Thursday, March 21, 2013

Bedtime plans

At Josiah's two week check up, the pediatrician told us to start a bedtime routine before he was 2 months old. She recommended a routine that doesn't necessarily require me, so that when I go back to work he can still go to bed. I spent some time researching bedtime routines and when to start them. What I have decided so far is to keep it simple. I want to start around 8 weeks old, around the same time we try to transition him to sleeping in his room. For now, we are supposed to watch for sleep patterns, and try to determine when his period of longest sleep is. When we find it, we start the routine 30-45 minutes before the long sleep, at the same time each day. I am also watching for what makes him sleep well with the least amount of fussing. We should experiment with the last meal before bed; can he be fed with either a bottle or breast, or does the method of delivery also need to be the same each time? In my mind, I picture changing him to pajamas, reading a Bible story, praying for him, giving him a bottle, and singing and rocking to sleep in the nursery.
This should be interesting to start. Right now, Bryan and I watch TV until I am sleepy. Maybe we still will, just after Josiah's bed time.







1 comment:

  1. I'm interested to hear what works for you. Jason and I were talking about bedtime routines the other day as we were watching a friend struggle with the nearly 2 year old. (They have a good routine, I think the struggle was more related to a late nap and mom being sick so he didn't get to say goodnight to her.)

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