Aaira’s Bedtime Routine

This has been one of the most asked about Blog Posts since the time I shared that Aaira has been sleeping through the night most of the times (She is currently 3 months old & started sleeping at a stretch for 5-6 hours since she was 2 months old). Honestly, we didn’t do anything special to make her sleep through the night & have not started the sleep training yet, but we have definitely maintained a consistent Bedtime routine. Our timings are not always the same but she sort of recognizes her routine and we usually put her to sleep between 10:30pm-11:30pm. These timings currently work for us as she wakes up around 6:30-7am with this schedule, but once she starts sleeping longer, we might move the bedtime up to 9:30pm or so.

Most of the times she sleeps at a stretch for 6-7 hours and does not wake up for a feed during this time. Our Pediatrician said that it is okay for us to demand feed her at this point. I used to nurse her at night but now that she is sleeping longer, I have to get up and pump before she is up as I feel engorged. I do my last pumping session around Midnight to sleep as long as I can, but I can go maximum for 5 hours without nursing/pumping. I do wear nursing pads at night for the leaking.

Here is what her Bedtime routine looks like:

• Firstly, we let her finish her last nap at least 3 hours before bedtime. We keep her busy in her swing, read books to her, play music etc. to keep her engaged. This makes her a little tired before we start the bedtime routine.
• Her routine starts with a quick warm bath. Our pediatrician recommended that the water shouldn’t be hot and should just be warm enough as hot water can give her newborn rashes. We also use Baby organics body wash & shampoo, only once in a week.
• The bath is followed by a Baby Coconut Oil massage (She Loves this part the most). We also apply Aquaphor on her butt and around before we make her wear the diaper.
• I dress her up in zip-up outfits for the night as they make diaper change easier. The sleep ‘n play outfits are comfy as well.
• We give her the gas medication (consult your pediatrician on this) followed by the expressed milk via bottle before bed as we want to make sure that she is well fed before sleeping (Giving a bottle helps us to know exactly how much she has taken). She takes around 90-100ml at this time. We give her a quick burp break after 50-60 ml and also swaddle her in that break as she mostly falls asleep in the second phase of the feed and its easier for us to just put her in the bassinet right away.
• We use our uppababy bassinet at night and it gives her a cozy feeling as it has a hood. We have a hatch light for white noise by her bassinet & since the weather has been pretty cold here since she was born, a Humidifier is set up near her bassinet as well.
• Most of her day time naps are in the living room, so it is pretty bright and noisy during the day for her. A quiet bedroom atmosphere probably also contributes to her recognizing that its bedtime!

We plan to sleep train & transition her to the Nursery (and the crib) after she is 4 months old. We will kinda play it by the ear based on how she sleeps as she grows up. Each baby is different & this is what works for us. For all we know, this routine may not work for Aaira two months down the line, but we really hope it does 🙂

Find all the products we use for her Bedtime routine HERE

I hope this helps and as always, feel free to reach out to me here or on Instagram if you have any questions 🙂