Bedtime routines for little babies

[Nicknamenotavailableeither]

Ok, bear with me because I seem to have forgotten EVERYTHING from when dd was a baby!

I know the current advice is to have dc sleeping in a room with you until they are 6 months, including naps etc.

So, my ds is 4 weeks old. I have been giving him his bath, story etc, trying the set up a positive bedtime routine with dd (5). But, I am assuming I shouldn't put him to sleep alone upstairs (with monitor of course) if I want to follow the advice for sleeping. So, my question is, what do you do? With dd I put her to bed at 7 after following her sleepy bedtime routine and she now sleeps perfectly. But should I be keeping ds with us (so I suppose in Moses basket in lounge) all evening, then transferring to bedroom later? Am utterly confused! Surely if I do this then it does 't really set up bedtime routine well as he will be falling asleep and feeding in lounge in evening! Aaahhhh!

Can anyone help and share what they did?!

[Nicknamenotavailableeither]

*bare with me!!

[LadyMacbethIsBored]

No idea what you are meant to do but I put my DD upstairs, in her crib at 7ish from about 8 weeks. She had started to get really grumpy about being downstairs of an evening and just wanted to sleep. She would wake for a last feed around 11 and then sleep through till 7am.

[Nicknamenotavailableeither]

Is that her crib in your room or hers? That is what I did with dd but wasn't sure if most people did it differently for little ones.
I can't remember when I started putting dd upstairs exactly. Hazy memories!

[girliefriend]

I would bath them both and get ready for bed, give baby milk and keep with you while you read dds story and say goodnight. Then put the baby to bed about 8pm ish. Don't like the idea of keeping the baby in the lounge all evening as would worry they would get a bit over stimulated or tired.

[Nicknamenotavailableeither]

Girlie, yeah I completely agree about the overstimulation, I think I was just worrying that "everyone else" was keeping dc with them all evening.

Ds is not sleeping terribly well yet and I want to get bedtime sorted.

[GoldPlatedNineDoors]

Dd always did the routine you do OP and was swaddled into her pram carrycot in the lounge at 7pm. She slept like a log through the tv and lamp being on, then woke around 10.30/11pm for a feed and we would take her to her basket in our room. from about six or eight weeks she went down in her basket in our room at 7pm.

[mummysmellsofsick]

My DS slept on me in the evenings in the lounge until around 5 months then I put him to bed (we cosleep on a mattress on the floor) in the evenings when he got too big and heavy. His evening routine has always been bf- sleep- bf- sleep

[HeffalumpsAndWoozles]

I am at all the babies going to bed at such lovely reasonable times!

DD2 is 10 weeks, she is with me in the lounge, with dim lights/tv on low etc, until 1am most nights. That seems to be the magical time she will finally fall asleep at, I have little to no chance of putting her down before then :(

IIRC though DD1 I did start putting down at between 8 and 10 weeks, I think around 11ish to start with and gradually brought it forward to 7 over a fairly long period. We had many horrible screamy evenings though which I don't want to repeat so I've resigned myself to watching a lot of late night telly until DD2 is ready to go down earlier.

[neontetra]

Till dd was at least six months she just used to bf in the lounge all evening till about ten, when we'd both go to bed. This horrified everyone in my baby group though - they put their dc to bed at 7 or so from a few months old, and the dc slept through, I am told. So this is perhaps the better way!.

[SizzleSazz]

My DD's both went into the carrycot in the dining room (just through from the lounge at 7-8ish). darker and quieter than the lounge and started a 'bedtime'. We then carried the carrycot up to bed with us.

they were upstairs in their cots by c.8 weeks though IIRC

[Caroline2103]

Hi, my DS is 8 weeks and 2weeks ago I was asking the same questions! We were also keeping him with us until we went to bed but I was finding that he wasnt settling well. we now bath him and bf him between 7 and 8 and he is upstairs in his crib by 8:30. Two.weeks on and Im finding he is settling quicker and is getting a better quality of sleep

[LadyMacbethIsBored]

OP she was in our room until 6 months.

[Nicknamenotavailableeither]

Thanks everyone for all your replies! It's good to know I'm not the only one who was slightly confused ! Finding out what the rest of you do is v useful!

[megandraper]

I kept mine with me until they were about 7-8 months - they used to sleep on my lap while I watched TV / talked to DH. They didn't get over-stimulated (perhaps because we weren't very stimulating!). They fed/slept, then went to bed when I did. From about 8 months, they went to bed in their cot in the evening.

[ZuleikaD]

Babies this young can't form memories, so any routine is more for you than him.

[Sparklesandglitter]

I started a routine at 6weeks where DD goes to bed around 6.30. Now I put her down at her first sleep cue between 5 and 6pm and she will sleep through till around 3am, feed then we get up at 6am. She is nearly 4months now and sleeps like a dream! She is in our room but goes up to bed on her own (unless I fall asleep at the same time!)

[Gingerbreadlatte]

This is interesting thread.

I did this with my dd1 from 4 wks and it worked well.

Dd2 is 5 wks and I want to do the same but she likes to feed on and off all evening.

Anyone made it work with cluster feeding or will I have to ride out the feeding frenzys until she is older?

[Sparklesandglitter]

My FF DD cluster fed so she would feed then sleep so I would put her down, she would sleep for 20-30 mins then feed again and I would repeat. It gave me some "grown up" time to shower, eat dinner in peace etc but if I had her with me downstairs she would not settle so I preferred the regular trips upstairs. Plus once it got to half 8/9.00 I usually went to bed anyway! Now she will have her bed time bottle then either be put down asleep or I will put her down awake and within minutes she sleeps. What really works for me, from about 9 weeks, was to put her down at her cue rather than a set time. We don't bathe her every night but the routine of clean bum, pj's and bottle is set now
HTH

[Gingerbreadlatte]

Hi
Thanks sparkling. What kind of cues did you see?

[Sparklesandglitter]

She rubs her eyes, it's her first sign of proper tiredness, if she yawns we are starting to get to over tired. So the first time I spot an eye rub its upstairs and in bed. Last night she fell asleep at 5.30 and has just woke at 2am for a quick feed then back to sleep till about 6am.
I decided I would prefer a night feed to her going to bed late, plus if she gets over tired she is a nightmare! It is restrictive at first as I know I have to be home for a certain time but now she is older, 15 weeks, I can be more flexible and put her down in her pram if we are going out in the evening. Her day naps are with me so she will happily sleep with noise/light but she now knows that dim lighting and quiet means bedtime, it's not an easy road but well worth it in my opinion! Also makes leaving them easier as you can settle them before the babysitter arrives and they hopefully sleep till your home!

[Sparklesandglitter]

Disclaimer -I am well aware that DD is an "easy" baby and no. 2 will probably never sleep despite my best intentions

[Gingerbreadlatte]

Thanks sparkle. I will look out for these cues a bit more closely.