Bedtime routine help

Kennieb16 · May 2013

We want to establish a bedtime routine for my 6.5 weeks DS, where do I start? I tried to keep him up more during the day but he goes back to sleep as soon as he's awake.

tdmd09 · May 2013

Don't keep him up during the day. That will make for an overtired baby and it will backfire on you.

We started by deciding to put him in "real clothes" during the day and using sleep and plays as pajamas. We do a bath if it's bath night (otherwise we wash face and hands with a washcloth), then diaper, PJs and a sleep sack. Then a bottle. Usually he would fall asleep during the bottle and we could put him down in his crib. Now sometimes he'll be awake when he finishes eating and we can put him down drowsy and he'll immediately fall asleep. He really likes having a bedtime routine.

camdensmom32 · May 2013

I started giving DS a bath every night about 8pm. Followed by lotion, pajamas, and then a bottle. Bedtime goes a lot smoother now!

Kennieb16 · May 2013

Thanks for the reply. I thought keeping him up during the day would make him sleep better at night.

cjl5072 · May 2013

christineeberle:
I started giving DS a bath every night about 8pm. Followed by lotion, pajamas, and then a bottle. Bedtime goes a lot smoother now!

What time is your LO's previous feeding? I want to add bath time to our bedtime routine but every time I try my DD cries because she wants to eat first.... The only way I can do it is to give her a bath after she eats, but I would prefer to bathe then nurse her. FYI my DD is 8 weeks and not a sleepy baby lol.

CrazyMary77 · May 2013

I've been trying to establish a bedtime routine but it's been difficult. Sometimes DD will fall asleep by 7:30pm, sometimes she's not tired until 9:30pm. I'm hoping as she gets older, we get into more of a general routine, and then we can implement a bedtime routine. For now, we're lucky because she sleeps quite well during the night and has distinguished night from day.

=Lee=B · May 2013

As others said keeping them up backfires...good daytime sleep makes better night time sleep.

I no longer use bath for my 11 week old as part of bedtime routine as the whole drying off and changing part makes her more alert after the bath. I now do that in the morning.

For bedtime, I change diaper, put in pj's and sleep sac, feed and put in crib for about 6:30pm.

I do my best to time her last day nap so she wakes up right when my husband gets home around 5pm, then he plays with her while I make supper. She sits in high chair watching us eat the hangs out with daddy a bit more before bed.

camdensmom32 · May 2013

cjl5072:
christineeberle:
I started giving DS a bath every night about 8pm. Followed by lotion, pajamas, and then a bottle. Bedtime goes a lot smoother now!
What time is your LO's previous feeding? I want to add bath time to our bedtime routine but every time I try my DD cries because she wants to eat first.... The only way I can do it is to give her a bath after she eats, but I would prefer to bathe then nurse her. FYI my DD is 8 weeks and not a sleepy baby lol.

DS will eat around 6 or 7pm prior to his bath, it just depends. He really likes his baths so we got really lucky with that. We start bathtime around 8 or 8:30 and after lotion, pajamas and a bottle he is usually down for the count around 9:30. Obviously we still have nights that don't go this smoothly but doing this routine every night has helped so much!! DS is also 8 weeks and we started this routine probably 3 weeks ago.

pinottoparenthood · May 2013

cjl5072:
christineeberle:
I started giving DS a bath every night about 8pm. Followed by lotion, pajamas, and then a bottle. Bedtime goes a lot smoother now!
What time is your LO's previous feeding? I want to add bath time to our bedtime routine but every time I try my DD cries because she wants to eat first.... The only way I can do it is to give her a bath after she eats, but I would prefer to bathe then nurse her. FYI my DD is 8 weeks and not a sleepy baby lol.

Have you thought about feeding her on one side so she's more content but not totally full, then doing the bath, then feeding her on the other side? I don't do a bath, but I do a diaper change, calming lotion, and putting DS into PJ's. If I try to do it before I feed him, he screams bloody murder. But if I feed him on one side, I can do all that and he will be calm but wake up... then I feed him on the other side and he drifts back off to sleep (or gets sleepy enough that I can put him down).

pinottoparenthood · May 2013

Also, to the OP, decide what you want to do during the bedtime routine. Read a story? Give a bath? Use lotion? Get baby into PJ's? And decide AROUND what time you want to do it, but let your baby's habits guide you. I like to put DS down AROUND 9 PM, but sometimes he wakes up from a nap at 7:30 PM and sometimes he doesn't wake up until 9 PM. I start the bedtime routine when he wakes up and is ready to eat. (Occasionally if he sleeps TOO late, I'll wake him around 9:30 to get things started). It doesn't have to be at the same time every night, but just do the same sequence of things every night so that he gets used to it and associates that with bedtime.

So for example, my DS wakes up and wants to eat. I change his diaper, then I take him upstairs to our bedroom and feed him in the dark/quiet on one side (breastfeeding) skin-to-skin. Then I burp him, rub some Burt's Bees calming lotion on him, and get him into his pajamas. Then I feed him on the other side. I snuggle him against me/try to burp him for a bit, then put him into his crib.

Like PP's have said, you don't want to keep baby up during the day... but during his wakeful times, make sure you're doing stuff like tummy time, looking into his face/talking to him, engaging him, etc. Then let him sleep when he is sleepy.

youenjoymyself · May 2013

Whatever you do, just make sure it's consistant yet flexible, if that makes sense. We try to start around 7, but if she's ready at 6:30, we start then. Never later than 7:15, though. It may cut into some socializing time, but baby comes first. We change into pj's and swaddle, feed her, then rock her. We've done it the same way every night since she's been 4 weeks old. Every third night she gets a bath beforehand.

Bedtime routine help

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