How do you put your baby to sleep?

Ashleigh - posted on 05/16/2009

Quoting Dibrianne:

I usually give my daughter a bath around 7p-730p (yah I know that you're not suppose to bath them that late, but it works for me). After her bath I put/rub on Aveeno Baby Lavender relax/calming lotion then I breastfeed her and she'll go down by 830p.

why aren't you supposed to bathe them that late? My daughter Allie gets a bath at 8:30 p.m. everynight!!!!!

Ashleigh - posted on 05/16/2009

Quoting Dibrianne:

I usually give my daughter a bath around 7p-730p (yah I know that you're not suppose to bath them that late, but it works for me). After her bath I put/rub on Aveeno Baby Lavender relax/calming lotion then I breastfeed her and she'll go down by 830p.

why aren't you supposed to bathe them that late? My daughter Allie gets a bath at 8:30 p.m. everynight!!!!!

Brooke - posted on 05/10/2009

Our routine which we have had since about 6 weeks has been working great for us.

We give bubs a bath about 10pm.. then a bottle and just before she goes to sleep we put her in her cot and thats it until about 8am. She has frequent naps during the day her first being about 10ish the next at about 2 then again at about 6pm..

Tori - posted on 05/08/2009

Use some of that lavender bed time lotion and rock for a few minutes then just lay him down. If that does not work then just follow your mommy instinct, sometimes following the books is just silly all kids are different. Good luck

Christy - posted on 05/08/2009

I start bath time around 7pm (sometimes earlier if Braedon is tired), then I give him his massage while listening to Celtic lullabies, put his jammies on, read a night time book, and then I breastfeed him. By the end of this routine he is very sleepy so it only takes a little bit of rocking before he is drowsy enough to fall asleep in his bassinet, we have a rocking bassinet so I continue the rocking while playing nighttime lullabies soon he is fast asleep. He will generally sleep for about 5-6 hrs at a time.

Tricia - posted on 05/08/2009

I work full time and commute over 30 miles in city traffic, so there's no way I'm putting my baby in a crib "sleepy but awake" and leaving him alone. I go to be at 9 on the nights before I work, so I generally nurse a little at that time, and then Daddy bathes and entertains DS until 10 or so. Then DS comes into the big bed and I nurse him to sleep. Then he's my cuddly little hot water bottle all night. And when he wakes up, I roll over and nurse him on the other side. Nothing puts Mom to sleep faster than nursing! Added bonus, nothing puts DS to sleep faster than nursing! Yay symbiotic relationship!

Angie - posted on 05/07/2009

I personally don't like the whole idea of laying my child down to let them cry it out. It's just not my thing. I know that there are some mothers that have excellent results with it and that's awesome, it's just not for me! My youngest will cry and cry until he almost makes himself sick. He's very much a little cradle baby. He loves to be held. I just follow my instincts and just figured out what worked best for my children. I did that with my oldest and now with my youngest. There are times, espcially right after he was born that he would sleep with my husband and I in our bed, or I would sleep in the recliner holding him (partly because he has reflux) and because that is just what worked best for us. Now that he is a little older, we have tried to develop a night time routine so that he can get used to that and know that it is time to settle down and go to bed. My oldest would go down about 7pm at this age and sleep through the night. My second child is totally different! but Logan gets a bath about 7 or 7:30. He gets his jammies on and I will give him a bottle and rock him to sleep. He's usually asleep by 8 or 8:30 and he'll sleep until between 5:45 to 6:30 the next morning. He'll usually drink the bottle, then I'll give him his paci and he'll go to sleep. He has reflux so I hold him for a while because he has to stay upright due to the fact that if I lay him down too soon he will throw up everything he just ate. We have also been giving him a "binky" bear to sleep with so that he will have a comfort item with him. Since he is such a cradle baby, I'm trying to substitute the binky bear for us having to hold time all the time. Our oldest child has one and loves it. I'm sure people frown upon them but it works out best for us. I would just develop a routine and stick with it as much as you can. I think children like consistancy. That is what we have always done with our oldest, who is now two and he knows that after his bath, he gets his jammies and his milk and he goes straight to his room to go get in his bed. It's just what's worked best for us.

Jennifer - posted on 05/06/2009

When I notice that he's getting sleepy, I check the time. If he's eaten recently and it's late enough that I know he'll be down for the night. I swaddle him up, turn on his lullabye CD and put him in his crib awake. He generally cries a bit, wriggles until his fist is out to suck on and then falls asleep within 10 minutes.

If he hasn't eaten recently, I feed him first and then put him down following the above routine. I usually turn on the lullaby CD even if he's asleep because the jostling of getting him into the crib keeps him from being fully asleep and the CD will finish him off! :)

LeighAnn - posted on 05/06/2009

Guess we need to start this on the weekend when we can be up a lot during the night. Just stinks cause I know he can sleep 10 or so hours w/o eating but when he is in his crib he wants to eat more. I need to start the bath routine thing with him too. I think that helps when they know whats coming, thanks alot for the advice!

Mistie - posted on 05/06/2009

I picked my son up if he would start crying for longer than 3-5 minutes. I'm not a good 'cry it out' person it pulls on my heart too much. I would rock or feed him a bit, then just kept putting him back down in the bassinet. Eventually he will get tired, and my persistence always lasted longer than my sons. We're in an apartment too, but we do have 2 bedrooms. I cried the first time he slept in his own room, even though it's like 25 ft from our bedroom, lol. And I bought a monitor (even though my husband laughed at me) because you can clearly hear him from our bedroom. Oh wellll.. silly Mom. By the way, looks like your an Eagles fan?? We're in PA also.

LeighAnn - posted on 05/06/2009

Do I let him cry it out at night when I am changing? We are in a small one bedroom apt right now,. so he will be in the same room as us for a lil, unless we move the crib to the living room. Hmm

Mistie - posted on 05/06/2009

My son started out sleeping in his swing in our room, it was the only place he would fall asleep after coming home from the hospital. He slept there until he was about 2 months, and would get up every 3-4 hours. Then I moved him to the bassinet in our room at 2 months (it took a couple of hard sleepless nights) but after about three nights he started sleeping in the bassinet 6 hours in a row. When Parker turned 3 months on the 21st of April we started putting him down in his crib in his room. (again a few hard sleepless nights). But now he sleeps 8-9 hours in a row. We have a regular routine we've been doing for the past 3 weeks. Bath at 7:30, then change of clothes. I let him play with Daddy for about 10 minutes while I make his bottle, then I feed him. He usually doesn't fall asleep on the bottle, but is so drowsy that I can lay him down and he will self-settle to sleep.



LeighAnn- It's not bad at all that your little one is sleeping in his swing, BUT it will only get harder as he gets older to change him over to a new place to sleep. It's not easy to switch places. You just have to tell your self to stick with it, and know that it might be difficult for a while. I dreaded taking him from the swing at 2 months because he slept sooo good there, and as a result so did I. : ) But now I have my room to myself and the swing is looked at as playtime during the day... it sure was an expensive bed when I had already bought a crib.

LeighAnn - posted on 05/06/2009

Is it bad that my lil guy likes sleeping in his swing? Its the only place where he will sleep all night, from 8 till 5am. If I put him in the bassinette he gets up around 2, no matter what time I put him down.

Sarah - posted on 05/05/2009

Good Luck! The "no-cry sleep solution" has some good tips on this as well!!!

Aliya - posted on 05/05/2009

Has anyone read the Sleepsense book. Terran is four months today - and we still co-sleep. He needs the boob to go down. I would like to try and sleep train including moving him into his own room and see if he'll sleep through the night. I njeed to do it in stages. Goning to re-read and try my own version. Wish me luck!!!

Amy - posted on 05/04/2009

I usually bathe my baby anywhere between 9:30-10:00! I'll then feed her and she usually falls asleep on the boob. I put her in bed and she might squirm a bit but she's basically out. She'll usually sleep untill around 8:00. i guess sooner or later I'll have to start putting her to bed earlier. I just really like that I get to sleep untill 8, I'm afraid that she'll start waking up earlier if I put her to bed earlier!

Krista - posted on 05/04/2009

I usually feed my baby girl and I also love to cuddle my baby and rock her to sleep. There has been an occasion where she was awake after feeding and I had to help with the other kids and she would fall asleep on her own in her bassinet.

Dibrianne - posted on 05/03/2009

Quoting Dibrianne:

I usually give my daughter a bath around 7p-730p (yah I know that you're not suppose to bath them that late, but it works for me). After her bath I put/rub on Aveeno Baby Lavender relax/calming lotion then I breastfeed her and she'll go down by 830p.

The only reason why I bath her around 7pm is because I live in Hawaii & at night it is so humid so she's all sticky.

Christine - posted on 05/03/2009

well i do it like that:5pm half feed,then bath,take him out,dry him and cream him with mustela massaging him,6,15pm give him the rest of the feed,go to his room shut blinds,sing a few songs with him in my arms and put him to bed with the lullaby turned on, at around 7pm,works great for me!

Alena - posted on 05/02/2009

Our Jackson (Nice name!) has a regular bedtime. It doesn't matter if he's sleepy or not. I feed him, change him, read him a story and then put him to bed. He'll fall asleep on his own within a few minutes. I've been doing a regular bed time routine since he was 6 weeks old, and it's been wonderful.

Sarah - posted on 05/01/2009

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I think I am reading way too many books..need to go with my instincts! :)

Carissa - posted on 04/30/2009

I do a bath, change into nighttime clothes, swaddle him tight, and put him on the boob. Sometimes he falls asleep while eating, other times he'll need to be re-swaddled and then I rock and "shh" him to sleep. If I can tell he is REALLY drowsy, I can put him in the crib and keep "shhing." With some light pressure of my hand on his chest he sometimes falls asleep. If not... I pick him up... lather, rinse, repeat.

Rachael - posted on 04/30/2009

The bath-feed-bed routine works well for me too. Sometimes he will wake up a few minutes after I put him down but I nurse him and he is usually asleep again within minutes (the magical power of the boob). Now if only he would sleep in his crib instead of his bassinet.

Sarah - posted on 04/30/2009

We have our little girl into a good routine - bedtime is around 7pm I bath her every other night generally half way through a feed (if she lets me!) or when the feed is finished, change her and snuggle her up in bed (I scrunch the covers in around her to make her feel cocooned!) and then use a dummy to let her suck on to soothe - she generally self settles. if she cries a little and I'm finding I'm going in a lot to her I leave her for a little while (normally no longer than around 5 mins which seems like an eternity!) and by then she has fallen asleep. She then sleeps through to 6am. I think whatever works for you is best, but I didn't want to get into the habit of cradling my little one to sleep as I have to return to work soon and didn't want to make a rod for my own back. also - if she wakes in the night she knows how to self settle so I generally don't even hear about it or if I do have to get up it's only once to let her know she's safe. good luck!

Brydget - posted on 04/30/2009

I do the bath feed bed routine too. I give her a bath, Dad dresses her and I feed her. Then she might spend about 10 min up but more often than not she is straight into bed. But she is a good sleeper, she is in bed by 6-7pm (depends on if it is a work day) and sleeps 12 hours. The moment she starts getting sleepy we pop her down, drowsy but awake I guess is how we go.

Tanya - posted on 04/30/2009

I've noticed if I give my baby a bath right before nap or bedtime

it really calms him and relaxes him. I feed him and then he'll

sleep for awhile.

Amber - posted on 04/30/2009

Really you aren't supposed to give a bath that late I do that exact same routine I only do it earlier if he is really tired and I know he won't stay up that long.

Dibrianne - posted on 04/30/2009

I usually give my daughter a bath around 7p-730p (yah I know that you're not suppose to bath them that late, but it works for me). After her bath I put/rub on Aveeno Baby Lavender relax/calming lotion then I breastfeed her and she'll go down by 830p.

Tanya - posted on 04/30/2009

Hi, I usually feed him just before bed, around 9 - 9:30 and he'll fall

asleep right after. I also love cuddling my baby to sleep :) its pretty

much the only time he likes to cuddle lol when he's awake he

doesnt stop moving!

Amber - posted on 04/30/2009

I personally don't follow any sleeping strategies that are the least bit strict, but I don't have anything against those who do. My baby doesn't sleep through the night but I still like doing things my way. I have a routine and my baby always falls asleep during his last bottle of the night then he sleeps 6-7 hours, but his dad gives him a dream feed in between that time. I love cuddling my baby to sleep personally.