Bed Time Routines?

[FraggleRock77]

Any tips or ideas? DS is now term so we want to establish a bit of a plan. Already in a dark, quiet room, bed at 07:00pm etc. How long did it take others for a routine to get established?

[boardingschoolbaby]

How prem was he? Ds established his own routine retry early once we were allowed to deviate from the NICU plan of 3 hour wakings (he had no feeding instinct so had to be wakened and made to feed) . They are really very tiny so to be honest I would just follow their needs and surrender to it for the next few months if you can and then slowly start to see if they make their own pattern after that. The best advice I was given was to take them into as much light and sound during the day as I could and to be as dull and boring at night (though still attentive) as possible . Good luck, and enjoy the lovely teeny snuggles. Xx

[FraggleRock77]

Thanks SchoolBaby, he was a 29 wker. We are following the same advice and have just bought a bouncing chair for the day so he isn't in his Moses basket but can still sleep and sit up in the chair x

[plentyofsoap]

Dd is 12 weeks now and I have tried a routine but have given up! Ds was better and fed like clockwork so about 6 I would give him a bath then let him kick around naked for a while massage, bottle then bed.
dd cluster feds til 10 so letting her lead really. She appears to know night from day abit better and with both I had them up and out of the basket in the mornings. Good luck I just want more than four hours sleep...

[FraggleRock77]

So do i!!!!!!!! X

[plentyofsoap]

Maybe one day this year

[Dildals]

My DD was born at 29 weeks, she is 7m actual, 20 weeks corrected. At abut 4m corrected she put herself in a bedtime routine, she was simply knackered by 6.30-7 so I did bad/boob/bed. When she was term she was still in pretty much a 3hr feeding/sleeping routine. Then for a while she would fall asleep naturally at around 8-9, and now as I said she goes to bed at 7. No Gina Ford required!

I don't think the above is a prem thing, quite a few of my friends babies did the same.

[Dildals]

I should add that she then sleeps to about 1am. (There's a 4m sleep regression thing as well that may or may not happen. Just so you know!)

[plentyofsoap]

Hi I bath dd at 5.30 ish bottle then she falls to sleep on me until we go up to bed at 9.30, 10 ish.

[MultipleMama]

We started ours as soon as they came home. They were officially put to bed at 6pm after a feed (in co-sleeper lights off etc) but I EBF on demand so they sleep as long as they want and feed when they want. I officially get them up around 6ish depending on if they wake themselves. We have no daily routine, though. Don't see point when they sleep and feed when they want xx They are 22wo (13adj)

:)

[Dildals]

Oh yes, my LO also feeds on demand but she tends to feed every 3 hrs during the day, so it's not a routine as such.

[minipie]

Fraggle my advice would be NOT to try to insist on a 7pm bedtime at this age. We did with DD (6 weeks prem) and I really regret it.

The reason is that for the first couple of months babies only do one longer stretch of sleep (starts as 4 hours then lengthens gradually to 5, 6 hours etc).

You really want that one stretch to be when you are wanting to sleep yourself, i.e you want it to be 11-4 am or 12-5am. If it begins at 7pm they will sleep wonderfully from 7-12 and then be up much more frequently and much more unsettled after that, when you are desperate to sleep. that's what happened to us anyway!

If we have another I will have them doing on and off naps during the evening and then "bedtime" will be at midnight, then gradually brought forward as they get older, aiming for 8pm bedtime by say 4 months.

Bear in mind that (IMHO) Gina Ford only works for babies who love to sleep. Preemies fall into this category when they are teeny and want to still be inside, but as they grow up their true colours show (mine turned out to be a sleep hater!)

[FraggleRock77]

Thank you for all the info. Really helpful x