Baby sleep routines...

(Sleepy Princess- our big second grader)

(Lil Man tuckered at the end of a long day)

Sleep (or lack of) is a big topic among mommas- at least on the blogs I like to read. I read that some parents are still battling getting a full night, while others never had many sleepless ones. Some parents swaddle- while others use sleep sacks. Some are very routine oriented- some do not believe it babies crying themselves to sleep.



I remember with Hailee- we would let her stay up until 11 with us. She slept in our bed until 13 months (gasp!!). When she was first born we would put her in the bassinet next to our bed and I was sure she was freezing in there- and within minutes she would find her way back into our bed snuggled up with us. I remember mom telling me that I needed to get her to bed earlier and in her crib. I did not work- so a routine did not really mean alot to me. Plus- I loved being with her and cuddling!



Eventually- we started a bedtime routine with her. She would be in bed at 7:30. I think we started that at about 13 months. Still to this day, she goes to bed on her own. Mind you- now that she is 8, her bedtime has moved to 8. But still, she heads upstairs and climbs into bed each night. I remember being on the phone with a friend from home and saying "goodnight Hais..." and my friend being astonished that there was no struggle... she goes to bed...



She was our first. It was SOO different this go around. Carter was in his crib at 1 week. He would have been earlier but he was up alot and it made sense for him and I to sleep in the living room downstairs cause I figured if I was up twelve times a night- I wanted tv! And living on the economy in Germany means you need an AFN decoder to get television and seeing that they cost $350 each- we only have one- and it is downstairs...



Carter heads to bed NLT 7 each night. He could easily get put down anytime after 6. He starts getting tuckered after 5. Sometimes I lay him down from 5-ish to 6-ish for a quick nap. Usually I keep him going and he just lays down for the night a little earlier than normal at 6:30. We get him a bottle and head upstairs. Change his diaper. Into bed he goes and not a peep. He is out within 5 minutes and never hassles being put in his crib. I know I am blessed- no doubt. He sleeps through the night most of the time. Lately he wakes up once or twice a week and I give him a bottle and he is back down. He is actually old enough now that I hand him a bottle and leave the room. I have found that if I take him out of his crib and feed him- he wakes up and wants to play. If I do not talk and just leave the bottle- he goes right back to sleep. He usually is up between 6:30 and 7 in the morning.



I am SOO not a momma that will stay home during the day cause lil man needs to nap. I figure if he is tired- he will fall asleep wherever we are:) But when we are home- our days pretty routine. He is up by 7. Then back down by 9-9:30. He sleeps for about 2 hours and is back up for lunch. After about 2 hrs of playing- he goes right back down between 1- 1:30.


Like I said- he pretty much goes with the flow though. Today we were at coffee from 8:30-11. So he hung in there- catnapped on the way home. Played while momma chatted with Ms Tina for an hr. Then went down for a nap from about noon-3.


We want one more. I do not judge anyone or their methods. We are beeee-yond blessed with our 2 kiddos and their awesomeness... the third one may be our hellion who changes up the game plan!