how to start a bed time routine with a 6 week old

[mommytogabriel]

Hello Ladies,

I have a 6 week old that is actually doing great with the EASY routine already! However, once he gets up around 6ish it is IMPOSSIBLE to get him to realize its bedtime and go to sleep after his feed. ( We've tried the psst/shh etc...) and he will be awake until 10-11pm!

Typical day
e-8
a-8-9
s-9-915 to 11

e-11
a-11-1230
s-1230-2/3ish

e-2/3ish
a- for an hour
s- 4- to 6

after 6/7pm or so he will not settle down. We have tried the patting technique, rocking, bath time and limited activity etc.....

Any suggestions?

[jessmum46]

What time are you trying for bedtime at the moment? 

Typically we aim for around a 12h day at this age so that would mean an 8/8.30pm BT if you normally start the day at 8am.  That said, if LO was awake from 6pm to 8pm he would likely get quite OT and might struggle to settle.  Typically at this age LO will have three long naps and a catnap in the evening to get through to bedtime.  What you could try to see if it helps is to aim for something like:

WU & E 8am
A
S 9/9.15-11am

E 11am
A
S 12/12.15-2pm (I notice this A time is quite long for his age on your routine above so have just shortened it a touch)

E 2pm
A
S 3/3.15-5pm

E 5pm
A
S 6/6.15 for 30-45 mins (catnap)
(E - possible cluster feed)
A
E (top up before bed)

BT 8pm ish

In terms of establishing a BT routine this is a great age to start, it may not work 'magic' straight away but with time LO will come to know it and associate it with going to sleep.  At this age what we did was bath, pyjamas on, feed then into bed pretty much asleep.  Over the next few weeks I started to introduce a story read while LO was feeding, and would try to put her down drowsy rather than fully asleep.  Over time (months) that became feed, story, into bed awake and she would self-settle.  It worked great for us!