i need some help with a routine

[lollylou1]

well i have asked before about routines but it has come the time for Annabelle to go into her big girls cotbed and i honestly dont know where to start i will write down what she is doing now if anyone has any suggestions i would be very grateful

5.00-6.00am wakes up has 4oz milk then back to sleep
9.00am wakes up and has another 4oz of milk we then get up properly, i get her nappy done and her washed and dressed for the day, she then will sometimes go back to sleep other she will stay awake
11.00-12.00pm has another 4oz bottle generally stays awake then
2.00-3.00pm another 4oz bottle then she might doze but not for long then she generally stays awake the rest of the day then.
6.00pm another bottle then we have a bath or shower with her and get her ready for bed
8.00pm she will want another bottle but she is currently coming back downstairs with us after bath time.
then as early as 9.30pm she will want another bottle then again at 11.00pm another bottle then settles down to sleep
and goes through till 5.00-6.00am

i want a bathtime, bedtime routine but not sure how to do this as she seems to feed herself up in the evening

please help im so confused last night she wouldnt go to sleep till 12.30am but had been awake since 3pm

thanks in advance

Lou
xxx

 

[cupcake]

im not great at the routine thing, but i think she might be a bit young for it

 

[Pyrrhic]

I think she's still quite young to be expecting a routine from. We just let Niamh follow a natural routine.

However, in regards to getting her used to sleeping in the cot I would put her in there after her morning bottle until 9am for a few days then see how it goes.

 

[lollylou1]

its my HV saying i should have her in a routine by now of going to bed by herself, i want her to just be a baby and be happy.
im happy with her going down at 11pm then not getting up till 6am that suits me fine i just really worried about her being in a cot and being unsettled as i think she is too long for her moses basket

Lou
xxx

 

[malpal]

Hiya Lou, i totally understand what you mean! I seem to have so much trouble putting Lexie to sleep in her moses basket she just will not settle! She seems so much happier in her cot when i put her in there in the day. She is happy to get herself of to sleep and spends about 20 minutes looking around and then drops off. She is totally different when in her basket, the only way i can describe what she does is whimpers like a dog!!! I have tried swaddling, just a blanket tucked in with her arms left out and tucked in. She just doesn't seem happy when she's in it!!!
I have started a mini night time routine already, it's not set in stone so i don't see that it can do her any harm!
She normally has a bottle around 7.00pm ish so half an hour before she is due for her feed i take her for a bath then put on her pyjamas then we have bottle. I do bring her back downstairs for a bottle at the minute but will start soon feeding her in her nursery then putting her down to sleep!
Sorry i don't know the answer just wanted to let you know i know how you feel xxxxxx

 

[Serene123]

I think it's too early for a proper routine, but I would do the bath bed routine when you want her to go to bed eventually. Like if you'd like her bedtime to be 7pm, start it at 6pm, and see how you go x

 

[lollylou1]

thanks for the replies girls

Lou
xxx

 

[PeanutBean]

Love your avatar Lou!

We're the last people to offer advice on a routine though, we suck! Dunno if it's different with bottle feeding but I demand feed and Byron is not in much of a feeding routine yet. It also varies a lot with growth spurts. We do bath, feed, cuddle to sleep from around 8pm but this can lead to him falling asleep anywhere from 11pm to 6am! I can only assume he's too little for a routine. Plus, we've half given up on the moses basket. He takes so long to be asleep enough to stay in it it's far easier to have him in bed with us so we can sleep too. He's in a gro-bag and goes on top of the duvet/mattress between us. We take care there is nothing around to cover his face. He almost never falls asleep by himself, not in the day either. I think your HV is expecting too much and I would say do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

[princess_bump]

i agree def. that you must do what you feel comfortable with honey, go with what you and annabelle feel comfortable with

i think its great you're getting her dressed in the morning etc, as i always think that shows them the difference between night and day. maddi always used to go back to sleep after her morning bottle and dressed too, sometimes still does but not as much

if you would like her in her cot i would suggest a night or too in her moses basket in the cot, that seemed to really help maddi with the transition.

after her 6pm bottle, you could do the bed time/bath routine, maybe have a bit of play time or a story, then a bath and then she'll be ready for her 8pm bottle. maddi's last bottle of the day is always 8pm - what we do is have 'wind down time' it sounds like we have a really strict routine but we don't we just turn the lights off and show her its quite night time, then she has her last bottle and goes to sleep with that.

i would then be inclined to pop her to bed, if she does want the two later bottles then just give them to her in dimmed light, all quite so she knows it night time, maddi always used to have an 11pm and 1am bottle and dropped them both by 6weeks i think. if she seems hungry at night you could always up her oz's? maybe speak to hv and see how you feel about giving 5oz., i have always found hungry baby formula excellent and was def. the key to maddi sleeping through, though its obviously completely up to you and see how you feel x

 

[Rachiebaby24]

I dont think that it is too early for a routine for her....we done a bath - bottle-bed routine when Maley was a week old...she now goes to sleep herself and sleeps all through the night....

You will have to see how your baby sleeps herslef but maybe increase her bottles....she looks like she is feeding 4oz every 2/3 hours...maybe increase to 5oz every 4 hours... that way....even if she has a bottle and bed at midnight then she shouldnt wake til 4 and then 8....thats better than you getting up three or more times a night...

with maley we just done the same thing every day at the same time and her body just got used to it..we give her a long bath about 25 minutes and then a bottle and a little sit up with us then she is put into bed..she now gets really sleepy at 11pm which is her bedtime and will settle herself to sleep and will sleep through to 7am....

good luck hunni