bedtime routines for 14 month old

[jacobisaacsmum]

my ds gave up his 2nd nap 2 months ago and since goes down asleep (bliss for me but I know, I know, bad idea) Looks like I will have to do some more controlled crying to get him going down awake. What do you do at bedtime? I do bath, pj's, bottle in front of dvd then onto dark nursery and into cot.I want to change it to a more grown up routine but 'the books' don't say specifically what it should be.e.g. give up bottle? last part in his room? sing a song? is it too late to introduce lullaby mobile etc? Thanks anyone

dcs routine:

bath, pjs, milk,teeth
upstairs (we have downstairs bathroom!) for books together, than dh & I take one each for books on their own. Ds also talks about his day
Quick song for dd on the way to bed (if she's sleepy she'll now start singing Twinkle Twinkle!)

DCs are now 18 mths & 3.5, but this has been going on since they were 6 weeks or so!

I'm not convinced you HAVE to do cc btw

Thanks for that funnypeculiar, sounds good. The cc came in because he cried for ages and was desperate Did you ever have a period of crying as you laid them down? Did you leave the room before they were asleep? Did you use a mobile or anything? Do you do it in the nursery then put the light out? Sorry all these questions.

we have a similar problem with ds who is 14 months. it all started when we moved in june and went on holiday from the old house and came back to the new house. he was in a cot in our hotel room at the time and it coincided with a period of clinginess. since we got back we have had huge problems getting him to sleep on his own even for naps unless he is in his buggy.

i am (from monday) about to start another round of when he's getting sleepy during the day put him in his cot and wait outside the door till he falls asleep - not complete cc but kind of like it. we found before that if we sorted this out he was ok to go down awake into his cot at night.

at the moment we have play in nursery, bath, bottle and he pretty much drinks as much as he wants and then sucks his thumb till he falls asleep with someone holding him. completely not an ideal situation i know. he does open his eyes briefly and then turn over and suck his thumb till he's asleep properly when you put him into his cot, but if he's wide awake there's no hope of him getting himself to sleep at the moment.

try feeding in quiet room then settling down to bed

with cc you leave for 1 min then go in and reassure them hush or whatever you say

then you leave for 2 mins them 5 mins then 10 mins and just reassure agin that you are there but you never leave them to get hysterical you would calm them down then start again

its best at this age to start getting them used to settling them selves or you will have same problem as me now having sleep therapist as he wont sleep without me although did up untill he was 2 but with aid of television this was my mistake as he saw this as company and now need to start getting him used to sleeping alone

you can read short story then say bedtime pop dummy in leave the room with door ajar so some light coming in and then see how he settles

Dear Jabobandlysette - wow you DO sound similar to us, ds also only napping in the day in his buggy and also only falling to sleep if one of us is holding him. Do you stand outside the door and say anything? Do you go in at all? One difference is my ds has never taken to thumb or dummy so when I lay him down he has nothing to soothe himself. Even wondering about introducing lullaby light thing to ease transition. what do you reckon you will do about the night - keep as you are or tackle it?

Thanks for the advice bubblagirl, sounds like it will need sorting. He doesn't have dummy though - shame

ps jacobandlysette good luck with napping him from monday - let me know how you get on. Maybe it will inspire me to do it too!

We used the baby whisperer's pick up put down technique to teach ds how to get to sleep on his own. Only took 3 days and now we can give him a kiss, pop him in bed and he snuggles down and falls straight to sleep (he's 16 months btw)at bedtime and for his nap.

jacobisaacsmum - of course the whole napping thing went out the window this morning because bless him he fell asleep earlier than he has been! but has been asleep for nearly 2 hours now, which does set him up well for the rest of the day.

night sleeping is getting better actually. we managed last night and friday night to put him into his cot after milk with eyes open. he turned over thumb in mouth and after a few shuffles went to sleep on his front. it seems that the one long nap earlier in the day is really helping as he is really worn out by the time he goes to bed. also have moved bedtime back half an hour or so and it does seem to be helping!

how are you getting on?

Hi jacobandlysette - well done, sounds brill especially the 2 nights, what a little star. Trying an earlier bedtime is a good idea, might try that. My ds has a nap at 11 ish for an hour, but not in his cot yet! I work 3 days a week so have to wait for a few days run at it. Just wish he sucked his thumb, wd be great comfort for him. One night so far he has put himself to sleep awake, I will build on that. Good to share and not feel I'm the only one whose baby doesn't do it by the book. Keep at it, let me know how it goes