb now so tends to go to sleep on her own, then i dream feed when i go to bed around 10ish. took her a few nights to get used to it but its great to have time to eat dineer together, have a bath, have some 'grown-up' time!!
good luck!

CantWaitForTheSnow · 21/11/2006 17:33

Going back to your op. Personally I don't think 10/11pm is too late. Some people are suprised dd is so late at 8pm, but if we made it earlier she would never see her daddy, and I wouldn't get a lie in til 8am!

It is nice to get some time with just dh though, so it works for us.

Original poster

BumpyMo · 21/11/2006 22:40

i will see how we get on but i don't want to put her to bed early but then have her waking up really early too. i need to try and get the balance right!

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dennya · 22/11/2006 08:24

With dd (20wks) really got into routine around 12 weeks. Think HV said that is the point they can start picking up and learning bad habits. I do a bath every night, story with dh by cot. I then give her a feed and then try and put her into cot just before she falls asleep on me. Around 12wks, she was usually in cot around 8pm and usually sparko by 9. As she gets more active, she has gradually gone to bed earlier. Before 12 weeks, I just went with the flo and did whatever to get her to sleep-co-sleeping, late nights with us downstairs etc. But really went for it from 12 weeks. I agree with sunnyside up that it is lovely if you can have the evenings back. Good luck

Original poster

BumpyMo · 22/11/2006 08:48

its sounds like you have it sorted, i just hope i'm that lucky with my LO!!

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dennya · 22/11/2006 09:55

I am sure you will be. I never tried to force a routine too much as it made me miserable, but found that lo fell into one more after 12wks, so hopefully yours will to.

dennya · 22/11/2006 09:55

I am sure you will be. I never tried to force a routine too much as it made me miserable, but found that lo fell into one more after 12wks, so hopefully yours will to.

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