⦠We have a consistent routine of bath, balm/massage, feed before ābedā. (But bed for us is still contact sleeping on my lap in front of the TV, then at around 9:30pm we head upstairs and transfer him to his crib.)
I donāt feel like we have a set routine, weāre still baby led, but we have a rough routine - weāre consistent about the order of things to help build sleep associations and weāre following some consistent guidelines: The thing thatās helped us the most is trying to stick to wake windows. At this age, babies wake windows are meant to be around 60 - 120 mins (the time they are awake between naps) and they typically need around 4 hours nap per day. Iām using the free huckleberry app to track naps during the day, then as we get closer to bed time (for us itās around 8pm) Iām a bit more mindful of nap times and length, to make sure his last wake window before bed is at least 1 hour 15 mins, and max 2 hours. Apparently sticking within 30 mins of bed time every day is best (so for us could be anywhere between 7:30 to 8:30pm)ā¦.
iām 3 months in and we still donāt have a routine! But he roughly falls asleep between 10/11 at night and wakes about 4:30 for a nappy change then goes straight back down until 6/7. i go with the flow and it works alot of the time. My baby likes to stay away for a long period of time after his last nap
I think itās what works for you. I know someone who has nailed getting her baby down at 7pm and I was feeling really bad that ours doesnāt go until 10-10.30. But her baby has never slept more than 4 hours at a time, whereas mine managed over 7 hours last night. That meant I didnāt have to get up until after 6am. If Iād put him down at 7 Iād have been up twice in the night, and would feel worse for it. Our routine includes having all the lights down, bath every two nights but always baby massage, changing into a sleep suit and feed in the dark.
The only reason mine has any semblance of a routine is because I have a toddler to put to bed! I wouldnāt worry too much about not having one yet, and any bedtime routine can be super basic so you probably do one without realising!!
I have a 12 week old and we do bath at 7-7.30, bottle afterwards and then into bed around 9. This will change as he gets older but weāve found if he skips that feed heāll wake up in the night, if he has it he sleeps through. He was 8 weeks early though so in some ways only a month old. His wake periods are still small. As he gets older and is more awake and alert in the day, as well as taking a higher volume of milk (to last through the night) heāll be going to bed earlier. For now this is what works for us. He finally gets up for the morning drop 8-9.30. Every baby and routine is different and they will constantly change. Youāll find you probably have a routine without realising š
Tbh my babyās routine isnāt set either. He goes to sleep at half 8 usually but sometimes he will go to sleep as early as 6 oāclock. I just go with the flow as if he hasnāt slept much that day Iām not going to force him to stay awake until his bedtime
I aim to get her down for 9:30 every night. It doesnāt always happen today she was tired early so she was in bed asleep just after 9. Yesterday she was in a playful mood & was still on her play mat giggling away at 10pm (probably why sheās tired today!) most nights sheās in her cot around 9:30 though. Watch for babyās tired cues in the evening & do not let him sleep until heās in bed. After a week or so of doing that heāll get himself into a routine of being ready to go to bed at that time. I know my daughters bed time is definitely on the later side but if we put her down sooner sheāll wake in the night. 9:30 bed time & sheāll sleep right through to 7:30/8am!! Find what works for you even if itās a tad unconventional x
We started going to bed earlier initially as he was getting fussy downstairs and we then realised he was just tired and ready for bed so I started going up with him at more like 8/8:30 instead of taking him to bed around 10. He was happy to go down then and so we started to migrate a little earlier, after a couple of weeks I stopped going to bed at the same time and instead did bottle upstairs with him and then put him to bed and took the monitor with me. Itās worth also having a look at your babyās wake windows in the day and when they want to nap and maybe try and base bed time off a couple of hours after the last nap?
Thanks everyone I've been panicking about it ,
Pick a bath time and try and structure around that. Donāt feel bad because itās not easy and it wonāt always go to plan. I bath in the middle of his feeds so he enjoys his bath and then is hungry when we get out and got pjs on. Then itās a bottle in the dark and let him fall asleep on me then we both go to bed. It doesnāt matter what time just try and establish an order to things.
My babyās naturally made himself a routine. He just gets tired between 7/8pm and I rock him to sleep him then. Heās been doing it since about 12 weeks until 4 days ago (heās almost 18 weeks) because heās going through a sleep regression now! They say to do your bath/story/songs or whatever you put into your routine solidly the same time and order each time so your baby learns what the next steps are. This is something Iām going to have to start doing now š x
If you want him to go to sleep at 8, Iād recommend starting the bedtime routine at 7 and not to let him sleep past 6. Babies at this age canāt stay awake for more than 2 hours. I currently bath my little one, get her dressed for bed, then feed her, read her a book and sing a song as I put her into the cot to sleep, (obv it wonāt always go to plan)!
I normally do bath about 6pm then bottle about 7pm. She might have another bottle about 10pm then will sleep till about 4am