A few people have told me breastfed babies can’t get into a routine, but I disagree. Of course, any routine with a breastfed baby isn’t set in stone, but BB has definitely got a rough routine as to when he feeds and sleeps.
For example, he almost certainly has a feed around 6 am but always goes back to sleep afterwards.
He then feeds again around 9 and then needs a nap.
Throughout the day is more sporadic. He could go 3 hours between feeds, but it’s often more like 2 to 2 1/2. However today he fed much less than normal. Soft play is rather distracting to a 4 month old…
He doesn’t have any sort of daytime routine yet. No set times for naps. I can certainly tell when he’s tired though. However I am seeing similarities in when he falls asleep each day.
I’ve tried my hardest to get into some sort of bedtime routine so I can have a few hours to myself before I go to bed.
When he was a little younger he couldn’t go to bed before 8pm. If he did he always woke around that time for a feed.
As he’s got older and is engaging with things more; taking more in and moving more, I’ve been able to slowly bring his bedtime forward to around 7pm.
Like I said earlier, nothing is set in stone, but we do have a routine we follow, however the time will vary depending on how tired BB is.
Our Bedtime Routine
6-6:30pm – Daddy is in charge of bathtime. His new job means he gets home from work around 5pm. This allows him to spend time playing with Lamb, then he takes BB for his bath. If BB seems extra tired we will begin the bedtime routine at 5:45, but just take our time so he’s not in bed too early.
Last night, for example, we had an early bedtime. BB was pretty grizzly by 5:40pm so after Daddy and Lamb finished their shower, Daddy bathed baby and I got his PJs etc ready. We always use a bedtime bubble bath (one that’s lavender scented). Either Johnsons or Child’s Farm. At the moment we are using Little Angels Vapour Bath as we all seem to have picked up colds recently. Honestly you need to try this when the kids (or even you) have the lurg!
Lots of splashing around hopefully tires the little boy out some more…
Once Daddy has finished he will pass BB to me. I always use bedtime baby powder, not only to help dry his skin, but to also add the lavender scent. Scent can also be part of a routine.
On goes his nappy with a layer of Bepanthen to protect him from nappy rash. (FYI the new flip lid is sooooooo much easier to use than the screw top!)
If I take too long dressing him, BB gets rather agitated. He knows what’s coming and he hates waiting for it… milk!
The lights go out apart from the soft glow from our Gro Light. I switch on the white noise and we snuggle in bed while I feed him. My favourite time of day.
BB will almost definitely fall asleep on the boob. Once I feel he’s finished his feed I prop him up onto my shoulder and hope he does a little burp. Sometimes this wakes him up and he looks up at me and smiles. Those big blue eyes melt my heart every time he smiles at me, and all of a sudden the exhaustion and stress seem a million miles away.
Now that the weather is a little cooler we have added one more product to our bedtime routine. The Gro Bag. We have used a summer one a few times, but it’s now time to use the 2.5 tog. BB is then put into his sleepyhead which sits in his SnuxPod and he sleeps soundly (most of the time) until his next feed.
Which at the moment are every 2-3 hours during the night. Damn you 4 month sleep regression.
Routine Summary
- Bath with bedtime bubblebath.
- Dry with bedtime baby powder.
- Protect little bum with Bepanthen.
- Lights out. Gro Light on.
- White noise playing.
- Breastfeed.
- Burp.
- Gro Bag.
- Sleepyhead & SnuzPod.
- Lots of night feeds… *yawn*
Although a breastfed baby may not be able to feed at set times, they can certainly be put into a bedtime routine by repeating the same steps each night. BB is proof off that.
Like with any baby, there are many reasons why a routine could be broken. However, I’m confident that we are definitely in a bedtime routine and we are both happy with it.
As BB gets older we will adapt his routine to suit his age, for example, we will start reading a bedtime story to him with his brother. Which I’m really looking forward to. Family snuggles.
Do you have a bedtime routine?
~A~
*This post is an entry for #BepanthenBedtimeChallenge, sponsored by Bepanthen. Learn more at www.facebook.com/Bepanthen or www.bepanthen.co.uk
Alfie is breastfed and I wish we’d put him in a routine earlier! I’ll be coming to you for tips next time around! x
Good to hear about your routine. Commenting for myself and on behalf of BritMums and thanking you for taking part