How does your baby fall asleep at night?

Alissa - posted on 10/16/2010

my son is very close to that, though he drinks more then that. but depending on his mood, even after he's had the bottle, he sometimes hops off of my lap, and is ready to play. other nights, he fights it, is super cranky and screaming, and all you can do is hold him and rock him until he finally gives in, which can take upwards of two hours. my friend has a baby 5 months older then my son, and she has put her baby in his crib with his bottle and just leaves him, and lets him fall asleep on his own, which works for her, but i can't do it personally.
but my son still doesn't sleep through the night at 14 months. he still wakes up for a bottle like 4 hours after we put him down, so usually around 1 am, and is ready to be up and active at 6am, which is just too early, so we cuddle, and he's up and down until 8-9 when i know hes slept enough so hes not going to be grumpy all day!

Ashleigh - posted on 10/15/2010

My son has never been a cuddler. When he's tired he waves bye bye and starts blowing kisses and thats our cue to put him in his crib.

April - posted on 10/12/2010

My son Just turned 14 months old and since he was 6-7 months we began just laying him in his crib after a bath, and would then read a book and say a prayer say good night and shut the door, I hear him for about 5 min but he never fusses, if he does i bring in some warm milk and walk out NEVER stay. I did this so if he would wake in the middle of the night He could self sooth himself. and it has worked he now knows when i read a book and say goodnight its lights out and he doesnt fight it! its Healthy for them to put themselves to sleep, but the main thing is you do what works for you!!!! you know your child Best! not anyone else!

Joanne - posted on 10/12/2010

Ella has dinner, then a bath and then we make up a bottle and walk to bed. She crawls up to her pillow and i lay next to her while she has her bottle. By the time she has finished she it out for the night. We have one of those star music thingies that we play at the same time too.

Julia - posted on 10/11/2010

my son is going on 14months this month and sometimes after his bath i put him in his crib with a bottle and he will fall asleep like that or sometimes i will have to rock him after he eats. it depends what his mood is like. but most times he likes to have me rock him. in my opinion it depends on what your child likes and the routine their use to.

Staum - posted on 10/10/2010

I have brought my little man up not to rely on set things to put him to sleep eg...bath bottle etc...so we change it up every day and he goes down happily at 6:30 - 7pm with a kiss goodnight and thats it....he plays in his cot for 10 - 15 mins and then nods off without a dummy etc. Each to there own...i say if it works for you go for it...

Lindsay - posted on 10/10/2010

My son eats dinner between 5:30 and 6:30 usually. Then pj's on after that and teeth brushed. He gets play time with his dad after that until he is tired, any where between 7:30 and 8:30, no later than 830, then my husband and I lay him down and kiss him good night. He is usually asleep within 5 minutes and sleeps all night.

Jessica - posted on 10/10/2010

My almost 14 month old boy's routine is as follows: bedtime snack, every other day he has a bath, milk, he walks into his room and me and my husband both go in and give him hugs and kisses, etc. and we lay him down in his crib with his fisher price fish tank playing and he goes to sleep. I do kind of the same thing with his naps, and he also falls asleep all on his own and has since around 8 months or so!

Michelle - posted on 10/10/2010

My son takes a bath at 745 then he gets out at 8 which is bedtime. I dim the lights and turn on his lullaby music kiss him goodnight and let him fall asleep on his own. He just got off his bottle....he use to have a bottle of milk before bed to help him sleep

Leigh Anne - posted on 10/10/2010

Our son does not have anything to drink after 6:30-ish as is causes too much wetting/soaking through of diapers at night for him. Bedtime routine is- dinner from 6:00-6:30, playtime til 7. Bathtime from 7-7:30 (including "brushing teeth" vitamins, and bath time stories) story time in rocker from 7:30-7:50. Bed by 7:50-8. I just put him down, turn on the mobile an sound machine in his crib, kiss him and leave the room. Occasionally, he will cry for 3-5 min. if he is really cranky, but usually he just rolls around a bit and goes down on his own.

Marla - posted on 10/09/2010

I was recommended to try almond milk or rice milk (warmed) when my son was being weened. You would try that. Cows milk is hard on our systems.

Kate - posted on 10/09/2010

My son is changing his naptime habits at the moment and instead of sleeping after dinner from 12.30- 2/2.30 he is sleeping after his 11.00 snack which has resulted in an earlier bath starting between 6 and 6.30 and him being in bed asleep at 7.30 instead of 8.30-9.00 however I work night shifts and when Daddy is putting him to bed it tends to be later as my son gets so overexcited with his Dad who is his top playmate! He has his tea at around 5.30 and then after his bath he has about 6oz warm whole milk in a sippy cup, he was weaned off bottles by 10 months rather than at 1 year because he has lots of teeth, he has his milk at the same time as a bedtime story and sometimes a malted milk biscuit or other sleepy snack as eating this late helps him sleep through. Then when he is really sleepy and ready to go down he goes into his cot with his teddy and plays with teddy until he falls asleep. He has lots of cuddles before he goes down but is rarely cuddled to sleep unless he is ill/ having problems with teeth when we allow him to fall asleep on our bed then move him into his cot. I do sometimes have to stay in his room until he is well on the way to the land of nod but not always. I think if you have a routine that works for you then why not stick to it. I wanted my son settled in a proper bedtime routine and falling asleep in his cot in his own room asap because we have another baby on the way, my second child is due in february and I hope to try and minimise the amount of disturbance this will create for Alfie by having the new baby in our room in a moses basket and then a travel cot, hopefully sleeping through before they share a room!

Sunny - posted on 10/09/2010

that sounds like a dream to me, my 14 month old son is still nursing up 3 or more times a night , he naps once during the day. But for some reason bed time for him is still as late as 11 on some nights...its killing me! he is a very hands on boy so are his 2 big brothers. I would love to have a routine i have tried so many and all failed!!it seems routines are easier if you have a bottle fed baby, but im not ready to stop nursing...would love to cut back but he HATES milk! help from anyone??

Karina - posted on 10/08/2010

My 14 month old has dinner around 5pm. Then she has a bath. After bath time, she plays with her Daddy and then we have some family time. Around 6:30pm we have Bible story/prayer time. Brush her teeth. Read one or two stories, sing one song. Put her in the crib awake with a blanket and her cuddly toys and she puts herself asleep, usually within 5-10 minutes.

Erin - posted on 10/08/2010

with my daughter who is now 14 months. she gets little snack at around 7-7:30pm of applesauce and sippy cup with milk. once she is done i give her bath, brush her teeth, get her ready for bed in our room. the lights are really low to make it calmer for her. once she is all dressed and ready. i give her, her passy. she only gets her passy at bedtime and i put her in her crib. she's out all night long.

Courtney - posted on 10/07/2010

My 13 month old son does not nap usually. I lay him down and let him fuss for a bit once in a while he will go to sleep but usually no. So when it comes 4:30 he is tired I walk him make him dinner when we get home do bath and lay him down he is in bed between 5:45 and 6:30. I know this is early but with no nap I am lucky to get him to stay up that long. I think every child is different. I think you have to find what works for you and stick with it. My husband works nights So I have total say on night routine and I like it that way :) Though even if he were home my husband rarely tells me to change anything I do with my son. I set the tone for my sons days and he trusts that I do a good job and says so all the time. I am lucky to have that love and support :)

Angela - posted on 10/06/2010

marla. Try seperate bed times. My 13 month old goes at 830 and my 7 year old at 840 after hes asleep.

Marla - posted on 10/06/2010

You all sound like you have an ideal sleep routine I am green with envy. I have been having lots of problems with my 14 month old. She is an easy going baby but she shares her room with her spirited 3 yr old brother. He has a very rigid routine that is very sensitive. It takes a lot for us to wind him down to go to sleep. If his routine is interrupted we almost have to start from the beginning again. If I have to put them to sleep without help I end up having to bring her out to the living room and eventually nurse her to sleep.



She needs to fuss a bit and cry to sleep if she is not being nursed. This drives our 3 yr old crazy and he tries to help her calm down which turns into a big mess. We try to get the kids down for around 8:30 but if something goes wrong which happens a lot we are sometimes still struggling to get them asleep at 10 pm.



This also causes a problem with her night wakings. If I let her fuss and get back to sleep on her own, I take the chance of waking our 3yr old and when he is awake the house is awake.



The only option I can think of is getting my son to sleep in his bed and moving him to my room and then work on the sleep training with our daughter. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Angela - posted on 10/06/2010

I just lay him in his bed about 8:30, turn on the music box and he's out by the end of the song.

Joy - posted on 10/06/2010

Sounds like my 13 month has a similar routine as everyone else. At 4:30 we pick Daddy up from work, usually go home (sometimes stop at a park for all of us to play), she plays until 5:30 or 6. When I finish making it, she eats dinner, then plays with only the nightlight on (its a very bright nightlight.) On alternate nights we'll have bath time (Daddy helps when he can with that.) Then pjs, brush teeth and read a story while breastfeeding. If she can't get sleepy while breastfeeding, I'll warm 8 oz of milk for her and that tends to do the trick. -unless she's teething or sick.

Helen - posted on 10/06/2010

My 14 month old has dinner at about 6pm. It used to be earlier before daylight savings started last weekend, so we will try to slowly get it earlier again. Then if Daddy is home he will look at possums on the balcony and look at all the jars of dried stuff and vases in the kitchen. Then a bath, followed by some books on our bed. Then I always sing and do the hand signs for Twinkle Twinkle and we hug and kiss his panda and teddy bear and put them into the cot which is right beside our bed. Then I put on his night music and turn the light off and breastfeed him to sleep. Then I put him into the cot - a blissful little baby.

Janelle - posted on 10/05/2010

No Sarah you aren't the only one. ( i thought i was the only one when i was reading all of the comments) My son is 14 months old and after dinner 6-6:30 we play with him until 8:30-9pm ( yes that is late but my son still takes 2 long naps during the day) every other day he gets a bath and we do the same thing.. We change him clean him all up with a wash cloth /or bath time and get him dressed and lay him right down say out i love yous and give him his little blankie. He has a leap frog bear that plays music that says his name that he loves to death. We turn that on for 5-10 mins and he puts himself to sleep. I haven't rocked him to sleep since he was around 5/6 months old.. He wants it that way, so we go with that. He loves night night time and some nights he goes right to sleep and some nights he plays in there for like 5mins or so. We keep it very simple too.. He is a lot different then my oldest but they are all different. Just go with what works for you best!

Amber - posted on 10/05/2010

We have a bath every other night after supper and then we play for a little bit. Usually at around 7 she gets a bottle and either relaxes with us on the couch or she just does he own thing with her bottle. After that we just put her in her crib for bed. She usually goes right down with no fuss. I agree if your routine is working fine then stick to it. I have heard people say you should try to wean them out of the rocking stage early but its totally up to you. She was never one for rocking, she only lets her grandma rock to her to sleep when we go visit.

Laura - posted on 10/05/2010

i give my son his bath at 6 then his bottle. he falls asleep with his bottle then i put him in his cot but he still wakes up 2 or 3 times a night and finally goes down to sleep at about 2 in the morning then is up at 6 on the dot every morning.

Sarah - posted on 10/05/2010

I guess I am a bit different- have not rocked my baby to sleep since she was around 3/4 months old. Nighttime routine starts with a bath at 6:15. In her room we read two books, I put her in her crib awake. Lots of kisses and then I turn on some lullaby music that plays for 5 minutes. She puts herself to sleep- She has a ducky and bunny to snuggle with. I stopped giving her milk before bed when we got rid of her bottles at a year old. She has her milk with her dinner. As long as we follow the routine and she has had her naps she is asleep within 5 minutes.

Sophie - posted on 10/04/2010

My almost 14th month old has dinner & bath, then we feed him 200ml milk in a bottle whilst sitting in a rocking chair in his room with the light out. Then we transfer him into his cot and pat him to sleep which take about 5mins.Occassionally he goes to sleep on his own but not v. often.

Amy - posted on 10/03/2010

My 13 month old has dinner around 5:30-6:00. We have bath time around 6:30-7:00, then play for about 30 minutes, have Bible story/book time, brush his teeth and put him to bed. He has milk at supper time, but none after that. He's been off the bottle for 8 weeks, so, the last drink he gets is during or right after dinner. We usually just lay him in his crib, kiss him goodnight and walk out. He never fusses and will usually go right to sleep or play for a few minutes.

Rebecca - posted on 10/02/2010

my 13mth old has dinner at 4pm then play then bath at 5pm then books,bottle and bed by 5.30-5.45. she has her bottle then snuggles into me with her dummy for a 5min cuddle and is sound asleep...we have tried to put her down and she gets so worked up so we are sticking to what works and i enjoy our snuggle time

Amanda - posted on 10/01/2010

My daughters routine is pretty much the same. We eat dinner between 5:30 and 6:00. She'll play until around 7:00 (on bath nights, she has ecsema) or 7:30 (the other nights). Then she gets dressed for bed. I give her a 6 oz bottle of warm milk. Then hold her for usually around 20 to 30 minutes. Then lay her down and she will put herself to sleep. Occasionally, she is not as tired as other nights so I just hold her a little longer. It works well for her so we plan to stick to it.

Rachel - posted on 10/01/2010

my yongest is one he has a bottle then hes happy to sunggle down with his blanket :)

Kyla - posted on 10/01/2010

We have a very similar routine. Dinner around 6, bath time around 6:30 or 7, a bottle on the couch with mom and dad ,with stories and then to bed between 7:30 and 8. Depending on the day and how tired he his sometimes he goes right to sleep, and some nights he fusses a bit but we've found this routine works really well for us.

Emily - posted on 09/29/2010

We don't really do a set routine every night, but basically I rock my daughter to sleep, then transfer her to her bed which is attached to ours. I think what you're doing sounds fine. No reason to hurry him off to bed. Enjoy the snuggles while they last.

Rachael - posted on 09/29/2010

we give him a bath, give him a 6 or 7 oz bottle of warm milk, and then read him a story and put him in his crib. he will usually talk to himself and roll around for a bit and then fall asleep. i figure that once he starts going into a bed, then i will try and cut out the bedtime bottle

Tracy - posted on 09/27/2010

we have a really simple routine, we have play time after supper, then about a 1/2 prior to bed is wind down time we sit in a chair, read a book and relax, he starts rubbing his eyes, gets a little fussy and then we know it's bed time. Take him to his room, tell him how much I love him and lie him down, start up his lullaby sea horse and he's out.

Chantal - posted on 09/27/2010

My son's routine is similar. We eat dinner as a family around 5:30-6 then we play, then clean up toys time and then quiet/wind down time with a bottle around 6:45, then a bath, then a story, a cuddle and put him to bed and he gets himself to sleep (with his blankie, of course!) with 5-10 mins. Your routine sounds good to me... if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Sarah - posted on 09/27/2010

My little girlie has her tea around 5ish then a play till 6 when she has a bath (every other night as she has dry skin) then she is dressed and she watches 'In the Night Garden' while me and my hubby eat our tea then we give her a bottle and she has a little wander round then bed at 6:50-7ish but very rarely later! And we give her a dummy and her bunny toy and she goes in her cot to have a chat to her toys till she goes to sleep (usually no more then 20mins) xx

Kimberly - posted on 09/27/2010

Our routine if very similar to yours. My daughter eats dinner at 6pm, then daddy comes home from work at 6.30 and we have a play together until 7 when she has her bath. Daddy gives her the bath and then I dress her afterwards, and while I'm warming her milk and cleaning up Daddy reads her some stories. Then one of us will give her the milk and when she's finished with that she goes straight into bed with hugs and kisses. Since she was 2 weeks old she's had her bedtime Pooh which is a stuffed Pooh laying on a pillow and the pillow lights up and plays soothing music, but just last week the speaker went out! She's been devastated without it but we've got her a new one so all is good with the world again! She falls asleep within 10 minutes of putting her to bed.

I think if your routine is working for you then stick with it!