Tips to get LO to wind down at night?

musicalmama5

I'm just coming off a rough bedtime...

I have a very active and very curious baby. Which is delightful and lovely, most of the time. It gets hard at bedtime because even though he's dog tired, he just won't give it up. For example, if I rock him, he literally jumps up and down in my lap giggling. If I sing or hum to him, he puts his hand on my throat to feel the vibrations and smiles or sings along or giggles. If I nurse him, he pops off every couple seconds to look around the room, again more giggling. You get the idea. I'm sure I'll look back on all this and think it's really cute, but right now it's driving me bonkers. 

We have a bedtime routine (bath after dinner, lotion/massage, books, nurse). And even though he's rubbing his eyes and yawning throughout, by the time we get to the nursing part, it's everything I mentioned above. He's so crazy. 

A couple times, just because I needed a break, I have left him for 5-10 minutes. He starts crying and works himself up pretty bad. Once I feel like I have garnered some energy, I go back to him, and at that point he's so exhausted that he will finally fall asleep nursing or rocking. But I really don't want to have to do this. I guess it's not really CIO, but it's too close for my comfort. 

So, after this novel (thanks for reading, btw), does anyone have any tips for getting him to chill out at bedtime? No CIO advice, please. 

TIA!

Meggiemuggins

I'm in the same boat, so no advice here, but you're not alone!  I'm trying to start a bedtime routine and I know that it will end up like yours; DS sounds just like yours.  Finally I got him settled down last night and let him fall asleep on my chest.  If I put him in his crib to settle himself, he gets hysterical.  We're going to move him into his own room soon, and I'm hoping that if he can't see me he'll settle himself down more easily (fat chance, I'm sure, but here's hoping!).

happylady5

Does his bath get him hyper? Maybe try doing it at a different time???

ilysarahd

We have the same routine as yours. Occasionally DD does get more awake by the time she nurses, I put her in her jumperoo for 10mins and tummy time til she fusses. Works for her but might not work for everyone because it could wind LO up more.

holly321

Is there any chance he is over tired? Sometimes that can make them hyper.

musicalmama5

holly321 said:

Is there any chance he is over tired? Sometimes that can make them hyper.

It is very possible. He dropped his last nap a few weeks ago and has since gone to bed earlier, but I think he might just be in a weird transitional period.

amaxwell1

Audra does the same thing. I have to leave the room for 5-10 minutes or I will lose my sanity. She just dropped  a nap, so it has really messed up our routine. I've discovered that swaddling her really helps. Good luck!

musicalmama5

DC2London said:

My guess would be that perhaps the bedtime routine is actually too long, and/or that he's a little bit overtired.  I would say maybe cut the bath out of the routine for a few days and see what happens.  Just an idea.  Bath time and books actually rile my kids up (except for one particular book, which...IDK why) so our routine has become very, very brief but, hey, it works!

Hmmm, I will have to think about how to do this. He usually eats dinner right before the bedtime routine, which means he's a total mess and needs a bath... Maybe I could feed him lunch instead (since he's only doing one real meal a day at this point).

musicalmama5

DC2London said:

musicalmama5 said:

DC2London said:

My guess would be that perhaps the bedtime routine is actually too long, and/or that he's a little bit overtired.  I would say maybe cut the bath out of the routine for a few days and see what happens.  Just an idea.  Bath time and books actually rile my kids up (except for one particular book, which...IDK why) so our routine has become very, very brief but, hey, it works!

Hmmm, I will have to think about how to do this. He usually eats dinner right before the bedtime routine, which means he's a total mess and needs a bath... Maybe I could feed him lunch instead (since he's only doing one real meal a day at this point).

That's a good idea.  Or, can you feed him dinner earlier?

Tonight, he had dinner earlier than usual (not by much, just a half hour or so). I gave him his bath and whatnot, but then instead of nursing, I put him in the Ergo and took a half hour walk around the neighborhood. He chilled out enough that when we got home, I nursed him and he fell asleep quite easily.  

Success! Thanks for the tip!