Bedtime... The time of day that I genuinely cannot wait for!
I know i'm not the only person who absolutely adores their sleep and who cannot function as a human being without it, well babies don't always agree with adult sleeping patterns so when Mia went from sleeping midnight - 7am to waking every 3 hours, I knew I had to do something.
After searching online for ways to help babies sleep through the night better I did learn a thing or two. I mainly learnt that while babies are going through mental development leaps (see Wonder Weeks, it is amazing!) their behaviour changes and this massively impacts their feeding routine, sleep pattern and their general moods.
I got quite desperate after almost 4 weeks of completely broken sleep. I have spoken to a number of other moms about broken sleep and they agree that it can actually feel worse than no sleep at all.
There was 1 specific day I just remember losing my mind at absolutely everything, things at home got incredibly overwhelming and I just felt like running a million miles away. Instead I sat and cried. It sounds so dramatic and like I completely over reacted but honestly unless you have been in my position then you wouldn't know that awful feeling.
I came across Johnsons 3 Step Bedtime Routine on their website and realised they actually have an app that you can use to track your little one's sleep and see what type of sleeper they are, what their problems areas are for sleep and how much sleep on average they are getting a day.
It also showed a 3 step routine (can be more than 3 of course, it is what suits you best!) you can customise the actions to your personal routine and set the time you want to do the task so the app can notify you when it is time. I LOVE THIS.
To start off with, all bedtime routines included a bath and strangely enough Mia hates baths and they really do not relax her at all so that was out of the question. I also was informed that Mia falling asleep on a feed was a bad thing and that I should change that with the help of the routine.
Our personal routine;
8pm - Feed
8.30pm - Change bum, Massage, Change into PJs
8.40pm - Storytime
8.45pm - quiet time (Mia has a thing that is tied to the side rail of her cot that plays soothing sounds and twinkles lights which distracts her, focuses her and then puts her to sleep)
Yes I do realise that our routine is 4 steps however the 4th is her by herself in her cot and she goes to sleep by herself too so I don't necessarily count that as a step. With this routine I am finding that Mia is only waking once in the night for a feed and that is an incredible improvement on her waking every 3 hours and being extremely fussy.
I am hoping if we continue with this routine and get her set in her ways then she will sleep through the night again very soon. Her waking for a feed is also linked to the mental development leap I mentioned earlier.
I hope you have a great day or night where ever you are.
Emm xx
Disclaimer: The image at the top is not my own, it is the property of Johnson's Bedtime Sleeper App
