Bedtime Routines have been one of the hardest challenge as a girl mom! Each of our girls require a different bedtime routine to get them tucked into bed at night and feeling safe and secure! Today, I'm going to share with you what has been working for my girls, and I hope you'll share what's been successful in your house too!
It's all apart of "Being a Girl Mom", and honestly, just a mom in general!
You can check out my other "girl mom" posts here.
I have used the Babywise method with all three girls when they were babies! I honestly feel that establishing the cycle of eat, wake, sleep has made my girls great sleepers! Now that I say that, you'll question me once I cover Megan's bedtime routine, but honestly, my babies have been great sleepers once we have been consistent with baby wise.
With Gretchen, we were very consistent with baby wise from day one. With Megan, we were a little more relaxed and followed the routine, but didn't let her cry it out (CIO) until she was 4 months old. Again, with Adalyn, I was even more relaxed, and she didn't CIO until she was 6 months old. Once we established a good day time routine, and then an even better night time routine, I could lay down the girls and they would fall right to sleep.
I could write multiple blog posts on baby wise, and how it worked for our family, but I won't.
The one thing that I will say is that everyone is shocked that our girls fall asleep so easily when it's their nap time and bed time. We literally lay them down, and they're out.
Typically, I rock Addy Pearl through one song, say her prayers, and lay her down with her ballerina doll, and she sleeps all night.
Megan Claire is a different story. As a baby, she did great. She consistently fell asleep in her bed without much of a routine. Now that she's in a big girl bed and enjoys testing our limits, her bedtime routine is the most difficult.
We started cutting back on her nap time, and that helped some, but it still isn't perfect. Most nights, she falls asleep on the floor in the hall way. And, I let her. DJ and I have really learned to pick our battles, and if she wants to fall asleep in the hall, then whatever. She won't do this forever.
She also crawls in bed with us most nights. It has gotten SO MUCH BETTER, and she's down to just a few nights a week. At least once a week, she wants one of us to sleep with her.
However, we finally have established a bedtime routine that is getting her into a better routine and makes her feel safe and comforted, which our little honey pie's need when going to bed!
Here's what has worked for Megan:
We may or may not read a book. It just depends on the night.
We count to 10 as she gets in her bed and covers up.
We sing three to four songs: "I See the Moon, ABC's, and Jesus Loves Me". She has been asking more and more for "Wheels on the Bus" and we sing three verses- the wheels, doors, and horn.
Then, Megan will name who God loves.
Finally, we say her prayers.
We make sure that she has a cup of water, and she often gets up to go the restroom after we tuck her in.
She insists that DJ and I tuck her in. If one of us is tucking in another child, she won't go to sleep until the other one comes to tuck her in.
On nights where she is really tired, she stays in her bed. Other nights, she falls asleep on the floor. We carry her back to bed when we go to bed, and it works for us. It's not the best, but it's not forever.
Gretchen, being our first child, had a consistent bedtime routine from the beginning. Once we get her in the bed, it's one book and then prayers. The end.
Now that she's older, she may or may not get a bedtime book. I really do try to read a book to her, but with two younger sisters, it's hard to always get a book in.
We've been reading Charlotte's Web, and we just finished it last week. We also read Stuart Little this school year, and we would read one a chapter a night.
After her book, we say a prayer. It's either "Now I Lay Me", The Lord's Prayer, or, "Prayer's From the Heart", which is just us saying regular prayers.
We tuck her in the same time as we tuck in her little sisters. She's 6 years old, but during the school year, her bedtime has still been 7:30. Now that it's summer, her bed time is either 8 or 8:30, depending on how tired she's acting. She typically plays in her bed or reads until she falls asleep.
I know that we probably put her to bed too early, but she also wakes up early, and DJ and I need some wind down time of our own in the evenings.
Okay, so now that you now how we put our honey pie's to bed- what works for you? Are each of your kids different with their bedtime routines?
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