what is your bedtime routine?

kimoly

I am wondering what all of you do for a bedtime routine? We try to dim the lights, put DS in his night outfit, and basically indicate that it's almost time for "the long nap," but I am looking for other ideas. We are thinking of playing certain music, maybe?

Also, how do you encourage your LO to go to sleep earlier? Our guy goes to sleep typically 10:30-11:00pm and wakes up around 7am (sometimes wakes up once to eat). Sometimes he will sleep a bit more after that 7am feeding, but not always (maybe half the time). We would LOVE an earlier bedtime because we are SO tired and not night owls!

RumbleLina

We start between 8-9pm with a bath. The bath is usualy 15 minutes because I let him play and just have quiet time. From there I massage cream on his arms and legs and put Calendula cream on his face, dress him, read him Good Night Moon, turn off the lights then its bottle and rock time.

I like to think our indication that it's bedtime is DS' bath. Whether or not he views it like that who knows.

I have put DS down at 6pm sometimes when he is tired. If he is tired he goes down to sleep and since it last nap is around 4-5p he is usually tired between 8-9p.

mocknine

Bedtime routine:  We bathe her around 8pm, lotion her up, dress her, feed her, and then it's time for bed.  She usually gets down around 8:30p, give or take a half hour depending on exactly what time we bathed her. 

She will sleep until about 6-7am, with a possible wake-up around 4am for a bottle or the pacifier, but not every night.

 We're just getting ready to start cereal, so I think that will become part of the bedtime routine too.  Maybe before her bath... not positive yet.

 HTH! 

Lilleybug

8:00 we give him a bath, put him in his PJs, dim the lights, put on his classical music, give him a bottle while I rock him and then put him to sleep in his crib. We do this every night.

Mrs.EmmaLouise

Bath at 7p

Jammies.

Nurse.

Bed.

She sleeps until 9a with various amounts of wake ups.  But is only awake long enough to eat, so she's not up for long.   

christyp80

Bath at 7:30 (soap only every 3 days or if she's dirty), jammies, sometimes book if she's wide awake still, turn off lights and turn on white noise, rock and nurse, bed.

sarag0116

During the work week, evenings look like this...

5:30  Pick DD up from daycare

5:45 Get home and nurse DD

6:00  Playtime, help mommy with dinner, hang out with daddy, bath (only on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Sundays)

6:45 lotion (if bathed), fresh diaper, PJ's, brush hair (we like to look good for bed  ).  The nurse one side.

7:00 swaddle, nurse other side, rock to sleep.  

Nursing can take a long while sometimes, so it might be 7:45 before she goes to bed.

Usually STTN until 6:15, occ. wakes up and needs paci/mobile.

SBieste

6:00 Feed

7:00-7:30 Bathe/Jammies (bath not everynight)

8:00/8:30 -Quiet time/Bed

10:00- Dreamfeed (I wake her up to get one last bottle in so she'll STTN)

Lately not sure how great this routine is though....she used to STTN, and now wakes up every hour for pacifier,or thinks its playtime etc.