Nighttime routine?

Starbear06

What does yours look like for LO? I just started DS at daycare but haven't started work yet so I'm curious as to what everyone's routine looks like after they pick up LO's?
For now, I change his clothes and wipe his face and hands. Then he plays a bit while I heat his bottle. And it's usually a feed then nap. Then our bedtime routine starts after that. Do your LO's take a nap when they get home and for how long?

groovygrl

What time do you get home that LO is taking a nap?

We were/are big proponents of early bedtime so when they were babies (assuming your LO is since you mentioned the bottle) we came home, fed, changed/bath (e/o night bath) and their bedtime was 630pm. Might sound insanely early but it improved a lot of our sleep & bedtime issues. Even if you do a little bit later bedtime, if you're getting home after 5pm I don't see the need for a nap if LO is sleeping at DC.

GL!

Starbear06

groovygrl:

What time do you get home that LO is taking a nap? We were/are big proponents of early bedtime so when they were babies assuming your LO is since you mentioned the bottle we came home, fed, changed/bath e/o night bath and their bedtime was 630pm. Might sound insanely early but it improved a lot of our sleep amp; bedtime issues. Even if you do a little bit later bedtime, if you're getting home after 5pm I don't see the need for a nap if LO is sleeping at DC. GL!

Since I'm not working yet I pick him up at 3ish. And he's 4 months old today. Our bedtime is around 78 so he can't stay up that long without a nap. But when I start work I will pick him up at 4:30. Do I still let him nap then?

cmsdouglas

LO used to nap every afternoon when we got home (4ish) but she's been trying to drop that nap lately. We get home and she plays for a bit while I put away milk etc., then she nurses, and we usually eat dinner at around 5:30 (she gets some solids while we eat). If it's nice, we'll go for a walk if not, she'll play some more. She gets a bath at 6:30 and then to bed at 7:00. It took us a looooooong time to get a routine down, though!

pitterpatter129

It depends on the child's age I guess.  DS used to take a nap after daycare from about 4-4:30 and then he went to bed around 7.  Now that he's almost two, he plays, eats, bath, and bed by 6:00!  So, bascially we traded a nap for an earlier bedtime, which works better for him.

 

 

 

 

katieh1017

We get home around 6 and she naps shortly after. She doesn't sleep well at daycare so she's exhausted. Yesterday she napped from 6:30-10:15! Tonight 6:00-7:30. Once she wakes up from those crazy naps she has a bottle, plays for a few, takes a bath and then to bed. 

If she doesn't take long evening naps then we start the bath, final bottle at 8 and she's asleep by 8:30. This is usually how the weekend goes. You may need to adjust things when you start up. I just go with it. I wonder if eventually she will drop the evening nap for an earlier bedtime. 

groovygrl

Starbear06:

groovygrl:

What time do you get home that LO is taking a nap? We were/are big proponents of early bedtime so when they were babies assuming your LO is since you mentioned the bottle we came home, fed, changed/bath e/o night bath and their bedtime was 630pm. Might sound insanely early but it improved a lot of our sleep amp; bedtime issues. Even if you do a little bit later bedtime, if you're getting home after 5pm I don't see the need for a nap if LO is sleeping at DC. GL!

Since I'm not working yet I pick him up at 3ish. And he's 4 months old today. Our bedtime is around 78 so he can't stay up that long without a nap. But when I start work I will pick him up at 4:30. Do I still let him nap then?

In that case, I would think a nap is fine if he still goes to bed at a reasonable hr & you don't have any overnight sleep issues...! I'm sure within a couple months you'll start to see more of a pattern develop into the morning & afternoon naps & then you can convert to a slightly earlier bedtime instead. 

bornmommy

Starbear06:

groovygrl:

What time do you get home that LO is taking a nap? We were/are big proponents of early bedtime so when they were babies assuming your LO is since you mentioned the bottle we came home, fed, changed/bath e/o night bath and their bedtime was 630pm. Might sound insanely early but it improved a lot of our sleep amp; bedtime issues. Even if you do a little bit later bedtime, if you're getting home after 5pm I don't see the need for a nap if LO is sleeping at DC. GL!

Since I'm not working yet I pick him up at 3ish. And he's 4 months old today. Our bedtime is around 78 so he can't stay up that long without a nap. But when I start work I will pick him up at 4:30. Do I still let him nap then?

 This is very similar to my situation.  Last week when I was getting home around 4, DS was just waking up from his nap and wouldn't want to go back down at 5 obviously.  (We have a routine starting at 6 and in bed by 7ish but that wasn't working either because he would be ready for a nap at 6 which would push bedtime back until 9 )  I requested that he be woken up at 3pm regardless of how long he had been sleeping so then he would nap at 5.  It worked like a charm yesterday!  Since he is wanting to nap at 4:30, why not move his bedtime up 30 or so minutes?  You could always make sure he wakes up right when you want him to.  (DS is 5 months tomorrow but this type of sleep training should work fine on your LO.) 

mrsseguin

Starbear06:

groovygrl:

What time do you get home that LO is taking a nap? We were/are big proponents of early bedtime so when they were babies assuming your LO is since you mentioned the bottle we came home, fed, changed/bath e/o night bath and their bedtime was 630pm. Might sound insanely early but it improved a lot of our sleep amp; bedtime issues. Even if you do a little bit later bedtime, if you're getting home after 5pm I don't see the need for a nap if LO is sleeping at DC. GL!

Since I'm not working yet I pick him up at 3ish. And he's 4 months old today. Our bedtime is around 78 so he can't stay up that long without a nap. But when I start work I will pick him up at 4:30. Do I still let him nap then?

When you start work and pick him up at 4:30, I would not go home and have him nap.  You'd probably get home around 5?  Then when would he nap? Till 6, then you'd try and put him to bed at 7 or 8?  When my kids were that young, they could stay up a few hours, and DC should be putting them down for an afternoon nap.  I'd keep him up, go home and eat, play then in bed at 7pm.

law&order

groovygrl:

What time do you get home that LO is taking a nap?

We were/are big proponents of early bedtime so when they were babies (assuming your LO is since you mentioned the bottle) we came home, fed, changed/bath (e/o night bath) and their bedtime was 630pm. Might sound insanely early but it improved a lot of our sleep & bedtime issues. Even if you do a little bit later bedtime, if you're getting home after 5pm I don't see the need for a nap if LO is sleeping at DC.

GL!

We did this too because if I put him down after 4:30 he would basically be down for the night and awake at 4am.   I got home after 5pm and would put DS down by 6:30pm when he was younger.  We ate dinner after he went down for the night.  It wasn't until about 9 months that he was able to stay up until 7 or 7:30pm. 

brewcitybride

DS is in our home with grandparents 4 days per week, and at daycare 1 day per week. I normally get home around 4:30. Play with the kids (have a 3 year old, too). Kids eat dinner around 5:30, sometimes DH and I do, too, sometimes we wait. If it's really nice out, we'll take an after dinner stroll, which the kids love and gives us some nice quality time as a family. Then it's bathtime and bedtime for DS (he's in bed by 7). DD watches her TV show at 7, and is in bed reading books at 7:30. Then DH and I usually have two hours to ourselves, get ready for the next day, etc.

dizzycooks

I pick DD up at 3:30 and nurse her at daycare.  Then we hop in the car and pick DH up at 4, get home at 4:30.  Sometimes she falls asleep in the car and we let her doze for a little bit while we get stuff put away and start dinner.  She is playing or having dinner with us between 4:30 and 5:30, then we play or go for a walk.  At 6:15 we start bathtime and then it's straight to bed.  Depending on her mood bathtime might be long or short, but she is always in bed by 7, sometimes it's 6:30.  We get her up at 5:45 so it's an early morning.