How do you all do it?

Right now, We give Rachel a bath around 8:30pm, give her a sippy of soymilk and just hold her in the rocking chair for a little bit until she's drowsy... we try to put her down in the crib, but she wakes up repeatedly-- standing up in the crib for about 30 minutes before we actually get her to go to sleep.

Whenever she wakes up, I'll just go back in there, hug her while she's standing up, and then lay her back down, cover her up , rub her back a sec, and then walk back out...

For those of you that have successful "going to bed" routines, how do you do it???

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I think it all depends on the child. Some kids just don't like going to bed.

We haven't been 100% consistent with a time. We tend to watch her mood for clues that she is tired, so usually around 7:30-8pm the routine starts, but sometimes sooner if she's cranky. Lately she's been asleep by 8pm.

Georgia gets a bath every other night. (I stopped doing it every night after her ear tubes were put in because it's a fight to get the ear plugs in her ears.) So it's either bath/pj's or just a quick wash down and pj's, then a bottle and a cuddle on the couch with Daddy, then he puts her in bed, turns on her aquarium, and she settles right down and goes to sleep. Occasionally she'll sit up and play with her doll for a few minutes (less than 10), but she never fusses or fights it. She's a good sleeper. We're very lucky there.

Does Rachel cry when she's awake in the crib? If not, just let her be instead of going in there. Just a theory, but she might not be settling down because she expects you to come back in and is waiting for you to return. Do you have music in her crib? I know that the lullaby music of the aquarium really seems to help G settle down.

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She doesn't cry, per say... she stands up for a while, and if she doesn't see anyone coming, she makes a crying/whining sound until she hears you coming... then she just stands there again... its like she is just trying to make sure that you are still close by. I've been trying my hardest not to pick her up... I just go and lay her back down and leave...

We have music playing from the stereo in her room, but most nights its drowned out by the sound of her humidifier ...

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Good luck, Dee! It sounds like maybe she's willing to fall asleep on her own if she's not wailing for you. So, thats great! I just spilled my fail story on my "WOOT" thread. I'm no good at this sleep thing right now!

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We do bath (on bath night) jammies, bottle, then lay him down in his crib. Usually he is out, sometimes he will cry for a few minutes then fall asleep.

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The time varies but its always before 8. We give him a bath, then lotion/mini rub/jammies then he gets put into his sleep sack. Then we read his book and kiss him goodnight and in his crib he goes.

lately im having probs with him staying awake in there for 30m or longer at times. but i just let him be even if he is crying. I will check on him if he crys more than 10-15m to make sure he has not pooped because sometimes that is why he stays awake.

I would say honestly she has learned to keep herself awake bacause in her mind her routine looks like this:
bath
sippy
rock
put in crib and chill for a bit
mommy comes gives me loves
go to sleep

She is staying awake to wait for you to come into her room one last time. I wouldnt honestly just try a few nights of letting her alone and not going into her room at all. It may take her a bit but she will go down.

Good luck!

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Allie (25)
Seth (36)


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DS Zachariah Nathanyel 9-5-05 angel baby @ 23 weeks
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Greyson



July 6, 2007



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Miley gets a bottle betweeb 8-8:30 and normally falls asleep eating it while rocking with me... then I lay her in the crib and she is out. Although it needs to be really bright in her room for her to sleep.So we have a small lamp on her dresser

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bath jammies bottle and crib. He goes to sleep Fast. Except right now not much luck since he is learning to climb onto things he wants to be doing it instead of sleep.

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We have been very lucky since almost 12 weeks with our routine. Ava is very easy going when it comes to bed time. Some times we have the same routine but other nights it is totally off. Normally she eats dinner(has her cup of milk with dinner), bath, and then bed. All of this normally happens within 45 mins of eachother. We normally put her down by 7pm. But there are some nights when it is all off and she may not lay down until 8:30 and she gets no bath.

I would just stay constistant on whatever you do. I am a fan of CIO so I would also try that. I think Allie hit the nail on the head when she said that she thinks part of her routine is you coming in there. They are getting smarter.

Good Luck and let us know how it is going.

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I talked to DH about it... last night I changed it up a bit... dinner, play, bath, jammies, read bedtime story, sippy cup, hold for a few minutes and then put her down. She went to sleep easily...

She did wake up last night crying, but I think it was because I didn't turn the humidifier on (which acts as white noise), and when my husband was walking through the hallway talking loudly, she heard him... we let her cry for a few minutes, but when it appeared to be escalating, instead of decreasing, we went in there, kissed her, put her back down and she went to sleep without a fight.

So, I think I have found a solution that might work-- the reading the bedtime story acts as cuddle/down time... I just have to remember to turn the humidifier on every night, so she doesn't hear noise in other parts of the house!

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