Let’s talk about your child’s bedtime. Bedtime routines were invented to save a mom’s sanity! Not only do moms love them but kids love them as well. It gives them structure and they will always know what to expect at night. I unfortunately didn’t have a bedtime routine for Avery until she was about 11 months old but when I started one it was amazing! I used to have to nurse Avery for at least an hour before she would go to sleep and there were a lot of nights that my patience was tested. I then realized that something needed to change. She wasn’t calming down and didn’t have that routine that she needed. I researched a lot about different bedtime routines to do and then created my own based on what I found. Some moms are able to let their kids cry it out until they fall asleep and that’s great! I am not able to do that so I needed to find another way to get Avery to know it is bedtime and fall asleep at a reasonable time. Every kid is different so our bedtime routine might not work for your baby but you can for sure give it a try or make up your own. This is what Avery’s bed time routine looks like:

6:30pm – We have calm down time and play with toys together

7:00pm – Bath time (I don’t wash her with soap every night because she has sensitive skin but we always play with bath toys and splash around)

7:15pm – I put lotion on her, brush her hair, brush her teeth and get her jammies on

7:25pm – I read Avery books and Josh massages her legs (we do 7 books every night and then once a week I change the books up)

7:40pm – We pray together and then I nurse her

Then by 8:00 she’s asleep! At first I thought this was a really long bedtime routine but it works for us and Avery loves it! She knows exactly what comes next in her routine. After her bath she will run into her room and grab the lotion and hand it to me. This routine makes everyone a lot more pleasant, gives Avery stability and benefits her in the long run. I had no idea how important a bedtime routine was for kid’s but now that I do I want to help every mom get a good routine down for their child. It is never too late to start a bedtime routine that works for family and kiddo!