Awhile back someone left me a comment asking me what our bedtime routine was because Ryan was sleeping 8 hours in a row. The answer? We didn’t have one! He was falling asleep in his pack n’ play in the family room and then around 10pm I’d carry him into our bedroom – he’d sleep right through it. Now? No way. Don’t even look at him funny when he’s asleep or he’ll wake up. And be the one to wake him up? That’s a mistake punishable by death (by mama).
Now that Ryan is a much lighter sleeper and no longer sleeps through the night, we have made a sort of routine… but still not a very good one.
Maybe twice a week he gets a bath and that starts off the bedtime routine (well maybe once a week because we’ve started showering with him instead). Then it’s cuddles and pj’s… followed by a bedtime story (usually Goodnight Moon or his shapes & colors cards because he likes to stare and grab at those). Then we walk a couple laps around the house while playing Tender Lullabies to get him calm and sleepy. Finally, we head to the bedroom where he’s put down to sleep (and nursed if he wants to be).
Sometimes his daytime nap schedules get off, which messes up his bedtime too. So sometimes I don’t start a nighttime routine early enough and he gets way too cranky (= tired) to go through any of that. In that case, we skip ahead, right to nursing and bed. And then it seems to be a lot harder to get him to sleep… maybe because he’s over-tired, maybe because we messed up the routine, or maybe because the time is off. Seriously I’m amazed by baby’s internal clocks. If Ryan goes to bed on the early side (6:30-7pm), he’s up at 6am. If he goes to bed on the later (more normal) side (7:30-8pm), he’s awake at 6:30am.… almost to the minute!
The last 2 nights in a row he has woken up at 1:30am and started tossing and turning. Well, I don’t think HE’S awake (maybe half-awake), but I’m certainly awake. And it hasn’t been fun. The ped did say his teeth were starting to come in (but who knows how long till they actually come?!) So maybe that’s it, but I have no idea.
What are you bedtime routines? What time is normal bedtime? I feel like 4 months old is pretty early to be on a regular schedule anyway, but Ryan does really well – I mean, HE puts himself on this schedule, not us. Afterall, he IS the boss!!! 
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I had never really though about how important routine is for babies. But my sister-in-law just had twin boys and they did an amazing job of getting them on a schedule. They now sleep through the night like champs. I am due in October and this is one lesson I will remember. I think you are absolutely right…let him set the schedule and then stick to it!
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My daughter is 3 months old and put herself on a bedtime schedule. If she gets tired earlier I put her down earlier, but otherwise 7:30 it is. This part is easy, she goes to sleep relatively easy. It’s the middle of the night stuff now that is causing sleepless nights. She wakes up and then every time she goes back down, she wakes up 10 minutes later, uggh. She’s bf’ed so I nurse her back down, and then wide awake. We’re starting some serious sleep regression, and I don’t like it.
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Eli (who will be five months old tomorrow) usually sleeps for 10 hours at night. He goes to bed anywhere between 8:30 – 9:30, but we aim to have him in bed and sleeping before 9 p.m. We usually start getting him ready around 8:15. I give him a bath (he gets one every night since he goes to a daycare and I don’t one everyone’s germs on him overnight), lotion him up and we cuddle for a few minutes. Then I give him his last bottle for the night and we read a book (sometimes at the same time). If he drinks a bottle first and then we read a book, I let him have a pacifier during the book. And then I put him to bed… that’s it! He’s very easy and a very good sleeper — most nights, he goes to bed at 9 p.m. and we wake him up at 7 a.m.
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Eileen — my son is 15 weeks and is doing the exact same thing. What is going on? And is there anything to be done about it? I need some sleep!
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I let Jack set his own schedule as well. Maybe at around two months or a little earlier, I noticed he was going to bed at 7:30 every night. I was putting him to bed whenever he was tired, and it started to be at the same time every night. So I made 7:30 his bed time. We go upstairs around 6:30, change into pj’s, cuddle and read a book, and then I nurse him. This is the only problem I can see– he almost always falls asleep eating and that can turn into a bad habit. But schedule wise, this is the only way we can really do it right now. It could change once he starts on solids, but I’m really not all that worried about it. He eats again between 3:30am and 5, goes back to sleep, and wakes up at 7. I’m more concerned for naps. He isn’t on a regular nap schedule. If he’s tired, he sleeps, but it’s not always at the same time and some days are better than others. I’m not sure if I should try and regulate this at all, but he’s doing ok for now!
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Ryan is kind of on a nap schedule… he basically naps at the same time each day, but sometimes he’ll wake up too early and add an extra nap or something…
Eileen and Steph — Ryan does the same thing. We basically have to co-sleep because of that (otherwise I’d get no sleep) and until I go join him in the bedroom at night, I’m running back and forth every time he wakes up. I figure it’s a phase… so we do what we have to do. Like I said – he’s the boss!
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Davis, who is 8.5 months, has been sleeping through the night since about 2 months. For us, putting him on a schedule has been really important, as it gives my husband and I valuable time together. He gets his last feeding of the day at 7:30 and is in bed by 8pm. He will sleep until 8am. He also takes 2 separate naps during the day that are 2 hours each. The boy just likes his sleep and I’m sure not going to argue with him
When it’s time for his nap time, he just wants his sleep. Quite amusing…and we love it!
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