how early do you start a bedtime routine?

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

time wise or age wise?

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

later on....about 6 or 8 months, I think.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

I started it pretty much right away. in the beginning, the routine started based on when I would aim to go to bed so that I could do the last feeding and get in bed. As she got older, I slowly moved it earlier and earlier until her bedtime was 7 but the routine was the same.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

We started early, right before I started back to work, so DD was around 11 weeks probably.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

By 2 months we had my DS on a sch. Bath at 5:30 6:00 in bed by 6:30 he is a great sleeper he sleeps till 6:00 am!! I think the earlier the better I am a very scheduled person.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

We started at about 12 weeks, it didn't really make him go to bed, but it gave us a routine, which we really needed.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

We started around 3 months I think. It didn't always work but it definitely started to work pretty soon after. I think we did bath around 7 pm, bottle then bed at 8 pm.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

Right away

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

I think that we started around 8 weeks but it really was more consistent around 3 months....8 weeks we started because I was back at work.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

Right away. He doesn't always land in the bassinet at the same time every night, but his last feeding before bed is anytime btwn 10:30 and 12:00. After that, we change & swaddle him, chat for a bit , and then I read him two books and rock him to sleep. He is usually asleep by the time the 2nd book is done!

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

3 months!! :)

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

We started right away. DD is 6 weeks. Sometimes it doesn't happen. For ex. right now she is still sleeping in her pack and play from late this afternoon. I'll just move her to her crib soon.

Usually her routine is just changing her diaper, dimming the lights, and reading a bedtime book. If it's bath night, she'll get a bath before the book.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

When we came home from the hospital with DD, after her 6:30 bottle I put her in the basinett. She woke up every 3 1/2- 4 hours. Everynight after that I put her down after the 6:30 bottle and she eventually started sleeping longer stretches once she was sleeping n her crib (3 weeks old). By 6 weeks she was sleeping from 6:30-4:30. Now at 9 months, she sleeps from 6pm through 7am. I think I got very lucky with DD, but I also don't see anything wrong with starting a routine early on.

Message edited 3/10/2009 7:55:56 PM.

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

We started a routine right away- she just doesn't always stick to the schedule.

Truthfully though, just start doing what you want to do whether it be bath, book, nurse, bed or any combo like it. She might not follow it right away, but one day you'll finish the routine and she'll go to sleep and you realize that it's worked!

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

We had a very unstructured schedule going the first couple of months, but as of 3 months it was set.

She went to Florida in January hardly on a schedule and returned home 10 days later with a set schedule

She gets a bath around 7pm, a book (if she isn't too fussy and overtired), a bottle and goes to bed at 8pm.

Now that she is almost 5 months we find that even if we tried to keep her up past 8pm, she just can't keep her eyes open!

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

I started it as soon as he was able to take a bath.

Bath every night at 7, nurse, sleep.

Now he is older (8 months) and sleeping through the night. So it changed just a bit.

7:15 - dinner
7:30 bath
7:45ish nurse
8:00 bed

Re: how early do you start a bedtime routine?

I start at 7 p.m. I have a one year old and three year old. Since the three year old does not like to share his bath with his brother most of the time - I have to bathe them separately. DS#1 takes his bath first and then DS#2 takes his bath while DS#1 watches a show in the playroom. DS#2 is in bed by 8 p.m. most nights and DS#1 is in bed 9 - 9:30 p.m.