What's your night routine?

MY DD is 4 months and up until the last couple of nights has been quite easy to settle to sleep at night. We have never really had a routine because she always settled so wasn't necessary. However, the past 3 nights she has put on a screaming match when put to bed, the past 2 nights I ended up rocking her to sleep in my arms. Tonight I was determined not to do that and after 1/2 hour of crying she gave up crying but is still not really settled (sleeps for 10 mins then wakes). So I'm looking for ideas for what our night routine could be. She is put to bed between 6.30 and 7.30pm and we do dream feed at 9.30pm. We are only bathing her every 2nd night and don't see the need to bath her every night so don't really want that to be the routine.

Thanks.

We don't have a day routine, only a night routine, which we've had from day one. At that age, our was:

between 5.30-6pm - bath (we did this every night, and to this day Nina knows that when we say 'it's time for a bath, that's it's bedtime soon, plus I live in Cairns, which is very hot)
between 6-6.30 - b/f / bottle, book, then bedtime

We have a Tomy night show thing, which we put on every night when we put her to bed, she watches the teddy bears go round and round on the ceiling for 5 min, then goes to sleep. She's always been good at self-settling. From 5 months, she started holding her own bottle, and we'd give her a bottle in bed, she'd drink it, then go to sleep on her own.
Hope that helps.

Well I was going to suggest the bath, but note you don't want that to be the routine. I use bath as part of routine most nights, but not all. But I always give a quick massage using creams or oils with relaxing qualities, and ever since doing that it seems to do the trick, although DS has always been pretty good at getting himself off to sleep.

The only other thing I do is wrap, and tuck his two teddies in to either side of his head in the hope that if his dummy falls out it wont get very far and he can suck it back in. Works most of the time.

Oh, and music. I play a few songs from the Putumayo Global Lullabies. Works a treat, and is also good because I find that if he is being really hard to settle, then putting that cd on signals that the game is over and I am serious and you will go to sleep damn it!! :)

I have never really had a routine like reading to him or anything, because it all seems to get him excited, not relaxed. So I just stick to the really calming stuff like massage and lullabies. And a big kiss.

Hi . I have just posted the exact same thread not too long ago. Here is a link for it.

What is your little one's night time routine? - BellyBelly Forums ~ Pregnancy, Birth & Baby

If it doesn't work (which is very possible knowing me and my computer abilities) just have a scroll back through and you'll find it.

Good luck.

Our night time routine for our DD who is 5 mths old is:
Bath or Shower everynight btw 6/6.30
Bottle 7pm
Bed btw 7.30-8pm (depends on how she has been during the day)
Dreamfeed 11pm

Sounds like a similar situation that my DD fell into however, she was a terrible daytime sleeper, so I think she became overtired at night time, as such we follow a 'routine' now during the day, which is like this:

7.15am up/change (DD wakes at this time every morning now)
7.30am - bottle
9.30am sleep until 11.30am (if she wakes before, I try to get her to go back to sleep and if she is calm or just talking to herself I leave her in bed until 11.30am. If she is crying I will get her up)
11.30am Bottle
1.30pm - sleep until 3.30pm (as above)
5.30pm - catnap

Then night time routine

hi my DS is only 11 wks but we do the same thing every night and he is great at getting off to sleep... at the moment LOL!!!!
we shower him (he likes that more than the bath) - very occasionally bath him
give him a quick massage (he is only starting to relax into it now... so it is getting a bitlonger)
i feed him one side in nappy
then put on his pjs and feed other side
little bit of rocking if he likes it
wrap and cot

this worked even all this week when we moved him from basinette to cot... and he is sleeping well.
i know you dont want to bathe her daily but it works for us.. you coud try adding masssage.

i also have a baby sleep cd playing from when the 1st feed starts.

good luck!

Even if you don't think she needs a bath everynight in terms of being dirty, a bath is really, really effective for relaxing them before bed so might be worth considering.
When DS started having settling issues around that age his routine was

5.00 bath
5.30-5.45 Dress and quiet time
6.00 Boob and bed