3 month old bedtime routines

Ok, we are now 3 months old (well 12weeks)...I am trying to work on a bedtime routine but it doesn't seem to be working (or is it and I'm just missing it?)

Ok, I am trying to do last bottle between 7:30-8:30pm. Then I do a bath and pajamas. I lay them in their cribs with their ocean wonders on and sit with them for a while. It seems to be working for DD, she drifts off but then only for an hour and then I hold her back to sleep. DS on the other hand screams for about an hour and then falls asleep. He doesn't want to lay in his crib, doesn't want to be held, doesn't want the swing. He does this almost every night. From what I can tell he has about a 5 minute window from when he fusses for me to put him down so he can sleep otherwise he starts sobbing. Is he wanting to go to bed earlier? Does DD want to go to bed later?

Last night they had their bedtime bottle about 7pm. At about 8 I ran their bath and we were done about 8:20pm. I get them dressed for bed and nice and calm, then the screaming/sobbing begins. It really gets to me because I have no idea why he is crying like that and it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. I have to take him out of the room so he doesn't disturb DD. When they are asleep they sleep right through to about 7:30am.

Can anyone shed some light on what to do? I really want them to go to bed at the same time and I'd like to get DS more calm for bedtime.

TIA!!!

 

Ok, we are now 3 months old (well 12weeks)...I am trying to work on a bedtime routine but it doesn't seem to be working (or is it and I'm just missing it?)

Ok, I am trying to do last bottle between 7:30-8:30pm. Then I do a bath and pajamas. I lay them in their cribs with their ocean wonders on and sit with them for a while. It seems to be working for DD, she drifts off but then only for an hour and then I hold her back to sleep. DS on the other hand screams for about an hour and then falls asleep. He doesn't want to lay in his crib, doesn't want to be held, doesn't want the swing. He does this almost every night. From what I can tell he has about a 5 minute window from when he fusses for me to put him down so he can sleep otherwise he starts sobbing. Is he wanting to go to bed earlier? Does DD want to go to bed later?

Last night they had their bedtime bottle about 7pm. At about 8 I ran their bath and we were done about 8:20pm. I get them dressed for bed and nice and calm, then the screaming/sobbing begins. It really gets to me because I have no idea why he is crying like that and it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. I have to take him out of the room so he doesn't disturb DD. When they are asleep they sleep right through to about 7:30am.

Can anyone shed some light on what to do? I really want them to go to bed at the same time and I'd like to get DS more calm for bedtime.

TIA!!!

 

Hello,

At 3 months we were giving a lot of assistance for getting ours to bed. We would rock them to sleep. Right around 4 months we started putting them in their cribs awake; however, not leaving until they were asleep. We would assist then as well with rocking them with our hand on their back and holding their paci in place. Maybe you should try starting your bedtime routine earlier and see if you can catch your son before he gets too tired. Good luck!

 

I agree with PP, I would try getting them to bed earlier... Mine are about a week and a half behind yours and they go down around 7:00 typically. Then again, they wake once during the night to nurse, so you're doing something right - how much do yours weigh? When did they start sleeping so long?

With mine, we started training them around week 7-8 to go down still slightly awake, without a pacifier. This now works all the time with one, and about 2/3 of the time with the other. Our one little girl has a fussy period from about 4:30 to 7pm when nothing will soothe her and she basically cries non-stop until 7pm when she finally seems to wear herself out. I'm looking forward to the day when that phase ends!

 

We just moved our bedtime routine up to after the 6pm bottle since they were falling asleep after that and having a hard time waking up for their 9pm bottle. We are still dream feeding once before we go to bed (which is now closer to 10-11pm). It's also easier to do the bedtime routine earlier so that we can have some adult time without that last feed/bedtime routine hanging over our heads! They are sleeping until 6am which is our wake-up time everyday (due to our work schedules).

I would first try starting the bedtime routine earlier, i.e. keep the last bottle at the same time. At our last bottle, we typically give the bottle at around 6pm, run the bath at 6:30pm, and in bed around 6:45-7pm. I have a spitter/reflux baby too, and this is enough time for him to be sitting up before bed. Typically when he's relaxed, he doesn't spit up as much. If you're giving that last bottle at 7pm, then I would try moving the bath up 15-30 minutes or so for a few nights and see what happens. Then just keep adjusting until you get it right.

At some point, we'll try to phase out that last bottle that's a dream feed. We're still working out the kinks, and I may try something totally different next week, but for now, this seems to be working.

Just as a question, how many feeds are you doing and how many ounces? I'm still having trouble getting all those calories in 12 hours.

Shannon

 

hi again, well DD is about 10 1/2 lbs and she has 5 bottles a day at 4-6oz at a time. DS is almost 12lbs and he has 5 bottles a day at 6oz each time. DD started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks, no joke. DS started at about 8 weeks or so. They were sleeping from 11-7am and now it is getting earlier and earlier. They do not get up for a feed during the night and they have quit their top-up bottles at 10pm. It is just a matter of finding out their ideal bedtime!

 

I actually have the same bedtime routine as you, except I do their baths first including putting them in their pjs, and then we feed them. I find that if the boys go to bed with full tummies, they go down much better. When DS starts the screaming, you could try giving him a little pedialyte (unflavored) to see if that helps. The pedialyte can't hurt him it is just basically water with electrolytes in it. Maybe he worked off some of the "calories" between bottle and bath and his tummy feels a little less than full. Just a thought!