Bedtime routine for 3-4 month baby.

Magallyta · October 2013

I am working mom & my mom watches my DD while I am at work. We pretty much try to follow a routine but there is an awkward gap between 6-7:30. I get home around 6 & DD has already had her 5pm bottle. So I usually play with her when I get home ,read her book, tummy time or her playmate. However, she starts getting cranky/sleepy around 6:30-7 but she still needs her last bottle. Pedi told me that the last bottle should be 7:30. Hubby & I thought that suggested feeding time was too close to her 5pm one. We usually feed her around 8-9pm but I see that she is not sleeping enough.

Is 8-9 a late time for baby to go to bed? What time is the latest you bath them? Hubby & I are working full-time so we don’t settle in till like 7:30-8 so we want to make sure baby gets what she needs first.

pantsarella · October 2013

I tend to have the same problem with my DD. If she's cranky because she's sleepy, the best thing for her to do is to go to sleep. Most times, I just end up feeding her to sleep around 7 and she eats what she eats. She stops eating when she's comfortable enough to fall asleep, so I don't worry too much about it. She's still waking 1-2x per night, though so I know she's not going to be going a really long time without eating.

hbrockman01 · October 2013

My DD is 5mth on 10/8... we do this:

530a - 6a: wake/change/feed

7a - 5p: hubby has her

5p: instead of a bottle I give her either a fruit or a veggie

6p - 630p: melt down begins

6:30p - 7p: start bed time routine - - bath, bottle, book, bed

7:30p: usually down and out until 1230a or 1a - - - wakes but i usually just give the bink back and she's good until the following morning

She eats between 24-30oz of formula a day + 2-3 oz of baby food...

**EDIT**

she just started on solids but she has had the same routine since day 1... we only substitue one bottle, if it were me i would make the 5pm bottle a little less and then give the 7-730p bottle with the difference

rondokye · October 2013

My LO is 3 months old. While she is at day care, she will take a short morning nap, maybe two, and than a longer nap from around 12:30 - 2:30/3 p.m. She eats approx. 15 ounces of breast milk while there. My husband picks her up around 3:30 and when I get home around 5, is giving her another bottle. She'll nurse 2-3 times in the evening. Most days, she will nap again around 7 p.m. for about 30-45 minutes. I nurse her for the last time between 9 and 9:30 p.m. and she will sleep from then until around 5:30 - 6 a.m. the next morning.

sgerrity23 · October 2013

I also work til 6 and then drive my mil home. She watches lo while I work. I get home by 6:30p and feed her. Then we play, I cook dinner...I feed her a fruit or veggie around 7:30 then maybe play a little more if shes up to it. Then she gets a bath and nurses around 8:15. She is usually asleep between 8:30 and 9pm.

EEN09 · October 2013

DS is 3.5 months old. He still tends to cluster feed a bit in the evenings-- maybe this is what your doctor is referencing? He tends to eat around 4, 7, and then 9ish, after which he is asleep "for the night" (until somewhere between 3:30a & 5:30a). He follows this routine whether he's bottle fed (the evenings I'm at work) or breastfed.

Magallyta · October 2013

Oh that is what cluster feeding means?

I guess we are all in the same boat with sleeping/eating habits...

ASmallWonder · October 2013

I think you're putting too much weight in your doctor's guidance and you're stressing too much about the difference between a nap and overnight sleep. If she goes down at 7 and wakes up at 9 to eat and goes right back down, that's really so little difference than her going at 7 and staying down that I wouldn't worry at all.

LisaLisa1980 · October 2013

Bedtimes aren't really going to matter this young. They will settle into their own after 3 months I've found. Just do what's comfortable for you

niftychick29 · October 2013

Our little guy typically eats around 7pm and is usually in his pajamas and sleepy around 8:30 or 9pm, but he is still eating every few hours, so he'll usually get a bottle around 10 or 11pm (whenever my husband and I go to bed...we're night owls, I guess). He usually wakes up once during the night to eat again (typically between 3 and 4) and then goes right back to sleep. He tends to sleep until 6 or so, but then will often eat again and fall back asleep for a bit. I stay at home with him, so it's not a big deal if he wakes up a little later, like 7am or 8am. Our pedi seems to think this is fine, he was a preemie and not quite caught up size wise yet so the extra feedings are okay for now, evidently.

Schell2013 · October 2013

I don't have to work yet, so for me I give her a bath at 8. 8:15 is nurse and she is usually out by 8:30 ish but no later than 9. She has been STTN since 6 weeks old with that routine. Works well for us since DH works late, and I'm not a morning person so her not being up until 9-9:30 is nbd.

traceykent00 · October 2013

Mine is just over 3 months and we start bath time every night between 8:15 and 8:30 and then a bottle immediately afterwards. He's a colicky baby and the bath every night helps calm him down. Now he's to the point where he wants the bottle immediately after bath time because he knows it's coming. Once he eats, he's asleep by 9 or 9:30 and goes down without any problems. He has just started sleeping through the night (not every night but most). We are going to wait until he is truly ready to sleep through the night before we make our routine earlier.

Erinkathleen21 · October 2013

Here's what I do

-Get home from work about 5:30

-Nurse DD as soon as I get home and change

-Make dinner and play with DD

-Try to go for a walk 6:45-7:15

-7:30 get DD in the bath or take a shower with her, give her a little massage and get her ready for bed

-Nurse her again 7:45-8 or whenever we're done getting her ready

-Put her in bed after I feed her. She normally falls asleep when eating but wakes up when she's done and I put her down while she's still awake. I hear her talking for a couple minutes before she falls asleep

She's normally in bed asleep by 8:15

taraleanne · October 2013

If you think she's not getting enough sleep, put her to bed much earlier. I use this place as a resource:

www.babysleep101.com/Resources.html#4_Month_Old_Sleep

This consultant has mentioned several times that a good bedtime for babies is usually between 7-830 pm BUT, obviously it depends on the life of the family.

My son cluster fed (I feed on demand) since he was very young so he nurses every 1.5-2 hours in the evening and STTN, so there would be no problem giving her the bottle early! I'm sure she would take it. You need to try to find something that works for you but don't forget it won't work in one day. Be patient and consistent.

here's what we do:

...each evening is different for us, but I'm not working yet...but like I said above, he's usually eating every 1.5 -2 hours starting about 4pm with 1 small nap in there and mostly playing and just hanging out until bedtime routine. My son is 4 months old and has been STTN with this routine for over a month now.

7:15 - bath with lavender, massage and sleeper

7:30 - story and quiet talking, cuddlng

7:35 - nurse him in his room with just a little nighlight on, he does not fall asleep during nursing but becomes very relaxed. I burp him and cuddle him, kiss and talk about going to sleep while move towards his crib. Put on the sound machine (loud) and then lay him in his crib and rub his head or kiss him a few more times and leave. For several weeks I had to go back in a few times if he fussed but now a days he just knows to go to sleep and he's tired so he doesn't fight it. If you stick with the same time every night, her internal clock will expect it and then it's no fights bedtime! I never let him CIO either.

MissDei · October 2013

Do what works best for your family. Our son goes to bed at 9. DH usually doesn't even get home from work until 7pm, we bathe him around 830 and he's in bed at 9-930 sometimes until 12:30 or 1, sometimes until 330-it just depends. He gets a bottle at 630-7pm and one last one after 9.