Bedtime Routine

A little over a month ago I was very tired of James not wanting to go to sleep until midnight or later, so I decided that we were going to try to establish a bedtime routine. So, at 6pm I would take him into the tub with me, give him a bath, and begin teaching him how to splash, kick, and float. Then, I would dress him in a sleeper and would nurse him in semi-darkness while listening to quiet music. After a couple of days, it began working well. James would go right to sleep after I finished nursing him and placed him in his crib. There was just one problem: he wouldn't stay asleep. Within 20 minutes, he would be wide awake and screaming. We would then revert to the frustrating, previous routine of alternating nursing, diaper changing, and begging him to sleep until he would finally go to bed around midnight (and he was always up again by 2 am).

After about a week of this, we went to visit my parents. We were running late and didn't get there until 8:30pm. So, rather than throw in the towel, I decided to attempt the new bedtime routine starting at 9pm instead of the previous 6pm start time. It worked like a charm! He was sound asleep by 10pm and stayed asleep for an unheard of 5 hours! Then after nursing for only 30 mins, he went right back to sleep and stayed asleep for another 3 hours! I was thrilled! So, the next night I decided to try the bedtime routine starting at 9pm again. It worked again! He stayed asleep for 4 hours, nursed for 30mins, and then slept for another 3 hours! This from my little nighttime terror who had never slept for more than 3 hours in one stretch! For the rest of the week that James and I were staying with my parents, we kept up the routine and he was asleep by 10pm and stayed asleep for 4-5 hours with additional sleep time after nursing.

When we got home there was a bit of an adjustment during which I realized that for him to stay asleep for that 4-5 hour stretch, we would have to use disposable diapers at night, which do not allow him to feel the moisture as easily as cloth. However, ever since I figured that out, he has been going to sleep easily between 10pm and 10:30pm every night! He'll even put himself to sleep if I put him down awake, but calm and full after 10pm! Most nights he stays asleep for at least 4 hours in the initial stretch, and recently he has begun to only nurse for about 15 minutes after waking before going soundly back to sleep for multiple hours.

Once he begins sleeping through the night, the plan is to start moving his bath up by 15 minutes a week until we get to my initial goal of 6pm. That way, Mike and I can actually spend some quiet time together in the evenings before bed. What a luxury!