How do I start? I am drawing serious blank here.

newmom2londyn

Ladies, I really need some help here. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to really get a routine going and how to put my 3 month old daughter on some type of schedule. I just started back to work this week from being off on mat leave for 3 months and we still have no schedule as far as a nighttime routine goes. My daughter just cat naps through the day and plays and eats whenever. Sometimes she stays up with DH until midnight! This is insane. I realized that I should have probably started a routine while on leave but we just got so used to doing whatever she wanted and following her and being too laid back about things, and now its starting to bite me in the butt! How do I start? She still is bedsharing with us which I dont like just because I cant really get a restful sleep when she is right up under me. I wish she would sleep in her own crib. We are getting baby monitor this weekend so we can try to start the transition to the crib. Any ideas how I can make this transition? She starts daycare next week and we need to try to get things moving now. I am just lost here.

jonsdeedee

We just did it.  I don't know how to explain.  We started by giving DD her last bottle in her room with the lights low and rocking her until she was asleep or almost asleep with low music. Now about 20 minutes before bedtime she knows and starts to cuddle with daddy and generally winds herself down.

She was in her crib at 6 weeks because she liked to spread her arms out at night and couldn't do that in her moses basket.  Try swaddling.  That way she stays snug.  

During the day, she naps when she wants and takes a big nap in the afternoon that we put her in her crib for.  Will your daycare force her into a routine or will they go with the flow because she is young?  Ours goes with the flow until they are about 2.  

Puckchick07

My daughter is not much of a day napper, so starting her bedtime routine was pretty simple..since she's real sleepy then anyway.

I start with a bath and some sleepytime lavender lotion. It seems to relax her quite a bit. From there you want to lower lights and set in motion that it is time for bed. Bedtime story, sound machine..whatever will relax the baby will help.

TeacherKelly

DS is usually playing with one of us or in his exersaucer or gym... then around 7 or 7:30 he begins to get sleepy (we encourage a lot of movement during play and stimulate him by talking a lot, exploring toys, etc).  After he gets sleepy we immediately turn down the lights... only a lamp or two on, put on pj's, then read a book, sit quietly, talk quietly, etc.  After about 10-15 minutes of this he looks quite tired and we've had our snuggles, I take him into his room, nurse him and sometimes lay him down asleep or drowsy.  Occasionally after he is fed, DH will rock with him until he is sleepy enough.  Once we're in his room it only takes about 15-20 min.

If he wakes, we do not take him out of his dark room.  If he seems to have a hard time that night, we will play his music (kid's cds) for him.  He has been swaddled too.. but we're weaning from that now.  It worked well for my DS though.

KandM05

start off with a plan and decide on a nightime routine. This needs to be the same everynight. We feed our LO, give him a bath, and rock him while playing the Seahorse music.  The key is to do this at the same time in the same order everynight. We have our LO in bed by 9pm.  Eventually, your LO will begin to associate the things you do in your nightime routine with going to bed and will begin getting tired at that time.  When our LO rocks after bed and hears his seahorse, he knows now that means bedtime and begins to get tired on his own. Then place your LO in the crib (or wherever) right as she is falling asleep, that way she learns to fall asleep on her own.  It took a few weeks for our son to get on the same page as our routine, so just stick with it. Also, around the time you want her to start getting tired, dim the lights turn the volume down on the TV/Radio and speak softly and dont make much noise or have her by any bright lights. This will naturally make her sleepy.

As a side note, she will most likely be more tired at night after going to DC anyways, so this might help in getting her to bed!

mavilabride

Persistance is key.  If you move her to her crib tonight, then that is where she should sleep.  If that means that you have to pick her up and put her back down all.night.long then do it.  Babies are creatures of habit.

As far as a routine, I would start with a bedtime routine.  Pick a bedtime (I'll say 8pm for example) and a routine.  So at 8, you can give her a bath, put some lotion on, put on PJs, give bottle/nurse, and put her down to sleep.  Every time she wakes up after that, it is not play time.  You go into her room while it is dark and you don't say a word.  If she's hungry, feed her.  If she's not, soothe a little and put back down to sleep.