Mommy Mondays: Bed Time Routine

Bed time can be one 

of my favorite times of day,

or most dreaded.

It all depends on the day of course.

Most of the time I enjoy it.

If I am on my game and

paying attention to the clues 

the girls give me, I can help us

have a successful bed time routine. 

This means having dinner prepared in time

in order for the rest of the evening to go smoothly. 

This can really make or break whether or not

there are melt downs. 

For the most part, 

I never thought I'd get too caught up

in any kind of routine or schedule with my kids.

But if I've learned anything since being a parent,

it's everything I thought it wouldn't be.

Most kids largely depend and thrive on consistency and routine.

My girls thrive on consistency and not being rushed. 

My oldest needs time to transition.

She needs down time and she likes to know what is going to happen. 

She can adapt fairly well if she knows what the plan is going to be. 

The girls will eat their dinner together

 and we chat about the day.

What activities we did, 

what our favorite parts of the day were,

what we could change or do differently,

 and other fun things or highlights. 

Then we start talking about bed time. 

This is as simple as saying, 

"When we are finished dinner, 

we are going to clear our plates and head to my bed room to start the bath." 

There are a couple more reminders about what is to come. 

Then we hop into the tub. 

Often all three of us together. 

Claire's favorite part is to have 

everyone in the bathtub.

We will wash up and then play. 

After the bath there is 

typically a few tears from both girls. 

They both love bath time and are always sad, 

and a bit cold, when its over. 

I have them on my bed with towels

 and we dry off and lotion up. 

I usually sing a very silly song about this an attempt to cheer them up. 

It usually works. 

Next we move to their room downstairs

Where we begin getting ready for bed. 

This seems like it is early,

but each stage takes a while and is drawn out. 

Claire will dress herself while I dress Jane.

Then Jane plays while I

brush and braid Claire's unruly curls. 

Claire will brush her teeth, and then Spencer or I do it again. 

At this point Spencer is typically home 

from work and will read Claire her 3 stories. 

Jane and I say good night to Claire and leave the room. 

Claire gets 3 books before bed.

She is beginning to

Enjoy reading them to us now from memory. 

Sometimes we will

Have a little chat, then we pray.

We lay with her for about 5 minutes, 

often giving her "back scratchies." 

Jane and I will read a couple of books geared more toward her age. 

Her favourites right now are 

"Your Baby's first word will be Dad", by Jimmy Fallon 

and the Duck and Goose books.

We read these books in a dimly lit room,

with her white noise machine on.

Once we are done,

she will drink her warm bottle,

and then nurse.

While she is eating I sing her a song,

and end with her favourite song.

Its simply the "I love you" Barney song,

and I use her name. 

Once she is drowsy and sleepy, 

I lay her in her bed.

Along the way, as she is showing signs that she is tired

(yawning and pulling on her ear),

I say to her,

"It is almost time for bed Jane. Night night Jane."

We also point to her bed and say,

"This is your bed. Night night Jane."

Sometimes she will cry for a minute or two,

but then is able to fall asleep on her own. 

As a kid,

I have fond memories of bed time.

My mom always made it so special.

She had a knack for making

the most ordinary and mundane things

and making them sweet and memorable.

Some of my memories are being wrapped in a towel

and sitting on the heat vent in the floor to get warm. 

I can still remember the feeling of the warm air blowing up into my towel.

I also remember snacks like sliced bananas and milk.

What do you do for your kids' bed time routine?

Routine

Do you or your family thrive on routine?

I was once told that everyone has a routine,

even if you don't think you do.

Do you have an order or specific way

that you do things in the morning?

Or before bed?

Routine.

I also heard that babies/kids thrive on routine.

Pre-baby I would shudder at the thought. 

To me,

routine equaled structure.

And I like any kind of structure to be loose.

Oh, I don't mind a schedule or an agenda.

An order of meeting

or timeline.

But to me when I think of routine,

I think of structure,

inflexibility and I get all hot and sweaty and

claustrophobic feeling. 

The more structure,

the less room there is for good conversation

and purposefullness.

(I think I just made that last word up!)

My everyday as some routine.

When I wake up,

I take my medication and drink a glass of water.

I have breakfast and play with Claire,

brush my teeth.

Yes, I put my make up on in the same order almost every time.

Before bed I do the same things,

not necessarily in the same order.

All of that is pretty flexible.

With a baby,

I am learning about which

parts of our family's routine are flexible

and which parts are not.

As a baby,

more specifically an infant,

Claire didn't have a specific nap time or bed time.

She slept and ate whenever.

I never wanted to be tied down to a timeline,

so I chose to feed her on demand,

and let her sleep when she was tired.

As she grew,

so did our routine.

She napped around the same time in the morning,

and around the same time in the afternoon.

Going to bed within the same hour each night.

She began to eat on a regular basis, 

meals with snacks in between. 

However,

not that we have entered life 

with a toddler,

routine is much more important.

She really depends on routine.

Not necessarily which activities, 

but more so in the way things are done.

Bed time - routine.

Childcare at church - routine.

Meal times - routine.

Nap times - routine.

If things change, 

its difficult for her to adapt.

In all of that, 

I am learning to adapt.

Making sure I am home

in order for her to nap in her own crib at a certain time.

If she sleeps in her car seat or stroller

I realize its not a great quality sleep

and there will be melt downs later. 

What about you?!

Have you always thrived on routine?

Or changed from routine-oriented to not,

or vise versa,

over time?

Do you like the structure or routine,

or are you more like me where you like some flexibility?

And what happens if you fall out of your routine?