Establishing a routine.. do you put newborn to sleep at a certain time?

SLWoody

My baby girl is one month old today! This month has gone by so quickly, it makes me realize how quickly the next five weeks (when I have to return to work) will go also. I am thinking we should try to start a routine for our LO (as well as ourselves). Right now we just wait until she falls asleep (usually on us or in her swing) and put her down sometime between 10p and 12a. But obviously this isnt best practice. Does anyone put their newborn down at a certain time, even if they are awake? It just seems kind of early to do this to me (but I'm a first time Mom and have no idea what is the best thing to do!)

Baby_Bunny_Hopeful

With DS1, DH and I didn't sleep in the bed at the same time for the first 2+ months... we would take "shifts" in other rooms with DS.  Worked well at the time for us- we each got at least a solid 4 hours of sleep at one time.

That being said, DS1 wasn't the best sleeper until we did "CIO" at 6 months.  He would wake every 2 hours to eat.  It was exhausting.  

 So with DS2 we had him sleeping in the crib from the first night (modified in the beginning, full-time pretty much now though).  The past couple nights we started putting him down after nursing him at the same time that DS1 is getting his bedtime stories (around 8:15pm-ish).  We have a video monitor and will go up and soothe him if needed.... then he usually wakes to feed around 12am, 2am and 4:30am-ish.   

JameyR

I've been putting DD2 down at 830 when her sister goes to bed for at least a month. She would wake up at 3 to eat or a week or so...now she STTN until 6 or 7 am. If for some reason I on put her in bed by 830 she's a wreck until I swaddle and put her to bed. 

This is totally different than DD1 at this age. She didn't go to bed at the same time every night until closer to 4-5 mos old and didn't  STTN until 9 mos old. 

laurenhankey

We started a loose routine w/ LO early on (which I think is a good idea) at about 4 weeks. This is also when she began sleeping in her crib.  At that point we just chose a time and moved it earlier and earlier every week or so until we go to a point where it seemed it worked best for LO.  Right now we start this routine at 630pm but when we first started at 4 weeks it was about 930pm.  We do bath, swaddle, bottle/book.  We did this every night without fail. She began sleeping 5-6 hour stretches within the first few weeks of doing this and has been compeltely STTN since 12 weeks.  We never co-slept or anything like that.  I would sit in her room w/ her and rock her until she fell asleep which sometimes would be 2 hrs!  and sometimes it was only a 1/2 hr.  But I think because we were consistent it helped us in the end.  She now can "tell" when it's bedtime by our routine and falls asleep pretty quickly on her own and sleeps until my DH wakes her up for daycare at 7 am.

pixieprincss

We do everything by cue rather than the clock, but in terms of what developed naturally: DS1 didn't have a consistent sleepy time at night until age 1. It was anytime from 7 to 11 before that. Now, he likes to go to bed between 7 and 8.  In contrast, DS2 really likes to be in bed around 7 PM just like clockwork.

LaLaLindsay

We started a routine a couple weeks ago and slowly tweaked it. My twin boys are now 10 weeks old. I can't remember how they went to sleep before we started this routine...it all seems like a blur! But they have started to sleep longer period through the night, so this routine is helping!

 Usually the boys cluster feed from 7-9 and then we get them ready for bed, changed, jammies, and then swaddle and then I nurse them one last time. They then go into the cosleeper and my husband or I read them a story in a dimly lit room( I just added this last week), while we battle the binkies popping in and out of their mouths. Then we turn off most lights and make sure we leave the room or go to sleep ourselves. We battle with binkies a little, and then they usually fall asleep on their own, usually by 10:30.

 We have always tried to get them to sleep by 10-10:30 but finally came up a routine and it seems to be working for the most part! Swaddling definately helps them sleep as well as having a binky.

 

oprastr

We started our routine around 2 months when she dropped one MOTN feeding. I personally don't think it makes much sense to do much before then because a baby still eating every 2 to 3 hours around the clock isn't really going down for the night.

Anyway when my LO dropped her feeding that was sometime between 10 and 11 pm we started a routine based on the time of her last night feeding. Now we put Jammie's on, feed on one side, change diaper, swaddle, feed the other side, sing a lullaby and put her down drowsy but awake. This usually starts between 7 and 8 for us and she's always asleep by 9. Then she sleeps for 6 to 7 hours.

pumpkinhead4

I have learned that establishing a routine the early, the better. Anything can be your routine, it's just about having one. It helps the baby know what comes next. For example, around 7 pm turn the lights down, this is a big cue for little ones at any age that bed time is on it's way. A bath is a big one too, helps them calm down and relax. I normally try to put LO down between 7-9.

JustAhopin

around 1.5 months - 2 months I started playing around with bedtime. DS was going down too late for my liking, I just started trying a routine a little earlier each night. Not much of a routine, about an hour before bedtime he gets his jammies put on, then close to bedtime he gets fed and then rocked in the glider in the living room. Then I lay him in his crib (9pm is our time) and start the mobile. I'll sit in there on that rocking chair, he can't see me, and the lamp is on. Once the mobile is done. I wind it up again, say "good night again", grab monitor, turn lamp off and leave.

I did have this time all the way up til 8pm but that was too early. Even 8:30 was too early. He would wake up in middle of the night. 9pm works perfect, his wake time is great for us. This also gives me an hour of me time until we go to bed. Also, if DS starts fussing, which hasn't really happened, this doesn't cut into my own going to bed time. 

This is real nice since I went back to work at 3 months, this routine is already set. 

rnbeth477

We are the loose routine folks too for the first few months. We follow the baby's cues. At least that's what we did with DS. After that, he fell into a routine and we've stuck to routines ever since.

I think this early on its impossible to establish a strict routine.

SLWoody

Thanks all! I guess I am just having a hard time thinking of putting her down wide awake. However it seems like if I start a bedtime routine as most of you suggested, she will eventually learn the cues and know it is bed time. Thank you for your help!!

MarisaKathleen

We started a bedtime routine at 6wks.  We give her a bath every night at 630, then lotion her up, give her a bottle, read a story/burp and go to sleep.  Typically she's asleep at 7-715 and then she sleeps until 4, gets up, I change her, feed her and she's back down until 9.

FYI, when we give her a bath every night, we don't use soap.  I only use baby soap every 2 or 3 days so her skin doesn't get dried out.  When we try skipping a bath and doing the rest of the routine, it  takes her almost 2 damn hours to go to sleep.