Introducing 'bedtime'

[Cantstopsmiling37]

DC3 is a gorgeous squishy 10 week old. She needs a lot of help to fall asleep and if I miss the window by 30secs turns into a screaming mess. She will nap in moving car or pram but her favourite place is the stretchy wrap (as long as its me who is wearing it!)

All fine and I'm very lucky that she'll sleep in her next to me crib from about 11-4 at night with one feed at about 2 and then cosleeps constantly feeds until the older two come crashing in at 6.30am.

She always has her last 'nap' 8pm-10ish in the wrap and I would really like to switch this to her crib with a wee bedtime routine soon. I would like a bit more sleep (greedy I know!) Currently when she stirs in the wrap at around 10, I take her out, DH changes her quietly in dark while I get ready for bed and then I feed her, swaddle and rock her til she falls asleep and I pop her in crib for 11.

2yr old DS goes to bed for stories at 7 asleep for 7.15 and 4yr old DD1 has stories at 7.15, asleep for 7.30. (Just started sharing a room and they were a nightmare together so staggered bedtime seems only way!)
Ideally i would like DD2 to go to bed for about 7pm so i could enjoy bedtime with the other 2 again - i REALLY miss the snuggles. But I think i pribably need to aim for 8pm as this ties with her natural sleep pattern. Every time I try she wakes up after 20mins and becomes a crying mess. Any ideas?

Hi. Well I started this routine at 4 weeks with my little boy. He's 17 weeks now. Obv he's dropped feeds now and sleeps from 7pm -5-5.30am. I think it's definitely the "routine" that settles him for the night.
5.45 I run his bath and we play while stripping him down/nappy free time. Bath at 6.10, out and get him ready /pjs etc all done by 6.30. Quick story and bottle, sing few nursery rhymes quietly and he's absolutely dropping by 7pm- out for the count. No play time or anything that will arouse him once he's out the bath though. Like wind down time. Same thing every single night.

When dd2 was about 4 weeks l decided that 8pm nap was going to be the start of her night time so started bathing her at 7.15, up stairs and a feed in the dark, she would feed to sleep and then l would put her in her cot. She would stir at 10/11 but l kept her in the dark room and made it very much 'still sleep time'!

It's hard to get that initial stretch of long sleep, can you spend a couple of nights just giving up this time, going to bed when she does at 8 and being quick as lightening to stick the dummy back in?

I know it must be hard juggling 3!

Thanks, I really appreciate your replies - esp as that post was a sleep-deprived self- pitying ramble!

Conline, your bedtime routines are very similar to what I did with the other two. We used to do bath, massage, get them sleepy by feeding and then pop dummy in and they'd fall asleep by themselves. Unfortunately though DD2 will not take a dummy or feed to sleep. In fact if I try to feed her when she's tired she screams bloody murder!!! She gags and makes herself sick with dummy!

Tonight has been awful - wouldn't sleep in sling so have been in a dark room since 8.20 and she's still not asleep. Fed lying down for nearly an hour and while she kept drfiting off she'd then snap awake a fee minutes later - even though I hadn't moved!

Maybe the earlier bedtime is actually what she needs - I will try your timings conline on Wed (we're travelling tomorrow so won't work) and see if it is any better. Can I ask if you can remember what his awake time was before sleep at 7 when he started the routine and/or when he was 10ish weeks?

at 10 weeks he would have a night time feed at 1am ish give or take 15 mins, then straight back to sleep. Then another feed at 3.30am and back to sleep till 5am.
There's been a few times the last few weeks he's slept till 6.30! He's so much more settled now. And tbh soon as he's in deep sleep I take the dummy out because that was more hassle than it's worth for both of us! I found things got better when he started feeding less during the night. I no your at the end of your tether now though!
I. Can imagine how frustrating it is with the feeding carry on a swell. I breastfed for a month was devastated to stop for a few reasons I had to really. But for my baby he settled more all round once on the bottle . And I personally think babies go through "phases" you think you've cracked it. Then a week later things change again ha