night time routine

deecee9580

Hi everyone - I bathe little one about an hour before bed time - should I be giving her a bath right before her bottle? If I do - do you think she will sleep better?
she goes to bed around 8 every night but every morning she's waking up earlier and earlier!!

Ladybug2821

For us, bath time doesn't make a difference in sleep.  S loves bath time, but I do not necessarily incorporate it into our nighttime routine because I don't do it every single night.  When I do give her a bath, I do it right before getting her ready for bed and nursing.  You can always try it and see if it helps.  If you find that she is waking up earlier, you may need to move her bedtime earlier to make up for the lost time.

fitlady21

Every child is different! My child won't nurse after bath.. because she knows bed time is after that. For months I've taken a bath with her and nursed her in the bath. Crazy I know but it works! After that I put her in pajamas, she gives her goodnight kisses and goes to bed. That's what works for us. I personally like knowing she eats within 20 minutes of bedtime.. I do think that helps them sleep longer.

Kgridley27

LO does not get a bath every night, either, but when we do, it's bath, bottle, bed.  We use that lavender-scented stuff for the bath but I haven't noticed any difference in his sleep patterns on bath nights vs non-bath nights.  My sister swore by that stuff, though.  Sorry I can't be of more help.

deecee9580

thanks everyone. I started doing bath every other night and noticed that it was very hard for her to go to sleep on those nights so I went back to bathing daily. I usually give her a bath, have dinner w/ hubby then feed her  - not ideal but we have to eat and she's such a light sleeper it has to be when all the lights are off etc. I'm going to try to put her down earlier tonight and see if that works. 

mothernorth

Bathtime has never been part of our bedtime routine so I have no input in that respect, but I do agree with @fitlady21 about feeding 20 minutes bwfore bedtime. I also give him an extra ounce of formula at bedtime too because he sleeps best with a full belly.
I'm not entirely sure how to work that into a routine if you breast feed though, so maybe one of these other ladies may have an idea.

deecee9580

thanks we use formula

brzvice

We bathe at nighttime every other day but I wouldn't consider it part of her nighttime routine. Really the only consistent thing we do for her nighttime routine is feeding her a larger 5-6 oz. bottle right before we lay her down and turning on the white noise machine. Other variables that we throw in occasionally are dimming the lights early and singing the same lullaby over and over. Lately she wakes once or twice and needs to be hummed/ patted back to sleep.  I Haven't had to do a night feed since the 4 month sleep regression (SO REAL)  and also have eliminated my 3 am pumping session. Not sure if eliminating the session has effected my supply but LO seems to nurse happily when she gets up around 7am.

@fitlady21 I looooove to take baths but have tried a couple times with V and I find it so awkward. The water temp. is too cool and there is not enough water in the tub for my liking. I usually end up taking my own bath once H takes her out and starts getting her dried off an dressed.

fitlady21

@brzvice We have a system! Haha. I hop in the bath and bathe while my husband plays with LO. Then he strips her and brings her to me. He then goes to put our towels in the dryer which is a nice perk. Then when she is finished nursing and bathing (max 12 minutes.. she's a super quick eater), I call for my husband and he brings both our towels. He takes her and gets her ready for bed while I get dressed. 

We also have a freestanding tub so it's super deep.. so I use tons of water and it's pretty warm. But my LO doesn't like lukewarm water haha