what time do you start bedtime routine?

cvl105 · August 2011

I think I need to start earlier as its taking longer and longer for me to get her to sleep for the night.

CarlaAndJames · August 2011

she seems to go to sleep at 11 no matter what time we start. The last two nights her nap schedules were all off so we started at 6 or 7. And she fought sleep until 11. Sigh.

cvl105 · August 2011

CarlaAndJames:
she seems to go to sleep at 11 no matter what time we start. The last two nights her nap schedules were all off so we started at 6 or 7. And she fought sleep until 11. Sigh.

This is what I'm afraid of.

MommaG123 · August 2011

We usually do our last BF session at 7 or 8 and then around 9 or 9:30 she gets her bath and at about 10 DH feeds her a bottle, then changes and swaddles her. She will then usually fall asleep sometime between 10:30 and 11:30.

LauraOTR · August 2011

We start around 9:30 or 10...I change, BF, swaddle. Then DH or I rock him laying on our chest, while I read a book and we listen to lullabies. Then we switch on the white noise, and he usually falls asleep while being rocked. Once he's asleep, we put him down. Sometimes his eyes do pop open again, and sometimes he'll fuss once or twice, but it's easy to soothe him (sometimes just patting and shushing, sometimes we need to pick him up once).We do have an occasional off night, where I'll have to pick him up repeatedly, but he's almost always asleep by 11.

It's a million times better than it used to be since we started this routine (he used to fight sleep for 1-3 hours, sometimes not sleeping until after midnight). I do want to try to get his bedtime earlier, but I don't want to mess with a good thing just yet.

Oh, and I also find that when he has a late evening nap, he does even better going down. Like a nap from 8-9, or even 9:30. Then he's awake just long enough for our routine, then back to sleep. Eventually I suppose we could just turn that into bedtime, but he sleeps on daddy's chest for that nap...it's their snuggle time.

kimbo1216 · August 2011

DH gives A her last bottle of BM around 9:30 or so. She usually falls asleep while taking it and doesn't wake again until 5 hours later (I keep hoping this number will increase). So, I guess I would we start around at 9:30. However, if it's a bath night, we like to get that in around 8:30. By the time we are done, dressed, and have had a little play time, she is ready for her bottle and bed.

cvl105 · August 2011

I had been starting around 9pm and giving her a bath, feeding her, and then putting her down by 10:30ish. I try and hold her for about 30 minutes after she's finished eating to avoid her waking up to spit up in her crib, but that's just not working. No matter what, she spits up and wakes herself up. Last night I didn't get into bed for the last time until midnight...after putting her in her crib for the first time at 10:30. I'm at a loss as to what to do. I go back to work in 3 weeks and can't be up till midnight and then getting up to feed around 4 and then getting ready for work.

Any suggestions on how to get LO to stop spitting up? She spits up sometimes an hour after I've finished feeding her.

DreamChaser246 · August 2011

8:30 - 9:30 if possible. I time it when LO is starting to get fussy for the last feeding of the night.

KYBABY2011 · August 2011

We do baths around 8, have a little Naked tummy time, then bf for about an hour. DH usually takes LO to the nursery about 10 and changes his diaper and rocks him to sleep. It's working for us.

jcsumm0 · August 2011

We go for a walk w/baby in the Beco around 8 or 8:30 (can't do it any early because it is damn hot here). She usually takes a little cat nap in there. When we get back, she nurses on one side, I change her diaper and take off her clothes, and then nurse her to sleep. Then I put her in the swaddle (she'll only go in it if already asleep) and then hold her for a bit longer. I like to hold her upright for about 15-20 min after she is done eating--it seems to prevent her from spitting up/reflux that wakes her up. She's usually in bed between 10:30-11. I guess it would be nice if she wanted to go to be earlier so DH and I could have some alone time, but she set this routine herself and she's happy and rarely cries in the evening, so I'm not going to mess with a good thing.

IDK what to do if she spits up an hour after, Chelsea...:(

cmread · August 2011

cvl105:
I had been starting around 9pm and giving her a bath, feeding her, and then putting her down by 10:30ish. I try and hold her for about 30 minutes after she's finished eating to avoid her waking up to spit up in her crib, but that's just not working. No matter what, she spits up and wakes herself up. Last night I didn't get into bed for the last time until midnight...after putting her in her crib for the first time at 10:30. I'm at a loss as to what to do. I go back to work in 3 weeks and can't be up till midnight and then getting up to feed around 4 and then getting ready for work.
Any suggestions on how to get LO to stop spitting up? She spits up sometimes an hour after I've finished feeding her.

We've been feeding DS first, then bathing him (shower actually, which would give you more time upright for DD) and getting him ready for bed. Maybe changing the order might help?

lovejoyinme · August 2011

we start at 6pm. early i know, but he is ready for bed at that time

cvl105 · August 2011

lovejoyinme:
we start at 6pm. early i know, but he is ready for bed at that time

How do you know he's ready for bed vs just needs a nap? I need a baby that spits out a receipt with directions! haha

march2008 · August 2011

DD went to sleep at 11:30 pm for the first 5 or so weeks after being horribly fussy starting around 9 pm. Somewhere between 6-7 weeks, she started taking getting fussy earlier, around 6 or 7 pm. When we would get her to fall asleep for a nap, she would be out for a very long stretch! We realized we have to start trying to winding her down around 7 pm so she's asleep between 8-9 pm. She does her longest stretch of the night then, which lasts between 5-7 hours.

rainstar752 · August 2011

cvl105:
I had been starting around 9pm and giving her a bath, feeding her, and then putting her down by 10:30ish. I try and hold her for about 30 minutes after she's finished eating to avoid her waking up to spit up in her crib, but that's just not working. No matter what, she spits up and wakes herself up. Last night I didn't get into bed for the last time until midnight...after putting her in her crib for the first time at 10:30. I'm at a loss as to what to do. I go back to work in 3 weeks and can't be up till midnight and then getting up to feed around 4 and then getting ready for work.
Any suggestions on how to get LO to stop spitting up? She spits up sometimes an hour after I've finished feeding her.

It might be drastic but you might try putting her to sleep in a rock n' play. It helps our reflux baby a lot! I do the last BF at 9:30 or so, finish around 10:15, and put her right to bed. She'll usually be asleep by 10:30.

cvl105 · August 2011

rainstar752:
cvl105:
I had been starting around 9pm and giving her a bath, feeding her, and then putting her down by 10:30ish. I try and hold her for about 30 minutes after she's finished eating to avoid her waking up to spit up in her crib, but that's just not working. No matter what, she spits up and wakes herself up. Last night I didn't get into bed for the last time until midnight...after putting her in her crib for the first time at 10:30. I'm at a loss as to what to do. I go back to work in 3 weeks and can't be up till midnight and then getting up to feed around 4 and then getting ready for work.
Any suggestions on how to get LO to stop spitting up? She spits up sometimes an hour after I've finished feeding her.
It might be drastic but you might try putting her to sleep in a rock n' play. It helps our reflux baby a lot! I do the last BF at 9:30 or so, finish around 10:15, and put her right to bed. She'll usually be asleep by 10:30.

She won't sleep in the RNP. We tried that. She'll only sleep on her belly. Sad

Melissa2216 · August 2011

I usually start at 8 or 8:30: bath or wipe DS's face and neck with a wet washcloth, change his diaper, put him in pj's, then feed him. Sometimes we get lucky and he's in his crib asleep by 10 or 11. Sometimes he wants to stay up and play until 12 or 1. In that case, I would stay awake with him until his next feeding while DH goes to bed.

SpceCadet · August 2011

We usually start around 8:30 and he's sleeping by 9.

Sunidaze · August 2011

I'm working on this - shooting for 8ish so she can be out by midnight, and hoping for earlier than that.

bunnymama625 · August 2011

the paci helps us with late spit up-- I guess b/c it it keeps her swallowing saliva?

Also-- when she's having a bad tummy day I drape her asleep over the boppy for awhile-- seems to help!

As for bedtime routine- we start around 9-9:30-- she's asleep by 11

kas80 · August 2011

We are a night owl family (Daddy works until late so we wait up) so we start at 11pm. We do a bath, then diaper and lotion, then feed from one boob while rocking, then put on jammies, rock a bit more and then feed from the second boob. By the time we are done with the second she's out (usually around 11:45-12) and sleeps for about 5-6 hours before waking up just to eat and get a diaper change and then goes back to sleep. We generally don't get up for the day until 10-11am though.

Last night both my husband and I were really tired so we tried to trick her into going to bed at 9:30 instead and it failed miserably. She took twice as long to get down and then only slept until 1am. But when she went to bed again around 1:30 she slept until 7, so clearly she's used to the later nights.

zoomanager · August 2011

Last feeding is around 7 to 7:30. After the feeding, I change him, swaddle him, and rock him with the b cloud white noise on till he falls asleep. Then I put him in his rock and play. And he is asleep by 8/8:30. And has been sleeping till 12:30, and some nights till 2! He then will wake up at 3 and then at 5:30. The day starts around 7 am.

jc&cat · August 2011

cvl105:

lovejoyinme:
we start at 6pm. early i know, but he is ready for bed at that time

How do you know he's ready for bed vs just needs a nap? I need a baby that spits out a receipt with directions! haha

this is what we are trying too. her fussy time is around 6ish so i figured to try and get her down at that time b/c maybe she is just exhasted. it was about 7 tonight when she fell asleep on DH when I was bathing DS. i want to get a bit of a better routine....maybe feed, then bath or just music and pjs in her room. I don't want a long routine. Made that mistake the first time and it takes forever to get DS into bed now. Prior to this early bedtime, she was staying up late and napping on the couch which made no sense to me. You can give it a shot for a few nights and see what she'll do. As for the spit up, DD is bad with it too. Notice I don't feed right before bed since she MUST burp and I have to keep her upright for at least 10 or so minutes.

jen&jay07 · August 2011

I'm have just started to get into a routine over the last couple of days, but it seems to be working well. Diaper change and pj's on about 8. We'll do a bath at this time if it's bath night, otherwise it's just lotion. Then we'll nurse and snuggle for about 45mins to an hour and he will usually fall asleep during this time. Then it's in the PNP for "the night" by 930.

skrichar · August 2011

Depending on his nap schedule which varies a bit each day, we start our bedtime routine b/t 7 and 8. LO gets a bath, then a little massage/cuddle time, then his bottle. I swaddle him and then rock him for 10 minutes or so and put him in his RNP and turn on his womb bear. I usually lay him down drowsy but still awake, and he drifts off within 5 or 10 minutes. He is asleep b/t 8 and 9, and usually sleeps till 5am.

I noticed that when he napped in the evening, he did not want to wake up. I was always waiting up for him to wake up for his last feeding, or waking him up to eat so I could go to bed, but then he would hardly eat. That's how I knew he was ready for bed rather than a late nap.

lovejoyinme · August 2011

cvl105:
lovejoyinme:
we start at 6pm. early i know, but he is ready for bed at that time
How do you know he's ready for bed vs just needs a nap? I need a baby that spits out a receipt with directions! haha

sorry for the late reply. when i put him down for the night at 7 pm he will stay in the crib, not start crying like he would if it were naptime. and he will last for 5-6hrs. so even though it's early we just go with it. we will want him in bed that early when he's older anyway.

lovejoyinme · August 2011

jc&cat:
cvl105:

lovejoyinme:
we start at 6pm. early i know, but he is ready for bed at that time
How do you know he's ready for bed vs just needs a nap? I need a baby that spits out a receipt with directions! haha
this is what we are trying too. her fussy time is around 6ish so i figured to try and get her down at that time b/c maybe she is just exhasted. it was about 7 tonight when she fell asleep on DH when I was bathing DS. i want to get a bit of a better routine....maybe feed, then bath or just music and pjs in her room. I don't want a long routine. Made that mistake the first time and it takes forever to get DS into bed now. Prior to this early bedtime, she was staying up late and napping on the couch which made no sense to me. You can give it a shot for a few nights and see what she'll do. As for the spit up, DD is bad with it too. Notice I don't feed right before bed since she MUST burp and I have to keep her upright for at least 10 or so minutes.

yea i don't see the point in him napping that late in the evening so we just put him to bed and he seems content. it doesn't take long to get him ready/relaxed for bed if we start at 6pm.

gymnst1013 · August 2011

We usually start around 8. N sort of put himself on a bedtime schedule. He just started naturally falling asleep around 8:30 or 9. So I decided if he was going to be punctual, I may as well get a pattern going. So we have a bath between 8 and 8:30 then pjs, nurse and bed.

I sort of want him to go to bed an hour or so later so that he's not up smack in the middle of the night and I can take more advantage of his sleeping time. 8:30 is way too early for me to go to sleep! I'm a night owl.

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