# night time routine for a newborn



## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

I would love to start a bedtime routine with Ella (bath or massage, book, boob), but i have no idea when a good age is to start. She's only 2.5 weeks so I know it's probably way too early, but I'd like to know when I can look forward to a bedtime routine (I'm a dork and loved mine as a kid).


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## Mirichka (Jun 21, 2008)

Noam is six weeks old and I would love to hear the suggestions out there for a nighttime routine with new born too.


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## Calm (Sep 17, 2004)

No expert here, but I would think whenever you like is a good time to start







. Sometimes routine just manifests itself and sometimes mamas make one up but at all ages of a baby's life they seem to really dig knowing what is coming next in their life - they have such little control of it after all. Well, _think_ they do (when in reality they are the dictators of the house, eh).

I have also witnessed and experienced that a routine totally cures colic. Dunno how, but I keep seeing it over and over.


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## annekka (Nov 19, 2001)

I think 2.5 weeks is a great time to start a bedtime routine! We've got a pretty good one going, not a schedule just a general pattern that helps her settle down. Around 8:30 or so we go in the bedroom and do a nice baby massage. She tends to be a little hyper around this time so that helps her settle down. After that I let her lay on the bed while I get DS in bed, or sometimes DS stays in our bed and we watch a show or read. Around 9:30 she starts to get fussy, that's when I know she's ready for sleep. So then I nurse her, swaddle her, give her the paci, and put her in the cradle by the bed. She's almost always asleep by 10pm, though she sometimes kicks a lot and works the paci pretty hard before she drifts off.

I don't stick strictly to those times though, I go based on her behavior and sort of the "family mood". We have more or less fallen into a rhythm but a lot of things can throw it off so I always try to stay flexible. The routine is based on her behavior which is SO different than DS as a baby -- she WILL NOT fall asleep at the breast and seems to appreciate the cradle (DS always fell asleep nursing and was strictly a family bed kid). So I changed a lot of my expectations with her, and came up with a routine that works for her.

Hope you're enjoying your newborn as much as I am -- I forgot how much I missed having a tiny one around


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## crunchymamatobe (Jul 8, 2004)

We moved into a more 'formal' bedtime routine when our son was about 6 or so months old. We would have a bath or just wash his face and hands, change into PJs, read a couple of short books, then nurse to sleep.

He's two now, and our routine is pretty much the same except we nurse and then read - around 15 months we found avoiding nursing to sleep helped us get more sleep through the night!


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

Lina's "routine" nurse in bed for 30minute or so at 8:30, then out of bed to watch the Daily Show, then down for the night.


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