No Cry Sleep Solution- Newborn bedtime routine?

cubits

Hello, this is my first time posting to this board but I have found this board very helpful in my first few weeks of motherhood.  I am looking for some insight and hoping you can help.

We are lucky to have a very good sleeper. She regularly nurses at 10, 12, 4 or 5 & 7.  We co-sleep and bed share after her middle of the night feeding.  I thought that since we were on the right track with sleeping we could start using some of the tips from NCSS to help with her bedtime routine as we were dealing with some evening fussing and she has STTN and know that I know she can, I wouldn't mind if she did occasionally  

My question is do babies this young (7 weeks) need a bed time?  We were keeping her downstairs with us while we watched tv, etc, letting her sleep when she wanted until 12 when we go to bed.  Now I have been trying to start a real routine and despite my efforts seems to be going down for 11:00.  I start at 8:00.  The main difference is that now I spend it upstairs by myself insted of in the living room with company. I follow all her cues and she does seem to be exhausted.

So APers, what is a good evening routine/bed time for 4th trimesters?

Thanks! 

jen_and_tom

IMO they don't need a bedtime routine at that age.  We kept dd with us while we watched tv in the evening.  We didn't start a bedtime routine until around 16 weeks.  That was out of necessity to get her prepared for both DH and I being back at work a month later. 

SapphyrEyes

Honestly, I think she's too young for a routine until she hits the four month mark.  Right now she's going off the pattern that works for her and she'll adjust when she's ready.  I know it may not be what you want right now, but it's only for a short time and then you can try getting a routine.

LittleEgypt

I agree with the pp - The bedtime routine stuff doesn't really apply. I would not get hung up on the STTN thing, either - It's really a curse more than a blessing that she did it once or twice, because it does not predict whether she can or will do it again. She will go through many phases of sleep change with growth spurts, teething, developmental advances, and they will affect her sleep.

Honestly I would just enjoy being able to watch TV and hang out with the baby. Once she's older having the TV on in the background near bedtime will interfere with her sleep. I nursed DS to sleep and watched loads of stupid shows when he was a NB and he never noticed it. Now I can't watch anything around him or he turns into a TV zombie.

cubits

Thanks Ladies.  I appreciate your feed back.

I'm not too interested in having a routine, it was more of an experiment, and it really just felt silly except I was feeling guilty for having the baby stay up to midnight  

I am going to use some of the info in the book like keeping it dark at night and light during the day & not assuming that every peep she makes means its time to eat.  But I'll be nursing with Jon Stewart tomorrow night

Dobie_Mama

I agree with the PPs - around 4 months is when we started a routine as well.  FWIW though, when DD was very young she started her longest stretch of the night (what I considered her bedtime) between 11pm-midnight.  Around 4 months she started going to sleep around 8pm and still does.  So, just because you have a night owl now doesn't mean you always will.

Mama Angelina

I too have a 7-weeker and we are in the exact same situation, but we have to go to bed earlier since DH gets up early for work.  DS sleeps from about 10:00 until 4.  We just keep him downstairs with us to watch TV while he naps and looks around.  Then we take him upstairs around 9 or 9:30 depending on if he needs a bath or not.  We bathe, change, nurse, and put him to sleep.  He looks around and coos for a few minutes and then falls asleep.  On weekends we stay up later and don't worry about keeping the routine, so we're flexible with LO since he's so little.  Don't worry about keeping him downstairs with you to spend time with your hubs.  At this point he'll sleep when he wants to.         

Mjmksb04

I actually disagree and think the earlier you start some type of bedtime routine (it looks like you already have) and bedtime, the better. What that bedtime routine or bedtime is totally up to you and it looks like you are already following her cues to start that.

webMistress0609

I'm going to disagree on the bedtime routine comments as well. I think some babies need it. My DS will not even entertain the thought of going to sleep w/o a quick routine at night. He'll scream from 6 until midnight from being overtired if we don't. 

I could care less about him STTN at this point, & if he was happy staying up later that would be fine too. But going to bed at midnight wasn't working for him or us. He's a sleep fighter, plain & simple. We started a routine around 5 or 6 weeks. I give him a quick bath (I've tried dropping the bath since they don't "need" a bath every day, & that didn't work, so most nights its just a dunk in warm water), lotion rubdown, then I read a book aloud while we nurse. Usually I just read whatever book I'm reading, when he gets a bit older we'll make it age appropriate. Most of the time he falls asleep nursing, but sometimes he doesn't & I'll move to the rocking chair & keep reading. Sometimes I'll put him down in our bed (we bedshare), sometimes I'll just hold him while I'm watching TV. I've found recently that the TV is keeping him awake though, which sucks b/c I like to hold him, but I usually go to bed shortly after him anyway.

Sorry this is a bit long, but the bedtime routine was a sanity saver for us. Unless DS is in a wakeful phase or just ultra clingy, we're able to get him asleep by 8:30 every night now, w/o hours of meltdown every evening. When we first started the routine, we were able to move his bedtime up to 10:30, & he's gradually gone down earlier & earlier as his daytime naps have decreased with age. He's also asleep w/in an hour tops of beginning our routine, instead of fighting all evening.

 

SeaSoul

We didn't start an actual routine (which only includes books & nursing, in his room (used to just nurse in LR before bed)) until very recently.  But at around 2.5 months we started noticing that he'd fall asleep around the same time every night and stay asleep for a good few hours.  We took that as a cue that it was his "bedtime," and that's when we decided to put him down in his crib (and then move him to our room when we went to bed).  Before that, he just hung out in the LR with us until we went to bed (sleeping off & on (as newborns do), on the couch).