Bed time/ Nap time Routine

Ladybug2821 · February 2017

Let's share what our routines are and what you think really helps your LO go to sleep.

jsmai · February 2017

S just turned 13 weeks.

We try to follow a diaper change/eat/play/sleep schedule during the day with her awake time at around 2 hours. For daytime naps I'll usually put her into her swing at an 1,45 minutes awake or as soon as she rubs her eyes. I talk and sing to get to distract her from realizing she's being put down until she konks out. (Otherwise she loses it) If I can't get her to go down I'll wear her in my tula or feed her to sleep. I am going to start transitioning to crib naps soon I hope.

Bedtime routine usually starts around 7. I'll put on her pj's, give a little massage, and then feed her lying down in bed with white noise on. She'll do a long feed and be out by abut 8,typically.

I know I should be putting her down at night drowsy, not asleep, but she usually falls asleep feeding and I'm too tired at that point to mess with something that keeps her from crying.

I'm interested to see what works for everyone else's babies. I'd love to smooth out the process. S is such a light sleeper and doesn't like sleeping either. Oy.

Ladybug2821 · February 2017

@jsmai wow 2 hours! I have a hard time getting S not to show sleep cues before an hour. Makes me wonder if something's wrong but of course I forgot to mention it to the pedi. I'm trying to extend her to an hour 15 mins/30 mins.

jsmai · February 2017

@Ladybug2821 She changed from 75 minutes to 2 hours over the last two weeks on her own. I wondered if it was due to a new developmental leap. But everything always seems to be in flux. It's hard to pin down the whys of it all. My only other guess to her longer stretches is my attempting to stimulate her a bit more during her play times.

kristah2 · February 2017

M is brutal and doesn't really nap during the day. If he does it's in my arms for the most part. Sometimes I get lucky and can manage to lay him down for a bit. He's 2 a day. One in the morning a couple hours after waking and one around 5pm.

Bedtime is later for us due to our schedule. When he starts showing signs of being tired or dosing off we head upstairs. Usually between 10-11. We change into pjs and change diaper. While listening to scout.
If he had a good feed before coming up I can put him down wide awake with a pacifier and scout singing.
If he is not quite there yet we curl up in my bed and feed to sleep. He often stirs when I lay him down but tends to go back to sleep. If he wakes I sneak in and give him a pacifier and he's good again.
Our routine is definitely not for everyone but it works for us and now he can sometimes go down awake!

tvh1982 · February 2017

We start the evening somewhere between 18:30-19:00. I'll start with a bath for Pia. I don't use soap everytime, but she relaxes from the warm water.
After bath we put on pj's and sit down for a bottle. Could be she had a bottle only 45 min before, but for some reason this bottle is really wanted. Not that she drinks it all (sometimes she does) but guess it became part of the routine.
While she drinks I sometimes read a story, or we just sit quietly in her room. I always turn down the lights (just enough to read)
If I'm lucky she's sleepy enough to go to bed awake ish, but most of the time I rock her. By 8pm ish she'll be asleep.

At 11pm I give her a change and a dreamfeed. She'll then sleep anywhere between 4:30-6:30. We do another bottle but no changing as it'll wake her up.
Back to bed and up between 8am-9am

In the morning I walk in saying good morning, so she'll know nighttime is over.
I was her face and bum, she'll play a little, a bottle and back to bed.
For naps I either have to rock her to sleep, be busy upstairs or sit in the chair in her room. She sleeps 3 times during the day. Anywhere from 50 min til 3 hours.
Inbetween naps she's awake anywhere between 1,5 to 2,5 hours. She's very busy playing (rolling around and trying new stuff) that sleeping isn't a priority.

Her cue it's time for bed (nap or night) is me putting on her sleepingbag and turning on her Lulla Doll (the latter breathes and has a heartbeat)

kvruns · February 2017

Old routine:
swaddle, sit and rock while I sing 3 Christmas songs and on song 2 he would cuddle up and start to doze. Usually went down slightly awake

new routine (change since I had to start swaddling arms out):
swaddle, sit and rock, halfway through first song he's thrashing and getting upset, try to hold him tight to me to get to settle, keep singing songs for no good reason, finish songs he's still wide awake, finally get rocked to sleep out cold, put down. At night does ok; naps last few days he's up again 15 min later fighting me.

Emmaholmes89 · February 2017

Mine was a terrible napper, she'd literally stay up all day with the exception of one or two 20 minute naps on my chest. My friend recommended a set schedule where her first nap starts 2 hours after she wakes up, her second starts 3 hours after she wakes up from that nap, and bedtime is 3 hours after she wakes up again.

i know 3 hours might sound like a long time for a young baby to stay up, but it works great for her! She sleeps so well now and is much happier and more active during her waking hours. She still eats 2-3 times during the night, but she barely wakes up and falls fully back to sleep by the end so they're easy wakings.

It usually goes like this (she also feeds on demand in between pre-nap feedings) -
9 am - wake up
10:40 am - eat, rock to almost sleep
11 am - nap
12:30/1 pm - wake up
3:40 - eat, rock to almost sleep
4 pm - nap
5:30/6 pm - wake up
8:30 - story, swaddle, feed, rock to almost sleep
9 pm - bedtime

If she cries at all I go in and stroke her hair for a few minutes till she's relaxed and leave her again. She usually won't cry more than 10 minutes before she falls asleep.

kvruns · February 2017

@Emmaholmes89 our schedule it very similar to yours. Worked great until I had to stop swaddling his arms and husband naps went to crap and so it added fussiness

SandNStarsNJ · February 2017

All of this is super helpful, ladies, thanks for sharing. I'm operating on a roughly 7am wake up and 9:30pm bedtime with naps only really happening with a good nursing session or a car ride and are quite unpredictable. I have started a nighttime routine that starts with a bath, then calm playtime, nursing and laying down.

m6agua · February 2017

We have just been following LOs cues so far. Its been a little more consistent since I went back to work.

LO normally gets up for the day between 7-8 am. She is normally hungry right away so we have been doing the whole Eat-Play-Sleep thing. This is when she is most awake and active.

She typically stays up anywhere from 1-2.5 hours and then naps. I would say she gets 3-5 naps in a day. Her afternoon one is typically the longest and sometimes goes for 3-3.5 hours. She naps in the swing, the rock n play and our arms.

Bedtime starts anywhere from 6:30-8:30 depending on when she got up and ate last. We bathe her about 2-3 times a week and we start with that. Otherwise its change into "jammies", get her swaddle/sleep sack on (arms out), feed/rock her. Sometimes we will read a story in there. We do this in her room with only a night light on. We have to rock her to sleep before putting her in the crib. I noticed she does the best if I lay her on her side in the crib.

She was sleeping until 4:30 and then eating and going back to sleep until the morning. Now she has been more fussy at night and we have to rock her a couple times and she normally eats again at 2:30 and then at 6:00.

I would like to start getting more of a schedule and putting her down for naps in her crib, but she never naps well in the crib.

MrsMaryK2016 · February 2017

Let's see...

6:30-8:00 - Wake up, diaper change, feeding, play time, diaper change, feeding, rock to sleep

8:00-9:00 - Nap in crib

9:00-11:30 - Wake up, diaper change, feeding, play time, many diaper changes and feedings on demand, another feeding depending on last time of feeding before bed, rock to sleep

11:30-12:30 - Nap in crib

12:30-3:00 - Rinse and repeat the 9-11:30 schedule

3:00-4:00 - Nap in crib

4:00-6:00 - Rinse and repeat and add a walk around the neighborhood

6:00-7:00 - Bath, lotion, pj's, quiet play

7:00-? - Nurse, swaddle and rock to sleep. Typically takes about 45 minutes but is extremely variable

He's usually up between 1 and three times a night to eat and have his diaper changed. And of course this can all go to sh*t at a moments notice like when little guy decides a 15 minute nap is all he needs....

SandNStarsNJ · February 2017

I ask this in a genuine way because I love these schedules and want to try them but: how do you get anything done? Or go out?

MrsMaryK2016 · February 2017

SandNStarsNJ said:

I ask this in a genuine way because I love these schedules and want to try them but: how do you get anything done? Or go out?

Hahaha! Go out? Good one!

No but really, we don't get out a ton. Mostly because M loathes the car. But when I do go out it's after a nap. And some of our play time is independent play, not a lot mind you but enough where I can unload the dishwasher or start a load of laundry.

jsmai · February 2017

SandNStarsNJ said:

I ask this in a genuine way because I love these schedules and want to try them but: how do you get anything done? Or go out?

S is happiest in the morning so during one of the first two awake cycles I'll put her in the car seat after a feed. So long as we're back home before she wakes up from the next nap we're usually ok. But she likes going for drives and has a zebra toy hanging from her car seat that she plays with.

tvh1982 · February 2017

I don't get a lot done.
Only since last week my LO can entertain herself. So now I get stuff done in the house while she's in the playpen or laying on a bed/on a playmat on the floor under a babygym.
I move rooms, she'll move rooms

We walk a lot, I plan a walk when it's naptime, I walk to the stores and get some light shopping done.
Food I get delivered at home.

If we need to go outside town I'll plan a trip right after a bottle, if it's sleeptime or playtime I don't really care, ones that bottle is in we're off!
She hated driving in the car, but not anymore. As long as she's fed she's happy to either be awake or asleep.

Sometimes fixed appointments are difficult as it might crash mid sleep. If it's somewhere I can walk to I put her down in a stroller, but if it's too far, I either check with my mum if she can be on standby or I have to get her out of her crib and into the car seat.

As for the walking part: I do live in the Netherlands, walking or cycling (I'll soon do the latter) is very common, so stores are easy to reach, and sidewalks are everywhere!

Ladybug2821 · February 2017

@SandNStarsNJ I've been extending S's feeding to 3 hrs instead of 2 and that has been helping a great deal in regards to getting out more. I will feed her before leaving and if she falls asleep she falls asleep. Life won't allow us to always work with their schedules perfectly and they will adjust. At home I put her in the swing, sit me up chair, or bouncer and that buys me some time. If she's really fussy I'll just put her in the stroller and take her to what ever room I'm in.

m6agua · February 2017

@SandNStarsNJ I let her have some independent play to do small tasks. Sometimes I wear her in the Ergo carrier. But mainly once she is asleep I bust my butt to get as much done as possible.

As for going out I normally try to do it when she would nap. But just the other day I went to Costco during her awake time. I fed her then went. She was awake but content and it went well. I've gone to friends houses with her plenty of times. I went to lunch once, she should've been napping but woke up during lunch. It all went fine though since it was a "mommy" lunch so she was passed around. I need to do some shopping for new clothes and shoes but I don't dare do that with her. Just the thought of picking out the clothes and trying everything on while she would get fussy, no thanks.

mrsmoose5 · February 2017

Love reading these!

2yo DS wakes up between 5-6, DH gets him out of his crib at 6 and takes him downstairs to eat breakfast.

DD wakes up sometime between 6-7:30, nurses, I change her diaper. During her first morning wake-time she'll spend some time on the floor on her activity mat and some time being passed between DH and I while we take turns getting ourselves and DS ready for the day.

Short nap (20-40 mins) in crib about 2 hours after morning wakeup. DS and I go outside to play.

11 a.m. - DS eats lunch

11:30 - Everybody upstairs to wind down for nap time (diaper changes, read books)

12-2 - DS naps, DD will usually nurse and then take a longer nap while I hold her on the couch. Sometimes it's another catnap

2 p.m. - DS eats a snack then we usually all go outside (either for a walk to the park nearby or just in our yard). If DD took a short nap earlier she might take another short one in the stroller.

4 p.m. - DD goes in Solly wrap and takes her final nap while I get dinner ready.

5 p.m - Dinner

6 pm - Bathtime + jammies, DD first, then DS. Either my mom or DH will hold DD while I finish DS's bedtime routine (go outside to look for the moon, read a book, sing).

7 pm - DS in crib. I shower.

7:30 - DD has usually fallen asleep with whoever is holding her. I take her upstairs and gently rouse her for a diaper change, then nurse her, and transfer her to her crib.

She was sleeping 6-8 hours before waking up to nurse, and even slept 7:30-6 one night, but we hit the 4mo sleep regression this week so she's been waking up around midnight and then every 1.5-2 hours after that for the past 5 days. Her nursing schedule is pretty erratic, but is usually about every 2-3 hours.

I'll doing bedtime completely alone for the first time starting tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. I'm terrified.

lajoliedreamer · February 2017

With E in daycare, we don't really have a schedule, but here's our bedtime routine since I went back to work over 6 weeks ago. Most of that time she's had a stuffy, runny nose so you'll notice things related to that.

Depending on when we eat dinner and when she ate last, this can start anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30.

Bath time, which we do every night, even though we don't always wash her. It's the best time to use the snot sucker and the warm water makes her happy, so we try not to miss this.
Low-key play on the bed while we dry her off and put saline in her nose.
Switch from overhead light to a low bedside lamp.
Get her dressed in either a sleeping gown and swaddle (arms out) or onesie and sleep sack.
Nurse and bottle feed until she's full and sleepy. (Sometimes she'll nurse pre-bath and just bottle feed before bed)
Hold and sway until she's asleep. If she's fussy, we turn on a hair dryer to help calm her down.
Put her down in pack n play completely asleep.
Usually she wakes up around 1 or 2 for a feeding then again around 5 or 6, which is when we get up for the day.

When we do have her for a nap, like on the weekends, we try to put her down sleepy, but I need sleep too bad to do it at night.

SandNStarsNJ · March 2017

Thanks, all! Your details make me feel so much less doubtful of how I operate. I'm always second guessing s thousand and one things - one of which being, how am I supposed to function around a baby's set schedule versus can my baby function without a set schedule? I guess there's a middle ground somewhere. We started doing an evening routine the last few nights and so far so good: 7pm bath - 7:30pm gentle playing/cooing/dad time - 8pm feeding - 9pm sleepy cuddles - 9:30pm bed.

Ladybug2821 · March 2017

@lajoliedreamer I'm glad you mentioned the hair dryer. I think S is going through leap 4 because she went from being easy to put to sleep quickly to fighting and fussing for naps and bedtime. She has also been super fussy and clingy throughout the day because she isn't getting enough sleep. I will definitely try the hair dryer trick.

MrsMaryK2016 · March 2017

@SandNStarsNJ The bath routine is where we started and it seemed like once we got bedtime figured out the rest of the night and day figured itself out. Good luck!

Ladybug2821 · March 2017

I only bathe S every other day unless she spits up a lot so I don't include that in my routine.
Starting at 7:30:
1. Turn off light in living room and nurse
2. Take her to her room that is dimly lit and do some baby yoga with her in her crib
3. Change her, swaddle her, give her reflux meds (which strangely she enjoys), and say our prayers
4. Rock her in the rocking chair for a few mins while reading her a book
5. Tell her goodnight, love you and kiss her head. Try to rock her to sleep but now she's been getting super fussy so I'm having to walk around the room and make shh shh sounds or sing lullabies
6. Once asleep I take her to my room and put her in the Rock and play and turn on the humidifier

She used to sleep 8 hrs but has recently been waking up around 1 then 3/4 and I thought for the day at 6:30. Last night I decided she only needs one feeding so I only fed her at 4 and the other times I rocked her back to sleep and she ended up waking up for the day at 7:30.

For naps I used to just wait to see her sleepy cues and then take her to her room, change her if necessary, and swaddle her and repeat #5 for the most part. Now I'm tryin to do a quick routine so she knows it's nap time. So when I see her first yawn I take her in her room and read her a quick story, swaddle, tell her it's sleepy time, and lay her in her crib once asleep.

rspalding001 · March 2017

For naps we have no routine. DS falls asleep when he's tired, usually after nursing and I put him in his swing (not in motion) to sleep since it's in the living room where I can keep an eye on him. That or he naps in the car or his Ergo if we are out and about. We never swaddle during the day.
at night we do a bath at 6:45 and by 7:15- 7:30 I have him in his Jammie's in his room and I nurse him to sleep and put him in his crib and wrap a swaddle blanket around him.

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