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m o t h e r  &  b A B Y

OUR BEDTIME ROUTINE

10/9/2017

11 Comments

 
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I think this has to be my most requested blog posts and I get so so many questions about the details of Maddie's bedtime routine/sleeping patterns! The length of our babies nap time or bed time, is a topic we can't seem to get enough of as parents! And I think that's because there is such a wide variety of combinations and patterns that babies have! Every baby is different, some sleep a lot, some barely sleep at all, and it can be an absolute nightmare for parents that are surviving on little to no sleep! So of course we want to share our various tips and tricks to help one another out!! Because this is a BIG topic and I have gone into a lot of detail for you, this part 1 will be about our bedtime routine and sleep pattern, then I will follow up with a part 2 about the daytime naps! (Otherwise this post will go on FOREVER..!!)

I do feel very lucky that Maddison is naturally a sleepy baby, we've never had a real problem with it! Week 1 was a bit all over the place, as we were adjusting to life with a baby and getting to know our little girl. I think the longest she would sleep for was about 4 hours at a time in that first week. But 10 weeks on, Maddison now sometimes sleeps for 8-9 hours straight! Which is something I never expected to be blessed with. I thought full nights sleep were something I would never see again for a good decade becoming a mother?!

One of the biggest things that I think helps distinguish when it's time for bed for Maddie, is we have a clear bedtime routine. I am very vigilant with this and make sure we do the same pattern, every night, at the same time, to the best of our ability - obviously life sometimes gets in the way of this! But here is a breakdown of our current routine and timings...


Bath time (around 9pm)
We bath Maddie every night and have been doing since she was 4 weeks old. No matter what mood she's been in during the day, she is always happy and inquisitive splashing round in the water and bubbles! I really do feel like it helps her calm down and relax from the day.

Cuddle & chat (around 9:15pm)
We then wrap her up and have a quick cuddle while shes still in the towel (keeping her warm!) Then we all lay down on our bed and sit there chatting away to her for a little. We often get some of the most adorable noises and smiles out of her!!

Baby Massage (around 9:20pm)
Next, it's back into her bedroom, pop her on the changing table and get a nappy on quickly before any accidents happen - haha! I then do a little baby massage on Maddie's legs and feet, which she absolutely adores!! Now... I've not officially learnt about baby massage, and if an expert were to watch me, they'd probably say I'm doing it wrong!! We were given some cream for Maddie's dry skin at 6 weeks old, and when applying it before bed I kind of just made up a little massage routine... and she loved it!! So I've just kept doing ever since, and again I think it's something that she now relates to as "it's bedtime now".

Final feed (around 9:25pm)
Dressed in her sleep suit and scratch mitts, (we only put mitts on her at night - again which I believe helps her distinguish its bedtime!) I take her back into our bedroom to where her crib is, sit on my bed and give her the final feed.. Maddison used to feed from me and fall asleep on the boob, so once she'd settled and drifted off to sleep I would then carefully put her down in the crib and tuck her in. However because of my milk struggle, for the last feed before bed we now use formula to ensure she has had a good big feed! She then burps, and I pop her down in the crib.

Self settle to sleep (between 9:30-9:45pm)
Once tucked up in her crib, I give her the dummy as she loves suckling for comfort, and I then go downstairs and let her settle herself to sleep. Now this is something we've only been doing for the past 3 weeks. I tried it once as a one off to see if she would settle (as she was just wiggling like mad in my arms and kept getting distracted!!) 10 minutes later.. she was sound asleep! So, I tired it again the next night.. and it worked again! So now it's something I do every night and she's very good at just letting herself drift off to sleep alone now! I'm pleased we've managed to get her to do this, as I'm hoping it'll make the transition into her big cot in her own room easier if she's already used to settling on her own!!

At first I used to worry that 9:30pm was a bit of a late bedtime for a newborn, but it just works for us! As she gets older I plan to sneak that time forward little by little ready for when she's a toddler. I really do feel that bedtime should be whatever works best for you and your baby!! There is no set bedtime, as babies always have their own ideas and you just can't force it!! And there is no set routine to follow, it's your routine that suits your lifestyle and your little one. The routine described above is just what we've now established and seems to work for us all to have a good nights sleep.. I'm definitely not saying you have to agree/copy me!! I think (unfortunately) that's the biggest problem with parenting, there will always be that person who has an opinion on what you do and thinks they are an expert.. It's important to ignore those internet "mum police" who love to tell you that you are doing something "wrong" rather than actually trying to help!! You know your baby!! As long as they are happy and healthy, you do it YOUR way! 

Maddison's normal sleeping pattern is 6 hours straight, so she'll wake around 4:30am, I'll change her and she'll have a quick half an hour feed on the boob, where she will fall back asleep! I then (carefully) pop her back into the crib for another 2-3 hours, so we are then normally up for the day between 7-8am. However, we have had a fair few nights now when she sleep straight through for 8-9 hours without the feed!! The first time that happened, I woke up so so panicked that I'd missed her in the night and slept through her crying - it felt so weird!!
It's very rare that we have a night when she doesn't stick to her sleeping pattern.. I think maybe only once in the past 5 weeks has she strayed from her pattern and woken up twice during the night? Also I personally would never wake her up to feed.. My thinking is, if she's hungry, she'll wake. And if she doesn't then she clearly needed the snooze! But of course I will ensure she feeds enough during the day to make up for the hours at night. She's still putting on weight fine, so she must be feeding enough despite missing the nighttime feed!

Anyway this is what has worked for us! But as stated above, Maddison is a sleepy baby anyway and has a very relaxed temperament! So maybe that helps? I don't know! But I'm certainly making the most of the hours of sleep we are getting now, before the teething properly kicks in or we take a sudden turn and she decides to become a night owl!!

Stay tuned for Part 2, when I will talk about Maddison's day time naps.. which I have to say is a VERY different story to nighttime - haha!!

What are your nighttime tips? Is there anything you've found that particularly helps your little one sleep? I'd love to know! Feel free to comment below or message me via the social page! Love x


11 Comments
Dr. Rahat s.
10/9/2017 21:36:02

Hey,
Actually about maddie sleepingng straight for 8hrs... Babies her age need to feed every 2 to 3 hrs. If they are asleep n u have waited 3 hrs max then u have to wake her up n feed her.
Thts jus an advice. Though you have a very nice sleep routine planned there.

Reply
Bethany
11/9/2017 16:47:16

Thank you for your concern! However my GP and Health visitor have both said she is absolutely fine sleeping that length of time as long as she is getting fed enough mls during a 24hr period. (So the rest of the day!)
She is putting on weight and following her growth line perfectly so I've been told by my health professionals who I trust just to enjoy the sleep! Some babies are just naturally sleepy! :)

Reply
Domi
10/9/2017 21:57:14

I have a daughter who was born a day before Maddie so it's cool to read your blog. I am curious about the naps because I am struggling with nap time!

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Casey
11/9/2017 04:29:25

Thank you for this post and sharing! My daughter is 2 months old and has a very relaxed temperament as well. Currently she normally sleeps 6 hours but I may try your routine to see if I can get a couple more hours haha. Your family is precious, your daughter is beautiful and you are doing a great job :)

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Bethany
11/9/2017 16:48:48

Congrats on your baby and thank you ever so much! 6 hours is still very good - we're lucky our babies don't wake every 2 hours! :)

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Loreto
11/9/2017 23:45:55

That's awesome! Probably your baby has dry skin cause you bath her everyday our midwife recommend us to put baby oil in the bath and every second night use soap so you don't dry your baby skin. Baby oil works even better than body lotions and yeh! Bathing her everyday will definitely make her skin dry cause you take all the natural oil from her body!

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Bethany
12/9/2017 09:34:23

Hi lovely! Sorry I must not have written my post very clearly..! Maddie only had dry skin in the first 5/6 weeks of her life (which GP said is common for a newborn), the time when she was suffering with dry skin I would only top-&-tail wash her! But she's been absolutely fine for the past 5 weeks since bathing every night :) what I meant in my post is I just still use the same cream that she was given for dry skin because I know it's safe and nourishing for her skin! And we always use oil based baby products in the bath! So she's fine and doesn't have dry skin - I just didn't write it very clearly lol! Sorry! X

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Amy
13/9/2017 06:35:49

Hi hun love yout honesty and blogs. My little lady one week younger than your little one and follows the same kind of routine. X

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Daniela
13/9/2017 08:45:21

Help !!! My Doughter is 6 weeks old and she has the day and nights crossed up ... what routine do you recomend during the day to keep her up and active during the day ...

Thanks ❤️

Reply
Gillian
13/9/2017 21:21:04

Hey!

Sounds just like my Olivias bedtime routine :) I was also worried about not putting her down until 9.30/10pm as she is just a week older than Maddie! However, have tried to bathe & settle earlier & she just wakes again... she doesn't go into that different 'night time' sleep where nothing could wake her (if you get what I mean??) & she's also sleeping right through until 7am, which is cool- my GP said the same as yours... let them sleep as long as they are feeding enough throughout the day :)
You're doing a fab job Mummy :)

X

Reply
Masae
27/9/2017 19:39:11

I love your bedtime routine! That is basically what I do with my 15 week old and I have stopped waking him up to feed, which is great for me too :) Right now, he is sleeping in the magic merlin sleep suit, but I want to transition to just a footie pajama. Does Maddie just sleep in the footie pajama with a blanket? Also, do you use bumpers in the crib? My baby seems to start at one end of the crib and be at the other end when I wake him up in the morning. Congrats on your adorable daughter!

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