Getting baby into a routine

There’s one in every group of mums that proudly states how their little one has slept through the night for months now and has good long  naps during the day. Meanwhile you’re stood there smiling and remarking how wonderful that is, yet inside cursing the sleep Gods’ cruelty. I’m the latter mum. Now to be fair to the Mini Grumpy Egyptian she did go through a bit of an upheaval when we moved countries – she was just three months old – and I’m sure some of my stress rubbed off on her, but I had rather hoped she would have settled by now. The fact that I’m writing this post on my phone in the middle of the night because she has woke up again would suggest she hasn’t.

For illustrative purposes, this is what I'm told a sleeping baby looks like

At first I wondered if it was the new cot, the different noises and smells, teething or if I was doing something wrong. Some told me the only way to deal with it was to let her cry it out… a method that even in my most sleep deprived state I haven’t been willing to do. Others suggested stuffing her with formula (she’s breastfed) before bed so she wouldn’t want to feed during the night. Basically most of what was suggested I wasn’t willing to embrace.

So I sat down and thought about her bedtime routine, The MGE has had a routine of sorts since birth as it helped me stay sane during her colic and cluster-feed strewn first months. We would put some relaxing music on, give her a bath with bubbles, attempt a massage (I never mastered this) and then after pjs I would read or sing (anyone who has heard me sing would claim this was the reason for her distress) to her before she would feed to sleep.

That would happen whatever time she looked tired, but now she is older we worked out it needs to start around 7pm otherwise the tears come. I still follow the same routine – Mozart for Babies  is currently our favourite  – and she drops off quickly, but isn’t so keen on being put down. A sleeping bag helped as she kept getting cold when her blankets fell off, but what next?

How do you get your little ones to sleep at night? I know some mums that don’t follow any routine and it seems to work for them at the moment, but I can’t help seeing trouble in the future. Don’t get me started on daytime naps! If I hold her or push the pram around the MGE will sleep for hours, put her in her cot and she glares at me like she wants to know what I’m playing at!

Any tips from my fellow mums? Please tell me there is hope or should I just take out shares in Yves Saint Laurent concealer?