A Bedtime Routine That Will Help Your Baby Sleep Through The Night
Why Your Baby Needs a Bedtime Routine
Doing the same set of activities before bed creates a signal to the brain and body that it’s time to prepare for sleep. It jumpstarts the hormone cascade necessary for sleep and helps them relax.
What Age To Start a Bedtime Routine
The earlier you start a routine with your baby, and the more consistent you are, the more effective it will be. It sets their internal clock, knowns as the circadian rhythm, and helps them get into deep, restorative sleep states needed for optimal development. But no matter your baby’s age, it’s never too late to begin.
How Long Should a Baby’s Bedtime Routine Be?
The length depends on the baby’s age and your schedule. A couple things to consider:
Consistency is more important than a long routine you can’t stick to.
Start with a short routine that grows with them. 20-45 minutes is a good length.
After the routine is well-established, you can shorten it when necessary.
What Does a Perfect Bedtime Routine Consist Of?
The goal is to wind down and start producing sleep hormones, so the activities should be less stimulating. As they get older, you can add more playful steps if you want.
Choose activities you can commit to doing most nights. Some bedtime activities to choose from can include:
Nursing, bath, lotion and massage, stretching, brush teeth, brush hair, diaper and diaper cream, pajamas, bedtime book, lullaby, swaddle or sleep sack, etc.
Reading and singing to your baby is a great way to expose them to language, sentence structures, and speech rhythms. Reading also stimulates visual processing centers in the brain. Consider reading and/or singing to your baby every night at bedtime.
What Order Should Your Baby’s Bedtime Routine Be?
Once again, consistency is more important than the order. If your baby struggles to sleep without nursing or a bottle, or nurses frequently throughout the night to the point that it’s depleting you, you may want to nurse at the beginning of the routine. Other than that, you can be fairly flexible with which steps come first.
Who Should Do the Bedtime Routine?
I know that in some families, only one parent does bedtime, but if you have a spouse or partner that is home and available during bedtime, both of you should be involved whenever you can. This helps promote bonding and feelings of security for your baby. It also helps to prevent bedtime burnout for one partner, which can lead to resentment.
Baby Bedtime Routine Examples
Below are some examples of wind down routines you can do at bedtime with your baby.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Getting Baby to Sleep after Bedtime Routine
This step depends on you and your baby. There’s nothing wrong with supporting your baby to sleep with nursing, bouncing, rocking, etc., as long as it’s sustainable for you and isn’t causing sleep troubles throughout the night.
If your baby struggles with frequent night wakes, it may be time to teach them to fall asleep in their own sleep space. I don’t ever recommend cry it out methods or withholding night feeds or comfort. There are responsive ways to teach independent sleep skills that suit different ages, temperaments, parenting styles, and family sleep goals. Not sure where to start? I can help! Check out my custom sleep packages.
Summary
Babies thrive on consistency, especially at bedtimes. This encourages healthy sleep skills they’ll need the rest of their life.
Start with a short routine at around 2 months. You can always add more steps to the routine as they grow.
Bedtime routines should be around 20 to 45 minutes long.
Choose a set of activities in a specific order, and stick to them every night if possible. Once it’s well-established, you can condense the routine when needed.
If the sleep props you’re currently using to help your baby to sleep are not sustainable for you anymore, consider using a method that suits your family and your baby’s temperament to teach independent sleep skills.
