Bedtime routine

[Maud]

Do people have a bedtime routine with their little ones?

Ours is 12 weeks old and we have established a sort of routine. We get her into her nightclothes between 7-8pm and feed her downstairs. I then get ready for bed, put nightlight and bedside lamps on and take her upstairs at about 9pm and give her her last feed of the day in our bed. She usually feeds to sleep and we can usually put her down in her crib between 10-10.30pm.

It seems really late for her to be going to bed and I'd like her to go to bed earlier, but she needs plenty of evening feeds to set her up for the night so she would likely wake up much earlier needing milk if we put her to bed earlier (assuming she would actually go to sleep of course). When do other people's babies go to bed?

Also, I'd like to introduce a story to her bedtime routine, but don't see how given she feeds to sleep as she doesn't like to be kept waiting for her milk. Does anyone manage a bath/book type routine with a breastfed baby?

 

[ScotchEgg]

We started bath, book, bed at around 12 weeks. We found he seemed really tired in the evening so thought we'd give it a go. We used to take him up at 7 and have him down by 8. He started to take bigger and bigger bedtime feeds as his body got used to it.

I would also feed when we went to bed and at that time he fed about 1 & 4 as well. I remember missing him the first few evenings then loving having our couple time back.

 

[Maud]

Thanks. When did you fit the bedtime feed into that routine?

 

[ScotchEgg]

Just before we put him down. It's always his last thing before bed