How To Get Your Newborn on a Sleep Schedule



I have been a stay at home mom for, going on 15 years now, and I think one of the most asked questions I have gotten is how to get your baby on a schedule, especially at night. Being a stay at home mom it does sometimes seem easier just to let your baby guide your sleep schedules and theirs but in the long run you are going to want to at least attempt to get them on a routine. 

At different ages the kids should be on different schedules so this is more geared towards newborns through about 6 months. 


6:30 pm 
This seems to be a good feeding time. It always went along with what time we normally ate dinner as a family so adding in a babies feeding just made sense. It does make it easier to keep a routine long term if you start early. Feeding a baby with the rest of the family will help them transition when they are older. 

6:45/7:00 pm 
After dinner bath has just been something I have always done. Usually after a little one eats they need a little cleaning. It also helps to soothe them and relax them for a good sleep. If you have older kids this is a good time for them to maybe do a quick clean up of any toys or stuff they may have left out. Or a good time to get things ready for school or the following day. It will give you a chance to spend time with your baby and allow them the ability to clean up after themselves. During bath I always used Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo. After bath I would rub them down with the Bedtime Lotion. It's been 15 years and I still have the kids use these products. 

7:30 pm 
After everything else is done it is off to bed. The kids when they were younger would go to bed at 7:30 pm. As they were older I did not expect them to fall asleep right away so they were allowed to read or watch a movie and then everything went off. When they were babies though I would take this time to rock or pat them to sleep. Some babies will lay in their cribs or bassinets and coo themselves to sleep but I always held mine until they were asleep and then move them.  

More than likely your little one will wake up a few times at night...just make sure to not fully engage them and end up waking them up. It does take time, and patience, and alot of being consistent to get them on a good routine but the one above is what has worked best for us. Once everyone is asleep or at least in their rooms I have time to do dishes or clean anything that needs to be cleaned before I get a little bit of a break. This is also the time I try to get caught up on anything, it is usually the most quiet. 

What is your bedtime routine? 

Comments

  1. Sounds like you have found some good strategies to help with the sleep routine! I will pass this along to my mommy friends!
    Karen | GlamKaren.com

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  2. Oh, my! That photo of the baby is awesome! Sleep schedules never worked for my daughter. She slept when she was tired. So, I made sure she was tired at noon and 8 pm. I was usually as exhausted as she!

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  3. This is great when it works. All babies are different. I am grateful the nurses at our birthing center got our twins on a schedule before we left the hospital. We just stuck with it. :)

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  4. My daughter was on a schedule really early. I loved it. Lol. I would recommend any new parent stick to a schedule for the baby. It really does last forever. My daughter still sleeps the same hours.

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  5. We always used J&J too. I love the lotion smell. When I put it on my daughter I also rub it on my hands.

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  6. This is something I was NEVER successful at! I was the most fretful momma when my kids were newborns. I think I disrupted their sleep and caused them to be terrible sleepers!

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  7. Seems like this would be quite the challenge for many. But you make is sound like you have it very under control.

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  8. We never really did sleep schedules when the boys were babies. I nursed so they woke up and ate a few times during the night and that was that. lol.

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  9. sleep schedules weren't for our family, but I can see where they'd have a place in other situations for mamas that aren't at home. Good information for those in need!

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  10. I think a routine is really important! We don't do a sleep schedule but we have a routine and it works great for us!

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  11. I no longer have a newborn but I never had a problem with my little one sleeping. It's now that she's older I have issues with her going to bed and staying in bed.

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  12. These are some great tips! I was lucky with my daughter and she switched to my sleep schedule the week she was born! Swear all my daughter did was sleep lol... The main reason I'm scared to ever have another one. I know I wold end up with the opposite lol

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  13. Establishing and then maintaining a schedule was a key part of helping my 4 kiddos to sleep through the night.

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  14. The perks of being a step-mom! By the time I got the boys, they were already sleeping through the night. Well, mostly!

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  15. Oh - sleepless nights! I forgot what it was like since my children are all older, and then I got a puppy! Crazy idea. The good thing is that this time does pass and sleep will eventually happen again. Great tips!

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  16. We usually do stories and then nursing, then sleep. My older two do their teeth brushing/flossing, then stories and then bed. My oldest is 8 and sometimes she likes to read later. They are usually in bed by 8pm, the littlest is asleep by 7:30 most nights.

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  17. A sleep schedule never worked for my daughter when she was an infant, but they do now since she's a toddler. Those sleepless nights are now a thing of the past for me! :)

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  18. Oh Lord...the memories...LOL Babies sometimes have no schedule whatsoever and we just have to deal with it

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