Changing nightime sleeping routine- Help!

OK ladies, I need some serious suggestions/advice from all of you out there on what your nighttime routine is like. Our LOs usually are tired and ready to start the nighttime ritual around 7:30. They are small enough still that they fit in their swings, so they usually have some milk and when they are done they usually start to wind down and doze off while on the swing at about 8:00-8:30. We then take them to their cribs- they share a room.

Lately, however, they are taking longer to get to sleep and all they do is giggle and make noises and don't actually fall asleep enough to be taken to their cribs until 9 p.m., which is getting very exhausting waiting around for them to fall asleep. Soon they will not fit in their swings and am wondering what type of routine you are following to get them to actually fall asleep in their cribs. All they do is giggle, make noise and stand up in their cribs. Will they ever just go to sleep quietly on their own or are they too young still?

Thanks for your help!

 

Our routine is doing quiet time about 30 min before bed (no TV, low lights, quiet voices). We then will get them ready for bed using their nighttime lotion, wiping them down with a wet cloth (if it's not bath night), brushing teeth, reading a story and then off to bed. They will usually have milk an hour before bed but sometimes they still might want a little something to drink before bed. Usually they can get to sleep by themselves, they sleep with loveys. There are some nights where my DD will chat herself to sleep for close to an hour (around 9pm).

 

Thanks for the help! Do they share a room? Does one not keep the other up with the giggling and chatting? I need to get a picture in my mind as to how we would do this. When you read them a story, are you in their room and they are sitting or lying with you or are they already in their cribs and they are just listening? I ask because I want to be sure my DH is included. Their room is small and there is only one reclining type chair that we could snuggle in. I feel like I'm so worried over nothing, but want to be sure I can handle them both with a new routine when my DH travels.

 

our babies share a room, and their cribs are across the room from each other, there aren't any bumpers in the cribs so they can just look at each other even if they are lying down. We've always let them put themselves to sleep unassisted... it takes some getting used to, but they do it... and YES they giggle and chatter. Usually one will fall asleep first. I've come to realize that if and when they are sleepy they will sleep.

I love the theory of the low lights and quiet etc, but for us... it doesn't happen like that... we do baths everynight - daddy usually gets bathtime, and fills up the tub with bubbles and lets them play. there isn't a lot of actual bathing going on, but they come out smelling nice. then we put night diapers on and I nurse them. we (try to remember to) brush their teeth then they walk with us back to their bedroom. I try to read them a book, but some nights they don't get one. They are WIDE awake when they go in the cribs... but they settle down fairly quickly...

do they settle down by themselves for nap time?

sometimes for naptime, I actually give them a snack cup with cheerios in it... not a great idea to give them food in bed... but there are times when they really need the quiet of the crib, but yet, need a snack still. I was surprised today when my dd still had quite a few left in her cup after naptime... I like that they can put themselves to sleep unassisted. Its not always so easy, but for the main part it is.

 

So our rountine is roughly:

5-5:30 dinner
Baths immediately after
quiet playtime or taking them on a walk in the stroller
bedtime snack (yogurt/jello/pudding etc)
brush teeth
get clean water sippies (which we allow them to take to bed)
go to their room, check diapers one more time, put everyone in their cribs
sit in the rocker and read a book aloud to them.
turn on their sound machine & bedtime CD. Night-night!
They are always in bed between 7-730.

ON the nights DH is home, we take turns in the responsibility. One will do baths while one cleans up dinner, but we both dress a baby. While one is in their room reading the book, the other will clean up the toys in the living room. We take turns feeding bedtime snack, brushing teeth etc or he'll clean ones teeth and I will do the other.

Both babies talk when they go to bed, same when they wake up in the morning.

 

For me, I don't mind if they talk. They will go to sleep when they are tired. There are some nights Jake will talk for a good 45 minutes but eventually he'll fall asleep.


I think the swing might be the issue. Mine are too big for swings but I know for my boys, if they doze for even 10 minutes say in the car, I can forget them going to bed right away.

Maybe you can try skipping the swing and see if they fall asleep sooner.

 

Our routine is very truncated, and I planned it that way. The shorter it is now, the shorter it will be when they start adding things in! So, around 6, we do dinner, by 6:30 we are upstairs and getting baths if it is a bath night. Then, immediately into PJs, read a book, into bed by 7:00ish. This has been the routine since 7 or 8 months. Now, at 18 months, they are starting to catch on and want to read that one more book, but we generally just do one and put them to bed. We try to wind them down, but it's not always possible. Sometimes they run around the room while we read. Sometimes they go right to sleep, sometimes they chatter and play for a bit, and on rare occasions they protest cry for 15 to 20 minutes (this was last night!). We don't vary our part of the routine except in cases of illness (and even then I still make them sleep in their cribs after we deal with whatever is going on) or emergency (stuck in crib for example, but that hasn't happened in a long time).

If I were you, I would just put them to bed awake, tell them goodnight, and leave the room. They are well into the age where they can put themselves to sleep, and as you said the swing has about reached the end of its life span. I wouldn't worry if they happily play or chatter before going to sleep. Basically, I think you may be in for some CIO while they get used to going to sleep in their cribs.

 

Thanks to ALL! This has been great and I'm not so afraid of changing the routine! We will attempt all your tips. I'm sure it will be easier than I imagine, since I know they are tired and ready for sleep- maybe the swing is too stimulating for them now that they are older. I take them to work with me where they each have their own pack-n-play and they jump around and talk and giggle for a long time, but eventually fall asleep on their own. I will just prepare myself for a long period of chatter and laughter until they fall asleep in their cribs tonight.

 

We do dinner around 5ish. I let them finish their milk from dinner while they play. They usually play after dinner, whether it's outside or in their playroom. Baths if they need them. We read books. We usually let them watch Baby Einstein before bed. It always calms them down. They are usually laying on the floor by the time it's over. Flouride and brush their teeth and then off to bed. We bring them up and lay them in their cribs awake. One gets a lovely and sucks her thumb and the other gets a binky. I put on their music and there is always white noise. They have an a/c for the summer. They usually go down between 7-7:30. Sometimes, they go right to sleep and sometimes they babble for a while and sometimes fuss for a while. The do share a room and have gotten use to each other making noise. Good luck!

 

Where do they nap? How often? Swing problem aside, I'd say it's either time to switch to one nap or to move up their nap a little bit if they only have one.

That being said, just get rid of the swing. Get them some chairs or a couch and switch to there instead. If they're still awake when they go to their crib anyway it won't make much of a difference I think... For us part of their wind down routine is actually the chatting/talking in the crib. They have sleep sacks and they snuggle with them until they fall asleep... Maybe give them a lovey or something they can cuddle with to help them doze off?

 

We put mine down in their cribs at 7pm, after a story, prayers, and a sippy of milk. Some days they go right to sleep. And some days they stay up in their cribs laughing & playing & talking. The longest this has gone on was 45 minutes! But eventually, they do go to sleep. I think they just get excited about being in there by themselves, jumping up & down, & stealing each other's blankets. As long as no one is crying, I just let him go.

 

i definitely wouldn't worry about chatting & laughing before bed. my girls sometimes do this for up to an hour & other nights they fall right asleep. i've always thought of it as being my responsibility to make sure they're in an environment that's conducive to sleep at age appropriate times during the day - it's their responsibility to decide whether they're actually doing to sleep or not. does that make sense?

 

I am excited to try the new routine. My plan is to have dinner, baths, go to their cribs, read them a book while they are in there and pray for the best!!! I expect lots of giggles, laughter, and probably crying because they want to stay up- but I am hoping they will be tired enough they will want to sleep. I guess flip-flopping around enough will get them tired. I will report how it goes! Thanks for all your advice, it's nice to have a group of people who know exactly what you're talking about!

 

I'm late to the list, but we have a strict bedtime routine as well that we started around 13 months. We relaxed it for a couple of months and things went south so we are back to this

Dinner at 6pm
If bath night bath then baths around 7:15
7:30 (or just after bath) starts with night diapers and pjs
Then all four of us, DH included, pile on the couch for milk sippys and small cheerios snack while we read a book (or 3)
8pm brush teeth and put in cribs

At first they screamed and fussed a bit and they did again when we went back to it. We are only at around a month of getting back to the strict routine and they fuss (usually no screaming) for a little then go on to sleep or babble and play with their toys. They still have rough nights going to bed if they are overtired or not feeling well though.

We haven't had much luck with quiet time between baths and bed or just before starting the bedtime routine on non-bath nights. They seem to be at their wildest then and we've had to go with letting them run the energy out

 

It's pretty much what we've been doing and it works great. We only do bath three times a week but the rest is the same.