Bedtime routine for 13 month old

[Chloevalentine]

We are still doing a bedtime bottle and then right into crib but prior to that we usually have some free play time to get rid of any excess energy lol then bath pjs bottle and bed. He usually goes in still awake although sometimes he will fall asleep in my arms if he's exhausted. My issue is he ajways gets upset and cries after bath while I get his pjs on and while he waits for the bottle. I just wish I knew why. I'm also going to try to drop the bottle soon and offer milk in cup which I'm not sure how well that will go over. Reading books at any point during the day is tough as he's on the go and has no interest in reading.

[HenaV]

Hi!

What does your day look like in EAS format?

Hena

[Chloevalentine]

Awake 730
Sippy cup milk then breakfast
12 lunch
1230-2/230 1.5-2 hr nap
Snack 3-330
Dinner 5-530
7 bath pjs bottle bed
Asleep by 730-8

We just started the one nap a week or two ago and he typically does a 12-12.5 hr day

[Chloevalentine]

Any suggestions on new bedtime routines?

[HenaV]

Hey,

Sorry been off the radar. Kind if a crazy week already and it's only Tuesday!

Anyway, I think your routine looks good tbh. How long is he in the bath for? I only ask because at this age, my LO could only manage 15mins  max and she was shattered - it maybe he's just really tired when he gets out of the bath and hence cries?

What do you think?

H

[creations]

he ajways gets upset and cries after bath while I get his pjs on and while he waits for the bottle.

When mine was like this it was because he was super tired. It wasn't so much the bottle he was desperate for but rather bed and he knew the routine so tried to hurry it all along. Mine was a bit younger when this happened so I shifted bath 15 mins earlier and made bat time shorter, the fussing and crying disappeared and we continue the routine as normal. However as your LO is 13 months and you are already thinking of dropping the BT bottle I would be more inclined to either move the bottle to pre-bath so teeth are brushed after the bottle (and if he is fussing from hunger it solves the problem - at 13 months I don’t think having the bottle 30 mins or so earlier is going to make him wake with hunger in the night) or head towards dropping it completely and offering milk at a different time of day.
I dropped the BT bottle at 12 months when I realised I needed to change our BT routine to shift teeth brushing to after milk instead of before and felt if I was going to change the routine I might as well drop the bottle so introduced a sippy milk with solid snack (supper) after dinner and before bath time and weaned the BT milk. Painless, tear free, no upset to BT at all, I was surprised just how easy it was.

[Chloevalentine]

I don't think he's ot but it's possible. He's doing a 12 hour day sometimes with a 2 hr nap somedays he wakes at 1 hr crying ( must be teeth) but he seems to handle the 5 hours A time befire bed ok. He's always cried at bedtime never could figure out why. I don't think he really wabts the bottle either I think you are riht where he's just pushing it along so he can go to bed.  I'm just worried that he will only take a few sips from the cup which is what he does now in morning. I can get him to take a few more oz during the day but not much so I'm afraid to drop bottle at night as of yet and as far as bottle before bath I'm afraid he'll be confused and then when I go to put him in bath he might get upset thinking it's time for bed. So msybe in time I'll just chabge bottle to cup and offer befire bath and then right to bed. I'm just hoping he wil go right to bed after bath and pjs he might look for the bottle and cuddle time in chair.

[Chloevalentine]

For the passed few days he's waking from his nap at 1 hour when he was doing 2 hrs normally. Last night I put him to bed 30 mins eaelier because of the short nsp but he dudbt tack on when should I put him to bed tonight ? We had such a good routine going! Darn

[creations]

I don't think he'd need to be OT as such to fuss after his bath, just wanting to get to bed. it could just be 10 or 15 mins earlier would help (although if his nap has now gone from 2hrs to 1 hr I would look at moving BT about 45-60 mins earlier). I think this is also an age when Tracy suggested baths before BT were too stimulating and moving bath to a different time of day would be preferable (would need to check in the books but from memory) although I think most people stick with the evening bath.

WRT moving or dropping the BT milk and changing the routine I've just posted here
22 month old having bottle before bed how to switch round to a beaker and story?
with how I moved the BT bottle to a sippy of milk before bath and teeth. You might find it helpful in deciding what you want to do (it doesn't involve reading stories at BT which I see your LO isn't interested in just yet).

[Chloevalentine]

He's not very interested in morning milk in cup. Today he only drank 2 oz ! I do get him to drink some during the day though so I'm not worried. So if he wakes at 7:30 has breakfast around 8 lunch around 12 a snack around 3-3:30 and dinner at 5 when would I give him drink of milk if not after bath? As of now we give him bath around 7 then pjs and bottle and right into bed (12 hr day). Would I give him cup of milk at 7 then bath after and then right to bed after bath and pjs?  Would I just be offering him a cup of milk while he's sitting with me in chair? I don't think he would sit still to drink it and he might think bed is next but instead I put him into bath. Just not sure how that will play out. I just feel bad that he gets so upset after bath while getting pjs on. I'm also wondering why all of a sudden he's waking at 1 hr instead of 2 hr nap. Is there anythung I can do? I was just doing nap at 1230 for a while but then he started to wake later then earlier in morning so I would change nap time accordingly but still getting the shorter nap. So if he wakes at 7 and only takes an hour nap I should put him to bed at 6-615?! He won't tack on sleep though so he will wake at 6 the next morning which isn't good.

[creations]

If he doesn't tack on I'd leave his BT at 7.30pm and assume he doesn't need the longer nap. Mine was never able to extend night sleep in the morning hours but could with an EBT, maybe yours will be the other way around and add wake a little later.

With dinner at 5.00 I would do a solid snack (small one) and milk drink at about 6.30pm, I called it supper and DS didn't blink an eye at it's sudden introduction. Sometimes if dinner was a little late or we were eating for longer and if he needed an EBT supper came directly after dinner which sounds crazy but he still took it, a bit of solids and a bit of milk. We did it downstairs at the dinner table as it wasn't cuddle time. Then up for teeth, bath, pjs, cuddle, then bed. He doesn't *have to* have a supper, it's just offering it, the point is weaning the BT bottle of milk and creating a new routine isn't it?

[Chloevalentine]

Being that it's hard to keep him sitting still lol and he eats a good big dinner I'm going to first just try switching his bottle to cup in his room while he sits with me and see how it goes. If he only takes a few oz instead if his 7-9 oz bottle then I'll just have to try to increase milk intake during the day. And hope that he doesn't wake up early because he's hungry !

[creations]

I really can't imagine a 13 month old waking from hunger unless there was an illness.  I see on your other thread you said he isn't that interested in the milk bottle at BT so maybe just drop it and offer water instead? It's totally up to you though, do what you feel comfortable with x
Sorry can't remember if you said he liked cheese, yogurt, milky sauces/puddings, these all count as part of his milk/dairy intake over the day.