Bath bottle bed routine advice

[Boo44]

We started a loose bedtime routine a couple of weeks ago for my 7 week old. He has a bottle around 7pm so we pop him in the bath with his brothers he then screams (!) whilst getting dressed and has his bottle then we've been putting him down in his Moses basket. Sometimes he lies there sometimes he's unsettled. But he never really falls asleep before 9pm.

So my question is what do you do when you're starting a bed time routine if they don't actually go to sleep?! Just stick at it until they do??

 

[ruby83]

To be honest I think your bub is too young for a routine (although I am sure others will disagree). I think to save yourself stress, just follow your LO's cues. Some babies might be fine with this routine and it will work, but from my experience with my 2, I haven't tried to implement a routine until around 3 months when they naturally have started to form one themselves. Before that I have just enjoyed snuggles on the couch and put bub to bed when go. I noticed this wasnt' working as well for us when my LO turned 12 weeks, he was too aware and wouldn't sleep soundly on me so I knew it was time to try for an earlier bed time so he could get the rest he needs. Now for the last few weeks we do bath, bottle and bed starting around 6 30- 7ish depending on when he woke from his last nap.

Sounds like your LO is ready for bed at 9 so you could start bath bottle bed around 8 30 and then move it earlier as he gets older. Only bath him if he finds it relaxing though otherwise it is counter productive at this stage. My son didn't start to enjoy baths until he was about 10 weeks.

Trying to force a baby into a routine when they are not ready will just cause stress because you will find yourself having to settle them for ages. Which I don't have the energy to do! Hahaha

Good luck xxx

 

[gingajewel]

I started putting Isla into a routine at six weeks. We don't do bath as it hypes her up so I just do bottle in a dark room, change into pyjamas and then put her in her cot.
Tbh we have been doing it two weeks and I don't want to jinx it but it's going fine. I think she probably takes an hour to drop to sleep at the moment, so I stroke her head until she closes her eyes. I then probably go upstairs four or five times to resettle her and it's like that for about an hour/ an hour and a half until she finally drops to sleep for the night.
Everyone said to me she was to young to get into a routine, but I needed to do it and it's slowly working. The first night it took her about an hour just to close her eyes, now it takes five minutes, and although i have to keep going up to resettle her it's better than a few weeks ago when she used to lie on one of us screaming for a few hours every night!
Keep at it!

 

[dani_tinks]

We do bath (every other night), bottle, bed. She's normally in her crib by 7pm and usually falls asleep within half an hour. I very rarely have to stay with her. We started around 6 weeks as I found she was naturally getting very sleepy by 5/6pm.

 

[loeylo]

My LO is 8.5 months and sleeps through the night (except from a recent sleep regression which seems to be coming to an end now, thank goodness!) and she has never really been in a routine. We don't bath her anything near every night, books also make her hyper. Every baby is different, just work off their lead.

 

[lau86]

I've done the boys routine for a good few months but my dd doesn't go to bed! I think she still benefits from the routine and needs a bath now she's on solids. I think my issue is I breastfeed but she has a bottle before bed and if I give it to her quite late she will sleep through. That time between bath and bottle most days she is awake

 

[karlilay]

Poppy is already really routine mad. She wakes at the same times for bottles every day, although sleep through the day can vary.

She has a bottle at 7pm which she has maybe 2oz of, then i put her in the bath, get her dressed and dry and she has the rest of the bottle. I use the lavender stuff in her bath and it knocks her right out. She will sleep until 9pm ish, i generally just snuggle her for an hour and then she will have a bottle between 9/30 and 10pm, and she goes down then until 2ish, then she has a bottle, and up for the day at 5.30

 

[jessmke]

I started a bedtime routine when Isla was about 6 weeks old, but the time she went to bed varied depending on when she was ready. We always did bath, massage, story, feed, bed, but I would start the routine when she started showing signs of sleepiness, usually around 9 pm at that age. If she didn't fall asleep right away I would stay in the room with her and leave her alone while she squirmed around, but sometimes I would end up holding her until she fell asleep if she was having a tough time. It only really took a couple of weeks before she knew the routine meant it was time to go to sleep. As her awake periods lengthened her bedtime naturally became earlier, now she goes down around 7:30pm. If you want to start a routine then I would suggest starting it when your LO seems ready to sleep, rather than setting a specific time and risking LO not being tired enough for sleep.

 

[gingajewel]

^^ totally agree, it is far easier to follow baby's lead than to set a specific time! Tonight it was 6.20pm but last night was about 7.00pm

 

[Boo44]

Good thinking thank you

 

[RaspberryK]

I used to get her bathed or massaged with ds bedtime routineso she was in a sleepsuit and ready to put down whenever she was tired.
I would put her in the sling and she would catnap and cluster feed for a few hours while I did chores and fed myself and then sit on the sofa watching whatever. Then once she had been asleep on me for 45 mins put her in her cot as I knew she was down for the night.
It got earlier and earlier and eventually she would go in her bed while I put ds to bed and fall asleep by herself.
X

 

[Laucu]

I've been doing a bedtime routine since my baby was a few weeks old but she doesn't usually go to bed after it! Haha!

She always has a bath at around 6:30 and then sleep suit on, followed by a bottle. I always do it at this time as the other kids have a bath too. However, she never seems to be ready for her sleep until 8-9pm.

 

[laura109]

Hes abit young for some of it but by bathing him or changing him into his pyjammas i think its a good way to help him learn in the long run what happens next, its good to keep things calmer. We got our daughter into a sleepsuit every evening but she went up to bed when we did. I think around 4 months old we might of put her up to bed and she slept till her next bottle at tenish x