How long does it take you to put LO to bed?

Sully3302 · October 2015

Our LO does not nap well during the day no matter what I do. She is definitely overtired and overstimulated from the day... But it takes 2-3 hours of rocking & white noise to put her to sleep. She falls asleep many times but wakes up after 10 minutes sleeping in our arms or even 20 minutes once we place her in the RNP. Is this typical for a 5 week old?

ElleMF728 · October 2015

When DS has a bad nap day it can take about 2 hours to get him to fall asleep and stay asleep for the night too. Just my opinion, you probably don't really have a bedtime problem as much as you have a nap problem.

Overtired babies have a really hard time falling and staying asleep. However, what time are you trying to get her to go to sleep? You may have set bedtime either too early or too late as well. Newborns occasionally have later bedtimes since they take so many naps throughout the day. It also helps to keep baby up for a little bit before bed, I try to aim for 2 hours. Any more and we have a hard time because he is overtired, any less and he isn't quite tired enough. Sleep is tricky!

jwebbbber45678 · October 2015

We started a routine that has been working nicely. Around 7:00, dad gives baby a bath. Then we put on his overnight diaper and pajamas and I take him into our bedroom that is dark with the exception of a nightlight. At this point we don't talk or look him in the eye. I play white noise and breastfeed him until he falls asleep. Sometimes I give him a gentle backrub while he feeds. After he falls asleep I hold him for twenty minutes and in the meantime put a heating pad on in his pack n play crib which is next to the bed. After 20-30 minutes when he's entered his deep sleep I take the heating pad out of the crib and gently place him in. He'll then sleep for 2-3 hours before waking up for another feeding ( he still eats every 2 hours or so). We had some very tough nights where he didn't sleep until like 3 in the morning and cried constantly. Since starting our routine he's been sleeping much better. Although I suspect those nights of horrible sleep may have been a growth spurt/wonder week. So when the next one comes around our routine might not be as effective. But for now it's great!

Sully3302 · October 2015

We also start at 7 because she is already so overtired. White noise & dark room. She fell Asleep for the night at 10, and is up now at 2:15 to eat

jwebbbber45678 · October 2015

It may take awhile but at least she gives you four hours in a row, that's still a rarity for us!

ktbkitten · October 2015

Have you tried bath time before bed. My LO sleeps much better on bath nights so now he gets one every night. We just only use soap every other time.

jennsuzanne87 · October 2015

It also depends on his day. Wednesday it took him about an hour and a half to be put to sleep but he didn't nap great. Yesterday he napped awesome and went to sleep in about five minutes. We also have a bedtime routine that encourages him to relax.

melco19 · October 2015

jweber4747 said:
We started a routine that has been working nicely. Around 7:00, dad gives baby a bath. Then we put on his overnight diaper and pajamas and I take him into our bedroom that is dark with the exception of a nightlight. At this point we don't talk or look him in the eye. I play white noise and breastfeed him until he falls asleep. Sometimes I give him a gentle backrub while he feeds. After he falls asleep I hold him for twenty minutes and in the meantime put a heating pad on in his pack n play crib which is next to the bed. After 20-30 minutes when he's entered his deep sleep I take the heating pad out of the crib and gently place him in. He'll then sleep for 2-3 hours before waking up for another feeding ( he still eats every 2 hours or so). We had some very tough nights where he didn't sleep until like 3 in the morning and cried constantly. Since starting our routine he's been sleeping much better. Although I suspect those nights of horrible sleep may have been a growth spurt/wonder week. So when the next one comes around our routine might not be as effective. But for now it's great!

This is almost exactly the same as our routine!

BrianaJ0917 · October 2015

For us it seems like naps are the key to good sleep at night. More naps = more/better sleep. Less naps = less/not as long sleep. I just try and not let him nap to close to bedtime. Also he seems to sleep better when he has a bath. Generally our bedtime routine starts about 6:30, I breastfeed him for an hour..then I give him a bath and lotion him up..sometimes massage him a little to get him relaxed..put his pjs on and then about 8 we do a supplement bottle (the pediatrician is having us supplement one feeding a day and I feel like doing this at bedtime helps him sleep longer)..then we'll read a book or 2 and cuddle and sit in the glider until he falls asleep...I try to have him in bed by 9.

Kelliek327 · October 2015

I have a 5 week old who was not napping well either and was very overtired. He wasn't sleeping that great at night as a result, and I was exhausted. I bought a moby wrap and started baby wearing during the day. He would always fall asleep in the moby after about 10 minutes. This is how I would get him to nap for the first 3-4 days. After that, he started napping during the day without having to go in the moby every time, and his nighttime sleep has been much better! I would definitely recommend baby wearing to encourage your LO to sleep in the day and get some naps, it has improved our nighttime sleep quite a bit!

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