How do you put your baby to bed?

Aimee - posted on 03/09/2010

Hey ya. What I do is put on pjs. give a up of milk, then after about 10 mins go up brush teeth. We go to the widow and say night night to the moon, pull down blind then straight to her cot. I have been doing it with about 4 months so it works for us. You do what you feel works for you. Every child has there little routines

Michelle - posted on 03/08/2010

we've had the same routine for months now and it really seems to work. we eat dinner around 5-5.30, once dinner is over with either me or daddy do bath time, inc brushing teeth, while the other sorts out her bedtime bottle and gets her pj's etc ready. we then go upstairs and have some play time in her bedroom while her milk cools down. once she has worn herslf out a bit we start getting dressed and in her growbag ready for bed. normally around 6.30-6.45 daddy then brings her into our room where the computer is and he puts some music on the computer whilst giving her her bottle. she then has a burp and is carried back through to her room and put into her cot where she will listen to another CD (currently harry potter read by stephen fry), and she is left to send herself off to sleep. most nights she is asleep by 7.10 at the latest with no tears or moaning.

Stephanie - posted on 03/05/2010

My son is one and we have dinner between 5 and 6 bath no later than 6:30 than try have family play time until its dark enough in his room to sleep. Usually 7/7:30. We also read a story. I find if he doesn't have a bottle of milk to go to sleep with he won't, even during the day. Stick with what works but gradually change things to the way you want them.

Paige - posted on 03/05/2010

Chantele, you are not a horrible mommy! It sounds to me like you are doing everything right. If nursing to sleep and nursing at night is working for you there is no reason to change it. If it's not working for you there are things you can do to gently condition your baby to sleep longer stretches at night. The bottom line is that it is not abnormal for a child that age to wake at night and not abnormal for a child that age to actually NEED to nurse at night, whether it's for food or comfort. Being able to sleep through the night is a developmental stage, like learning to walk or putting together sentences. Each child will naturally reach it in his or her own time even with no effort from you.

If you want to wean him from nursing at night one really good, gentle method you might want to look at is Dr. Jay Gordon's method. He doesn't recommend it for babies under one, since they usually need the calories they get from nursing at night, and he cautions you to be flexible, as even toddlers sometimes need that nursing (growth spurts, illness, teething, etc). I used it to night wean my 19 month old when I got pregnant and it worked very well for us, though I tweaked the time frame and took longer than his 10 day plan. Here is a link: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/a...

Keep in mind that technically speaking, sleeping through the night is getting one 5-6 hour stretch of sleep. It doesn't necessarily mean your baby will go to bed at 8 and not wake up again until 8 the next morning. But if you get the timing right, you will definitely be able to get that alone time you are looking for. Good luck!

Lucy - posted on 03/05/2010

When my son turned 1 we changed the rountine a little so my husband could do it, since I was back to work and wouldn't be able to nurse him to sleep every night.

Our routine is now, dinner, playtime, bubble bath, bottle, stories and he's laid down in the crib to sleep. Some times he plays in the crib for a bit, but usually he's tired and will go down to sleep. He's still in our room though, so we're around all night if he wakes up or needs a little something to drink.

Alana - posted on 03/04/2010

He goes to sleep with pacifier, if he doesn't have it, it will be more difficult to go to sleep!

Alana - posted on 03/04/2010

I give my son José ( just turn 1 on feb 15) a bath and a bottle of water, milk or juice, but not right before sleep, I let him play or watch tv until I see that he's getting sleepy or I see that he scratches his eyes, sometimes a couple of minutes and sometimes 1 hr, then I take him to my bed, and wait until he falls asleep and then I take him to his crib, and that's it until next morning! TIP: DO NOT LET HIM/HER TO TAKE A NAP TO EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON, OR DEPENDING ON WHAT TIME YOU WANT THEM TO GO TO SLEEP UNTIL THE NEXT DAY! LET THEM HAVE FUN PLAY WITH THEM A LOT UNTIL THEY GOT NO MORE ENERGY! AND YOU WILL SEE RESULTS! At least that works for me lol

Sheena - posted on 03/04/2010

My son just turned 1, I still nurse him at night (all though I am weaning him) he usually just grabs his paci and goes to sleep while I rock him, I was doing a whole bedtime routine but it didn't seem to help him sleep and better, I have a issue with him waking up 2 to 3 times a night.

Chantele - posted on 03/04/2010

Ok ladies. After reading most of the posts. I am a horrible Mom :) I have 4 children ranging from age 12 to 1. You would think I should be a pro by now but I have major issues. Let me start by saying that I have three from a past marriage and Audie is my Husbands first biological child and my husband is 50. So you can imagine his excitement to actually have the child he thought would never come. So Audie, our son is spoiled rotten. I have always breastfed him not because he has always refused a bottle or cup. Recently he will take a cup with water or juice but will not go to sleep unless breastfed. We do not have a routine. I have tried everything to figure him out. He sleeps with us because he wakes every couple of hours throughout the night and when he wakes he wants the breast and will doze back off. I am so tired that I just let him sleep next to me. He wakes fussy until he is completely awake but is always really gassy. He has never slept a complete night. I am at my whits end. We are only a couple years into our marriage and get absolutely no time just the two of us and I know how important that is after going through a previous divorce. HELP!

Natalie - posted on 03/04/2010

Emily has a bath every other night but the routine is, we come home from work at 6pm, little bit of play time - then she gets changed for bed (on the non bath night) and then she has her milk (normally 6-8oz) then a little bit of playtime then up to bed for a quick nappy check, teeth clean and bed. Emily will go to bed no problem but with a dummy.

We have not started the bedtime story routine just yet as she just wants to eat the book but perhaps when she is a little older, she is 1 year and 2 weeks.

Natalie

Archana - posted on 03/04/2010

Hey ya!!

It was nice and encouraging all the posts.

I have a son who was sleeping beautifully till he was 10 months old (he is one year, 3 weeks now), no nursing, just a massage, change and milk and he would sleep straight 8-9 hours. But now since he got sick, he looks for nursing and gets up 3-4 times at night. I tried everything, he refuses bottle feed at night, just wants me to hold him and nurse him.

Its becoming diffciult, since this is the time he should be on his own he is relying greatly on me for his sleep.

pour in with your suggestions. thanks.

Carol - posted on 03/04/2010

I have a three year old and a one year old. I breast fed both of them to sleep every night. Still do with the one year old. When our oldest got to about 15 months she weaned herself off breast as I had fallen pregnant with number two so she was having a bottle at night. At 17 months we started putting her into her cot and I would sit beside her on a chair, she'd get up and want to get out but I'd say bedtime, give her a kiss and lay her back down. I tell ya, it was a battle alright, she was up and down sometimes over 30 or 40 times in the first few weeks but I kept laying her down gently and would just sit back in my chair. I did make the mistake of answering her when she asked a question so bedtime was taking us over an hour to get to sleep. Once I started totally ignoring her questions and her 'mummy? mummy? mummy?' which was SO HARD, she was sleeping in ten to fifteen minutes. Gradually I moved the chair from right next to her cot to a foot away, then two feet then to the door then so she could only see half of me then I'd leave the chair there and sit in the lounge and if she'd cry out for me I'd go to the chair and sit there for a minute or two and she'd just lay back down and go to sleep. Eventually she just stopped looking for me. I am about to start the same process with our one year old. It is hard, it takes up SO MUCH time but I'm not a fan of the cry it out method, I just can't do it. These are the lengths we go to for our kids and you know what, I'd do it again and again and again.

Anna - posted on 03/04/2010

I start getting my son ready for bed at the same time every night. My son eats oatmeal every night berofe sleeping and every morning. After eating we brush Veetis teeth and change pyjama. Veeti doesn't need any bed time story or singing before sleeping. He just need little bit warmed milk and his dummy. I usually leave him and drink the milk in peace and little bit later I just put the dummy in his mouth and Veeti falls asellep :)

Alysha - posted on 03/03/2010

My one year old girl still wakes up at night and we still give her a bottle when she goes down for the night. It is so nice to hear that other mom's are having problems and that I am not a completely delinquent parent (or at the very least that I am not alone). She is teething right now and it is so had to get her on a routine. I am worried about her teeth as well. I have been trying giving her a bottle then putting her down instead of putting her in her crib with the bottle. As well as just letting her cry it out at night. She will not be rocked or patted to sleep and if you go in there to check on her when she is crying and you leave or don't pick her up she gets REALLY mad so we don't even go in unless it sounds serious or she has been crying longer than normal. I wish you could call the "sleep experts" at 2 am and get them to tell you what to do or come over and take care of the baby themselves! I am beyond knowing what to do at this point...

Anne - posted on 03/03/2010

For my son I usually lotion him up and put his sleeper on around 8 pm and then some story time, cuddling and nursing after that then down to bed sleepy but still awake. It usually takes about an hour so hes in his bed around 9 pm. It works and has been working for as long as I've been doing it.

Sofia - posted on 03/02/2010

my 1 year old is pretty good at going to sleep. i change her into her pj's, put her in her crib, turn on some Isley Brother's or whatever is on the soul station, turn off the lights.. and ta-dah! she's asleep until 9am!!

Paige - posted on 03/02/2010

My daughter was so easy, when I was ready for her to go to bed I'd just nurse her to sleep, lay her down and that was it. With my son I have to actually wait until he is acting sleepy, wrap him in a blanket, give him his pacifier and cuddle him until he's asleep, then lay him down. I wouldn't miss that cuddle time for anything and don't regret doing it with either child. They are only small for such a short time.

Deborah - posted on 03/02/2010

My daughters bedtime routine has been the same since she was about 4 months. After dinner she plays for a while, usually she likes to cuddle with me. Then I let her know that it's Night Night time. Then we brush her teeth, and even though it counteracts she gets her bottle of soy milk. I just recently stopped breastfeeding so this is an adjustment for her, especially since she is allergic to milk. I usually sing to her as I rock her and feed her the bottle of milk. Then as she finishes I rock her a bit more. She usually is still awake and then I lay her down and cover her with a blanket and giver her a kiss and intentionally walk out with her awake. She usually falls right to sleep with no fussing!

Heather - posted on 03/01/2010

I put my son to bed with bath, massage, story, rock him for about 10-15 minutes then he goes to bed. Whether or not he is asleep or not. If you choose to do it this way then you may have to let him scream for a few nights, but I promise that he will not scream all night. We started putting Riley down like this when he was about 7 months old.

Meggie - posted on 03/01/2010

My son has slept in his own room since about 3 months, and we have had the same bed time routine since then. After dinner he gets to play while the bath is getting ready, then bath. After he gets lotioned, powered then desitined and put in jammies. We then sing prayers and give kisses, lay him down and leave the room. He falls asleep right away pretty much every night. If he is fussy my husband or I will go in and hold him for a few min but then lay him down again and leave the room. Our son has always been a great sleeper and he likes going to sleep on his own. We do the same thing for naps too. Just kiss then lay down. :)

Amanda Lee - posted on 03/01/2010

I finally have my son on a routine and he is 13 months. We've been giving him a bath and a bottle of milk , while he is drinking that bottle I will read him a story then I will put him too bed with his lullaby music and its been working like a charm. You may just need to let him cry to break him out of the habit or just stick with what works. How you started doing it, thats what he knows, Okay its bath, message, sippy cup and bed. Its kind of like us as mothers, okay its choirs, bath a little TV or reading then bed. lol Do what ever is working. If your still concerned you can always ask your doctor.

Jenny - posted on 03/01/2010

Our daughter has been going to bed with the same routine since she was 2 1/2 months old (she turned 1 Feb. 1st). Only difference was time and eating schedule. Right now, we have dinner around 5:15, 5:30. We'll play for a bit unless she's showing signs of being tired. We give her a sippy of milk then my husband gets her in pjs and reads her a story. Then I read her a story and sing two quick songs. She sleeps with a pacifier and her horse and I turn on her music machine. She's in bed usually between 6:30 and 7:00 these days. Occasionally we'll hear her talking to her horse but at the beginning she would cry and we did let her. Gradually the crying time got shorter.
Good luck.

Rose Mary - posted on 03/01/2010

At about 6:45 I give Lily milk, a bath (if I'm real tired I will skip the bath), then I rock her to sleep playing classical music, it's quite soothing sometimes I feel I'm going to fall asleep. I will to this routine until she's too big for me to rock... she my baby :-)

Emma - posted on 03/01/2010

hi my little boy was born 5/2/09 her was 9 months i alwasy put him down in the cot with some milk i cant bath him every night caz of his dry skin. but now hes 1 i just put him straight down around 7pm most nights hell wake for a feed around 4am but lately hes been sleeping 7pm to 7am the only thing ive changed is his dinner caz he neva seems to want to eat it at 5pm so i moved it 30mins day by and he seems to like been fead at 6.30pm but i do try n feed him earlyierthen he has a little play then he comes to and lyes on me so i take him to his cot and just pop him down awake then i put the mobile on and leave him. i cant belive how good he gose to sleep but ive tryed every other was while he was small and noughing seemed to stick but hes settled now.

Carrie - posted on 03/01/2010

My 1 year old son has had this routine since he was 8 months old. We eat dinner, play for a while etc, until we see him yawn or rub his eyes. He also knows sign language so he usually tells us when he's tired. He grabs his favorite blanket and his favorite toy (Curious George), and does the sleep sign. We immediately brush his teeth (which he loves to do), diaper change, put on sleepy clothes, tell everyone in the house goodnight. Then straight to bed. We arrange his bed with his favorite blankets and stuffed animals, lay him down, put his "sleep sheet" sound machine on, say I love you, turn off the light and close the door. He goes to sleep very quickly. No crying or playing. He loves his bed and sleepy time, which we are very grateful for. Hope this helps. Aloha.

Brenda - posted on 03/01/2010

Bedtime for Rachel goes like this: She grabs her blankie bear every night around 8:30pm and follows me around sucking her thumb. I pick her up, she kisses Daddy goodnight, I take her upstairs and sit in the rocker and nurse her for about 5 minutes and then lay her in her crib. I shut the door behind me and don't hear a peep until 8 am.

Alaina - posted on 03/01/2010

I give him a bottle instead of a sippy cup only at night and then just sit with him.....he usually goes down and I put him to bed, sometimes with a story or quite movie, I'm up for more ideas though. I would love to give him his milk and put him in his bed to see what happens, but he uaually just cries all night if i do that....Ideas are always great..

Rebecca - posted on 03/01/2010

I think we're all pretty similar. I have a little girl, Leah, who turned 1 yesterday. She has been on the same routine from about 3 months old. At 6pm we give her dinner. Then she has a bath, which we can make longer or shorter depending on her mood and how on time we are. Then it's massage, singing nursery rhymes while getting dressed (because she hates getting dressed), then a top up bottle (she doesn't always finish it, it just a way to make sure she's full when she goes to bed), and straight into bed fully
awake.

Sometimes she will take a while to get to sleep, about 1/2 an hour. Sometimes she'll go to sleep straight away. We made a deliberate effort to put her to bed fully awake from the outset, which helps. If you haven't been doing that, you'll have a battle on your hands. You just need to decide whether it's a battle worth fighting for you as the most important thing in battles in consistency - if not, just stick with what you're doing as it sounds like a lovely routine.

Sarah - posted on 02/28/2010

my daughter is about the same age as your son and we have a pretty strict routine, but it gets our daughter to sleep like a charm!!

#1 bath
#2 a slight rub before putting on pj's
#3 a few stories
#4 a few songs while drinking her milk from a sippy cup

I can't say it will work for you, but my husband and I have been enjoying a full night's sleep for about 5 months (our daughter sleeps 12+ hours)!!

hope that helps

Felicia - posted on 02/28/2010

I either get my son a bottle when he starts getting tired and hold him while he drinks the bottle until he falls asleep. Or i lay him on my chest and rub his back til he falls asleep. Then as soon as hes asleep, I lay him in his crib!

Heather - posted on 02/28/2010

My daughter has dinner, plays for about an hour, takes a bath and honestly ( I am truly blessed for this ) I ask her if she is ready for bed and she walks into her room and points to her crib. I giver her hugs and she points to bed so I lay her down and she goes to sleep. Sometimes plays a bit but no problems at all. (She just turned 1 Valentines Day) I have never put her to bed with anything to drink though.

Julie - posted on 02/28/2010

We eat dinner, bath, jammies, brush teeth, a few minutes of play (depending on the night), then off to bed. He does have to have his blanket and a bottle. I'd like to cut out the bottle, but I have'nt pushed it to much since he goes down so easily. He is usually out within a few minutes of hitting the bed and then sleeps through the night. Maybe I need a little advice on thaking out the bedtime bottle!!! :)

Suzy - posted on 02/28/2010

Hi, since you asked...I bath my little girl then she has her milk (still in a bottle - I feed it to her) and then I put her down in her cot - and she sleeps 12 hours. I know every kid is different, as is every mother. My son was the same, but I guess we were lucky with both. I would carry on with what works and maybe slowly introduce the changes you want to happen. I am not sure there's a problem tho! I think you're doing great.

Candace - posted on 02/28/2010

bath and then a cup of water the she goes to bed we let our kids 1 and 2 put them selves to sleep

Renee - posted on 02/27/2010

I never thought I would say this, but enjoy it while it lasts! As soon as we took the bottle away from my daughter and started giving her only the sippie she suddenly became miss independent. I'm not complaining by any means, I love that I can lay her down and she will go off to sleep on her own (I dreamed of this day for months actually!). But, I miss rocking her and cuddling her, she won't have anything to do with it unless she wakes up in the middle of the night upset (which rarely happens). Just watch for signs from your little one, he'll let you know when he is ready for a change. If you really want to try cutting out the sippie right at bed time, I would suggest giving it to him about an hour earlier than normal, then just rock and/or cuddle at bedtime. It seems to work for mine, but they are all different :) Good luck!

Andrea - posted on 02/27/2010

I let my son play til he's tired. When he gets sleepy i give him some milk just because he's usually quite thirsty then stick him to bed, wide awake. He'll put his binky in his mouth and is usually asleep before I'm out of the room.

Sarah - posted on 02/27/2010

my son has just turned 1 aswell and he has his bath, pjs, bottle n a cuddle. in that order n he goes off fine. just do wat works for u, all kids am different

Geraldine - posted on 02/27/2010

Tom turned 1 on 5th February and has always been in a real good bedtime routine from day 1. His older brother, our middle son who is now 3 was never in a good routine for bedtime after having lots of childhood illnesses. Tom has always gone to bed between 6.45-7.30pm, most evenings he will have a bath, get in his jammies, say goodnight to his 2 brothers and then lay down with a bottle of milk before going to sleep. Sometimes he will fall asleep drinking his milk but most times he puts himself down and is quite happy to fall alseep by himself in his cot with his cuddly.

Hayley - posted on 02/26/2010

Ive heard that you should never bath straight after food or milk, that will always result in vomit. I do tea, play for bout half an hour to let it settle, bath, bottle then bed with my little one. Its just a case of perservering and they will eventually go although she is really good at falling to sleep alone. .Every child is different and I think any method tried shouldn't be given up on if it doesn't work first time. good luck

Cat - posted on 02/25/2010

i give her a nice bath ,lotion her down,put her satellite radio on the 40's music thats her choice. give her a bpttle with a little rice cereal in it so shes not hunger and then take the bottle out...she will wake up at 4-5 so i give her another bottle and she sleeps b/w 10-11 she goes to bed no later than 9!!!! and there is a musical mechanisim on her crib and something that shines on her ceiling.....i shut the door and re open it when mu husband and son are in bed...works great

Samantha - posted on 02/25/2010

My son is 1 2day and I taught him 2 self sooth back when he was about 7 months old. U R suposed 2 teach them 2 salf sooth around 6-8 months. It is suposed 2 take no more than 2 weeks but my little boy is so good it only took him 2 days. I give him his bath and massage some lotion on him and then lay him in bed w/ a comfort item like a pasifier or a favorite blanket. He also still likes his womb bear and soft music and he goes right 2 sleep all by himself.

Moriah - posted on 02/25/2010

My daughter is 1 and has been putting herself to bed for a couple months. When she feels tired she walks to her room. When she doesn't do that I just stick her in bed, turn a song on and she falls asleep until 8 the next morning.

Daphne - posted on 02/25/2010

My son never really gave me a difficult time when in his crib. When he was younger, all I had to do was leave him a bottle of milk in his crib ( I had 2 make sure that he knew there was one), and he'd just drink his milk on his own once he felt like it. That's during the day. At night, he'd try to call me a few times to get him out of the crib but once he sees that I'm asleep, he seems to respect that, that he would just sleep on his own (would even cover himself with his blanket).

Casper - posted on 02/25/2010

Hi, My little man still has a bottle and I just do what works for me which Ive done with all 3; dinner, bath, they play for about an hour, sometimes he has his bottle before going to bed other times I put him to bed with his bottle. I dont think its a matter of having right and wrong ways of doing it, I think its a matter of what works for you and what your happy with.

Lauren - posted on 02/25/2010

I still do Dinner, Bath, Bottle then bed. The only difference with mine is I don't give him his dummy anymore

Erin - posted on 02/25/2010

supper, bath and lay him in his crib. i have been doing that since he was born and it works for me. we read stories before bed time and he prefers it to be dark in his room at all times to sleep. He still wakes up once in the night but usually just to find his suckie and go back to sleep. I give him his sippy of milk at supper time. He seems to enjoy it better at mealtime.

Catherine - posted on 02/25/2010

Natasha, can you try the moving crib trick? Start with it right next to your bed, like literally touching it. Then move it a little further away every few days until she is in her room. You might have a crib in the hallway for a bit, but that is a small price to pay if it works!


We do clean up time, bath, massage, say goodnight to the dog, the cat, and Daddy, nurse and rock, and then into his bed.

Lisa - posted on 02/24/2010

Natasha, I am having the SAME problem!

Natasha - posted on 02/24/2010

I have a 1 year old who won't sleep in her crib. It seems like if she do sleep in it, she only sleeps in it for about 2 hours and then wakes up. I think she just like sleeping close to me. What can I do so that she can get use to sleeping in her crib?

Erin - posted on 02/24/2010

My daughter has dinner, bath, play, bottle then I put her into her cot with her dummy and teddy and she's out. I've been through phases of having to cuddle/rock her to sleep, but she's never used the bottle to go to sleep (we always have 10mins of quiet time after her bottle and before I put her to bed so her tummy can settle).

The only time this routine in unsuccessful is if she is sick or teething. Then she will often fight bedtime and she'll be up and down a few times, with me having to eventually rock her to sleep. But otherwise I'm very lucky. She loves her cot and would much rather go to sleep in there than be rocked or cuddled.