I am a big believer in bedtime routines for babies and toddlers, and believe strongly that starting a bedtime routine with Isabelle from an early age has meant that bedtime has been pretty smooth sailing for us during the last 20 months. I have always thought that getting a little person into a bedtime routine let's them understand that soon it is time to go to sleep, and helps them wind down in order to fall asleep as best they can.That said, we've always been pretty flexible about the exact time Isabelle goes to bed. If she isn't tired, we don't force her to go to bed. However, Isabelle is a little creature of habit and gets tired at almost the exact same time every night, which makes life very easy for us! The times I've included below are pretty typical, however if she has had an afternoon nap they may be slightly later.
We started with her bedtime routine when she was just 3 weeks old. Of course, it is slightly different now as she is older, however a lot of things remain the same and I thought I'd share our routine with you today.
6.15pm
Iz has a bath every other night and we usually start this around 6.15pm. She adores her bath and would play in there for as long as we let her, but we usually spend no more than 20 minutes splashing before she is bodily removed. If she isn't having a bath, we usually play downstairs for a little while longer.
6.35pm
We get Isabelle dried and dressed in our bedroom, and brush her teeth while I comb all the tats out of her mane. Isabelle loves playing on our bed. She will either play bouncy bouncy, which is basically her standing up, then falling face first onto the bed, or we play hide and seek with the blankets. She would stay and play for ages, so we usually have to cut this time short! Sometimes, she will run round upstairs like a hooligan, looking in the mirror, taking money out of the drawers and generally having a last wind of madness.
6.50pm
We put Isabelle's babies to bed and say night night. Then Isabelle and I snuggle down in the rocking chair in her room and she has her bedtime milk, while we sing some songs. I like to have the room nice and dark for this so she knows that it's now almost bedtime, and she really begins to get sleepy. Once she has had enough milk either Simon or I pop her into bed and she is usually asleep in a few minutes.
We were lucky enough recently to be sent a Grolight Night Light to review, and I really wish that I had come across this product when Isabelle was first born. The Grolight Night Light is a really clever little fitting which attaches to your normal light, and allows your normal light to be used as a much dimmer night light instead. It has been absolutely perfect for this part of Isabelle's routine when I feed her in her room, providing just the right amount of light for me to see her, pop her into bed and tuck her in easily, but without being too bright and keeping her awake. I used to leave the door partially open to allow light in from the hall, but this means I can shut it over and not worry about the dogs banging round downstairs while she goes to sleep.
When Isabelle was tiny I used to change her nappy during the night in our bedroom and had to turn the en-suite light on and open the door just a small bit to get enough light to see, without waking everyone up too much. The Grolight Night Light would have been perfect for this, and I will definitely be using it for that purpose if we ever have more babies!
The light is so simple to use - Simon fitted it in less than 30 seconds by attaching it to our existing light fitting, and you simply then turn the light on at the switch and the night light is on. To get your normal light, you flick the switch again and your normal bulb lights up. So simple to use!
My only dislike about the light is that the night light provides a very 'white' type of light, as opposed to the more yellow light from a normal bulb which gives a slightly eerie glow to the room.
The Grolight Night Light is made by the same people who make the Grobag (which we own plenty of!), the Groegg (which we have used every day since Isabelle was born!) and the Groclock which I fully intend to buy when Isabelle is a bit bigger. The company have made such simple, yet wonderfully effective, products which just help make life easier for parents.
We're so lucky that Miss Isabelle knows her bedtime routine so well, and is always tired around the same time. The latest she would ever be asleep is around 7.30pm, which is great as it means Simon and I have the evening free to potter about together, and do the chores. Speaking of which..........
