Here are the top five tips and tricks that make our bedtime routine with our baby and toddler so successful. No meltdowns. No surprises. Just peaceful, sleeping babies. Exactly what every supermom needs at the end of a long day!
DIAPER SOLUTIONS
Make sure you have a STASH of diapers your little ones need for night time. I use that term because we use different diapers at night than during the day. The simple change of moving to a different type for night time was the KEY difference in BOTH of my children sleeping through the night! I’m not kidding. No tricks or gimmicks. Size-Up for better sleep! Trust me.
WHITE NOISE MACHINE
White noise is the cure-all for many of our nighttime headaches. Our neighbor has five dogs that he allows to bark all day and night. That’s right- five. Needlesstosay you can hear them in our house and seeing as how that is a very big variable noise it helps to have some background noise to mute the crazies. We don’t use white noise machines that you buy at the store and instead prefer to multitask with air purifiers and cool mist humidifiers. We live in the desert and our little ones desperately need a little more humidity in their rooms, especially when the AC runs 24/7. Please make sure you check that the “white noise machines” are far enough away from their beds so that the noise level is not damaging to their ears-check with your doctor if you have concerns with noise level.
BLACK OUT CURTAINS
Both The Toddler and Em have three layers of protection- blackout curtain, blinds, and then curtains. The toddler has three windows in his room so the small windows with white wood blinds have double layers on the outside. We live in the desert with more than 330(+) days of sunshine. Fabulous as that may be, when summer rolls around with the sun setting later or if your little one has a hard time settling down for nap then this may be the lifesaver you were looking for!
BATH TIME
Bath time is essential! We love the calming effect, the warm water, and our two little ones gently playing together after a fun-loving day. To be honest even if the day was not exactly perfect, bath time is one of the things they both look forward to as part of our nightly routine. Being able to slow down and just sit with them instead of doing the hundred other things on my to-do list is one of the highlights of my day! They both get a bath every.single.night. Unless one or both are sick and then they get a steam shower to help with congestion and colds.
STORY TIME
Story time is a beloved part of our bedtime routine. Both little ones are freshly scrubbed and in new pajamas. We sit in the reading nook that I created for The Toddler in his room and he picks out book after book. We read through his collection-some nights are longer than others depending on how they are both doing and they both willingly settle down for the night in their crib and big boy bed. I rock Sweet Em to sleep at night in a rocking chair-I will take all of the cuddles I can get. While The Toddler just tucks in his lovies and drifts right on off. Blissful end to another sweet day with our family.
