bedtime sleep places

So my LO's are almost 2 months and really have only sleep in their cribs a few times. We have managed one entire night and a few daytime naps.

They do not like being together, they wake each other up. So they are in their own crib when they do sleep there. I am just getting worried that I am creating a bad bedtime routine. We have been sleeping downstairs in the living room. Usually one sleeps in the swing and the other in the bouncy seat. Sometimes one will lay in the pack-n-play. They have had issues with some reflux so it's hard to lay them flat when they finish eating. During the day this is not that big of a deal but at night I really don't want to hold them up for 20 minutes after they finish! I think this is mainly why I don't want to put them in their cribs (because then they will have to lay flat).

Another concern I have is they don't have a set routine or bedtime. I am thinking they are still too young but just thought I would ask when you guys started this??

Help me with your advice...please!!!

 

We started a routine around 2ish months with baths, lotion, and pajamas before nursing to sleep. The routine got more detailed the older they got.

They slept in their bouncy seat and swing (not moving) for the first 5 months in the living room. I slept on the couch. At 5 months I attempted to transition them into their cribs and spent the entire night awake and trying to soothe them back to sleep. SO, I moved their bouncy seat and swing into their cribs - and they started sleeping in their seats, in their cribs. That lasted (I'm embarrassed to say) until they were 9 months old! At 9 months we transitioned them to sleeping in their cribs, flat on their backs - and it went surprisingly well!

I wouldn't worry too much about creating bad habits at 2 months. If it is working, keep it up! That was my philosophy, especially during the first year!!

 

I always WANTED to start and have a bedtime routine...but we don't have one. DH and I are just not scheduled people I guess. We fly by the seat of our pants! LOL! That said-the boys are fine with it. We tell them it's bedtime, get their pj's on, they brush their teeth when we remember..., and they may watch a show, and then upstairs to bed. But it's not set in stone...

Anyways...For the first few months-it's all about survival! DH and I slept in shifts for awhile. I slept from 8p-2a and he slept 2a-8a. One night he put them in their carseats to sleep...and they supposedly slept longer in them. There they slept for 4 months(mind you-they WERE sleeping in their crib prior to this..). At four months, I said enough-time for the crib-and they did FINE. They were still swaddled at that point. For their naps-they slept swaddled in their swings-until they were 6 months old. Then I said enough-in the cribs they went unswaddled as well. They were FINE.

You do what you have to to survive! Our newest addition does not like sleeping flat on her back. So she's in the carseat as well..or on the Boppy pillow. Or on me. Whatever works.

 

For the first two or three months, it's all about what works for you. My two napped downstairs in their bassinet for several months before they got moved to the crib. I think at a really young age they feel more secure in something smaller & more confined than the crib, so mine never slept well in there at first. It's all about survival at this point!

 

I don't think it would hurt anything to start a bedtime routine at 2 months old. But maybe right now you could end the bedtime routine with being put in the bouncy or swing - wherever it is that you want them to sleep for the night. I don't blame you for not wanting to have to hold them upright for 20 minutes in the middle of the night. I used to use my bouncy chairs and just brought them in my room and my girls are good sleepers w/no bad habits. I wouldn't worry about it right now at only 2 months old.

 

Emma slept in the swing, and Jake with me for the first 3 months. It was all about how we could maximize sleep at that point, since I was so exhausted! Around 3 months, I transitioned them to their cribs, elevated for reflux, and they did fine.

 

I agree with all of the previous posters... it's all about maximizing everyone's sleep at the 2 month mark. I wouldn't worry about creating bad habits at this point... my babies slept on a nursing pillow with me on a recliner for the first 8 weeks, so you're way ahead of where I was at that point. Then we went to swings for a couple of weeks and then we transitioned them to their cribs. Now they go to bed without a fuss between 7 and 7:30 each night and have been since about 5 months or so. As far as routines go, I think the earlier you start, the better. Good luck to you. I know it is so hard not to second guess yourself when it comes to being a mommy.

 

Agree with PP - my two slept on the nursing pillow on me with me sleeping basically sitting up on the couch for the first 3 months. By the end my back seriously hurt but I got WAY more sleep than I do even now at 7 1/2 months! Do whatever you have to do to survive those first few months because they are hard - whatever you can do to make them easier (and in my mind that equals get as much rest for everyone as possible) then do it!! At 3 months I started transitioning them to their cribs and DD slept in a swing for 3-4 weeks but by 4 months they were pretty much in their cribs for nights and swings for naps. By 5 months it was cribs for everything and they liked it that way best. It was a smooth transition. I just went slow - never did CIO - just comforted them when they needed it but kept putting them back in. I've been known to bring a baby into my bed if they just won't go to sleep because I am so darn tired and at least I get a little more sleep that way. I'm totally not strict about crib sleeping. I wish I was but I'm just not. Routines are wonderful but don't overdo if it's not you. I just did a simple bedtime routine starting around 6-8 weeks that included a nighttime lotion (lavender) and getting pajamas on. As they've gotten older we add baths every other night and sometimes books if they aren't too crabby and always a bedtime bottle (used to be nursing). We didn't really get an actual schedule going until 6 months and bedtime is anytime between 7:30-8:30 depending on their last nap. Go with your instincts and good luck! I've found that being flexible and not trying so hard to do what the books say or what everyone else is doing sometimes helps keep my sanity. Otherwise I feel like I'm a bad mom or can't do it. I'm figuring out that we're just doing it "our" way and everything will happen when we're ready.