Getting a breast fed baby in a night time routine

maxnjacksmummy · Feb 28, 2008 5:31AM

ok lo is now nearly 12 weeks. This week we started to try and get an evening routine in place so we could have a bit of 'us' time again in the evenings. To start with lo was wanting a feed about 7pm so I was bathing at 6.30 and getting him into his pyjamas ready for a calm feed in a dimly lit room and then into bed. This worked a treat and we were really pleased. The problem is that he is not 100% regular with his feed times (which breast fed baby is??!) so last night he was due a feed at 8.30 but I still did the bath and bed routine at 6.30 and into bed for 7. I know he did not sleep at all before his feed but he was happy enough up in the bedroom in the dark by himself and then I went up and fed when he demanded.

So I suppose what I am asking is - would you have a set time for bath and bed no matter when the feed is needed or would you wait for the feed to be needed and then do the bath and bed bit??

hayley_l · Feb 25, 2008 6:53AM

hi, Isaac is 10 months now and i did always have a set bed time, to be honest i used to try and feed him after his bath even if he wasnt due for a feed and he always used to take it (mind you he does have a big appetite) you could try that and it may work for you, if not carry on with what you are doing if your lo is happy to be up in his cot at least it gives you a bit of time with oh.

arg · Feb 25, 2008 6:55AM

Hi I learnt with my 1st and with our 2nd and 3rd (all fully breastfed) did a similar routine to yours with a bath at 7ish then a feed then sleep. You seem to be hanging around a bit waiting for that 8.30 feed which is taking time out of your evening so why don't you just do bath, feed then sleep. Even if he has only fed a couple of hours before and his next feed hasn't been due until later, just make a new routine where you still feed him at his usual time but then give him another feed straight after his bath and before he goes to sleep. I have always given extra feeds in the evening to try and fill them up ready for night so would feed at 3ish, 5ish then 7 after bath then to sleep

At his age your lo will probably still need another feed to help him sleep through - I have only recently stopped waking up my lo (11months now) at 10ish before I go to bed for a last feed and she sleeps until 7ish after that. How often does your lo feed in the night? If you wake him before you go to sleep at least you are actually being woken one less time. Hope that makes sense x

justmarried · Feb 25, 2008 9:01AM

HI
My little one is 6 weeks but we do have some sort of bedtime routine although of course, he is far from sleeping through the night or being predictable!!
Regardless of what has happened in the day (i.e. oversleeping etc) he is in the bath at about 6pm (sometimes earlier if sleepy) then warm clothes and quick massage in his room. By now it is about 6.15pm and I turn the lights off (but keep landing light on so I can see) and feed him in the dark with no talking. I then put him in his moses basket in the cot and sit in the chair until he goes off. So far (touch wood) he has slept from 6.30ish until my husbabnd wakes him at 10.30pm for his bottle (my milk). He then goes back to sleep about 11.15 and most of the time he will sleep until just before 3am. He is put in our room from 11.15pm.
From about 5am it s awful as he then cries off and on until 7am. This is the bit I am hoping will settle down.
So have to say am very proud that he goes from 6.30-3am as we always have an evening together. I don't encourage him to have more than 4/5hrs sleep from 7am and try to structure feeds. I used Gina Ford as guidance and adapted bits, but some days it all goes to pot. I do however, try to do the bedtime thing every night no matter what.

EnglebertW_nkface · Feb 25, 2008 10:27AM

I would agree with arg and hayley, Milie used to have her bath and a story and then her feed, we aimed to have her in bed at 7.30 everynight. Even if for the first few nights he doesn't take much milk it will push back the time he wants his next feed and he will soon adjust to having a feed at this time. One other thing that I found helped was trying to give the first feed at the same time every day so that all the other feeds kind of followed on. I found this helped quite alot with getting Millie into a routine.

mskene · Feb 27, 2008 6:38PM

hiya i let Lewis rule the bed time routiine and when i took him home from hospital he wasn't going to bed till 9pm, i gave him his bath at about 8 did all the drying creaming etc then fed him and he always fell asleep while feeding - it wasn't till he was about 4 month that i noticed he was getting ratty at about 6ish so started givin him his bath at that time and then his feed and off to bed - i fed on demand so there was no set time for feeds and even now he is 9 month he knows that after his bath he get a feed regardless if he wants it or no!

icecreamloverpissedoffwithBE · Feb 28, 2008 5:31AM

we didnt really bother until ollie was 6 months old as he would feed whenever he wanted to, but at 6 months he fell into it really easily. he did still wake twice a night for a feed but we stopped that by cc last month.

if you bath and feed at the same time every night max should get used to that being his routine quite quickly... be warned tho that when they realise they have to do something you want they will fight it every way they can (ollies a bugger for doing it ) I would make sure the bath was at the same time regardless of when he wants a feed tho.

how ru doing otherwise?
xxxx

Getting a breast fed baby in a night time routine

Replies

Featured Discussions

Promoted Content