cross post--establishing bedtime

shocked77

my little one is 3 weeks old.  he is sleeping in our room at night either in his carseat or swing or in bed with us.  During the day he naps in the living room in a moses basket, swing or in our arms.  He eats every three hours.  pretty much like clock work  3, 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9.

We don't really have bed time.  I am curious what others are doing or recommend.  I usually put him in a onesie around 7 (his pjs..he gets really warm).  Then we were doing  a feed at 12 and then all going to bed.  Last night I changed it to feed at 9, swaddle and rock and then all went to bed.  Gave me three extra good hours of sleep.

Since he is so small and eating/napping so frequently bedtime seems like an odd concept.  But maybe i am missing the chance to get a solid routine started now.  He has only just now started to like his bath.  So i may try that, but we are only bathing 2-3 times a week so that can't be an everyday routine.

luvmyducks

We started a bedtime routine probably between 3-4w.  We start at 9pm.  Bath, lotion, jammies, nursing, and then bed.  She was eating about every 2 hrs at that time.  

rkto

I think you can do a routine, but you cant really train a baby until at least 2 months.  you just have to do what the baby wants.

dragon_chica

rkto:

I think you can do a routine, but you cant really train a baby until at least 2 months.  you just have to do what the baby wants.

This.  I would even say push it longer depending on your baby.  For us right now we're just looking for a pattern.  Now that I'm back to work and wake-up time will now be different from when I was on leave we're going to see how he adjusts and what his usual times are.  From there we will work out a bedtime.  But keep in mind that even if you do establish a bedtime now it doesn't mean it'll be the same months down the line.  The important thing is to keep the routine (doing bath, lotion, stories, whatever) the same.  

Oh, and with bathtime could your LO possibly be cold?  Have you tried placing a towel over the legs and middle area and occasionally pouring warm water over it?  That has always worked for both kids.