Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Do babies need bedtimes? Long!

2 replies

naturelover · 15/12/2007 16:38

Background: DD is nearly 4 months, I sleep in her room as she feeds at least once during the night and DH can't function in his job if he has broken sleep. She's basically with me 24/7, I put her in her pram downstairs for daytime and evening naps and only put her in the cot after her last feed at approx 10 or 11pm when I go to bed myself.

This arrangement seems to suit us all but I suppose I just need reassurance that I'm not the only person doing this. In RL everyone is doing routines and putting the baby down at, say, 7pm after a bath and the babies are used to settling in their own room. However I'm keen to stay in her room until she's six months' old, following the cot death guidelines.

I suppose I lack confidence about my choices because everyone I meet is doing GF or BW and their babies are sleeping through (or so they say). They also get to spend the evenings alone with their DHs and I suppose I can see the appeal of that. By the way I'm breastfeeding on demand and I suppose that also makes it impossible to predict exactly when feeds will take place from one day to the next, although DD has fallen into a distinct pattern of sorts. Basically as long as she has some awake time and some sleep time between feeds then she stays quite happy (ie not overtired). At night she usually settles in her cot quickly when I go to bed and also after her nighttime feed.

She is thriving, a good weight, pretty happy on the whole. I've probably answered my own questions but would love to know if at this stage you did something similar (ie no routine) and if it worked. And also, at what point, if any, you DID introduce a routine. Thanks

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
sfxmum · 15/12/2007 16:45

congratulations on your ddthey are hard work at this stage aren't they?

well I never had a bedtime at that age, my dd slept in our bed or bedside cot, she wouid go to the bedroom when we did until about that age.

I did start giving her a bath followed by quiet feed in bedroom, lights down and would then settle in bed.
this moved up in time until such a time when dd was in bed by 8-9 and I could have a couple of hours to rest/ crash/ watch telly / read etc.

I think whatever works for you is right
hope you are getting some rest too and a break once in a while, lovely as it is 24/7 is hard work

Myrrhcy · 15/12/2007 16:51

I gradually introduced a routine (of sorts!) at about 4 months old but it wasn't really established some time after that; dd slept in our room until she was 7 months, maybe 8.

Ds just seemed to fall into his own routine from about 2 months old - but I think many 2nd/subsequent babies do for different reasons.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page