What was your evening/bedtime routine tonight?

After months of a pretty good night time routine, we seem to be in transition...but to what I do not know!

My ideal would be dinner at 6, reading stories at 7, bed by 7:30 but we seem to be way off of that.

I set the timer after dinner to give them some play time before changing into pajamas and I let them jump on the bed for 10 seconds (I count it out) and then ask them to settle into their chairs for stories. Evenings keep getting later and later. Not much interest in stories, a lot of wandering around the room, and so on.

Wondering what others are doing and what I might learn from you!

Thanks in advance.

Sotto

 

Ours was a bit different tonight, but it worked out anyway. Abby took a bath while dinner was being made. Ate about 5:45. Gabe took a bath after dinner (around 6:20). He was out with pj's on and playing his leapster by 6:45. Around 7:15 we did teeth (I try to count down - you have 5 mins, 3 mins. 1 min.), book at 7:20 and to bed around 7:30.

Most nights we have dinner around 5 or 5:30 and baths after that (although they only bathe every other night), start teeth and pj's at 7:00 and then read and in bed. We're usually in bed by 7:30. Then we turn our attention to the older one and getting her ready for bed.

 

Hmmmm. . .we're right behind you. . .

Currently I get home from work at 5, eat dinner, then change them for bed at 6. They hang out in their pajamas, watch Dora and drink their milk before bed at 7 (on bath nights, everything gets moved back 1/2 hour). But it seems that as the summer wanes, the time they want to go to bed is getting later. As opposed to the time that I mandate they go to bed, which is 7-7:30. So my two star children have actually been crying at bedtime. (And yes, this is rare. . .usually I say, "bedtime" or "naptime" and they go running to their cribs, I put them in the cribs, they grab their binky and blanky and curl up, I turn on the noise machine and turn off the light, and 999% of the time, no peep from either of them.) I'm not ready for them to stay up another hour or longer!! Momma needs her down time. . .


ETfix some stuff with a prodigal post.

 

Mine will need to get up at 7:45 or 8am for preschool, so I'm fine with them going to bed at 8:30 or 9pm, since they're still napping well in the afternoons.

So, it's dinner at 6:30-ish, then playtime/books. I put my older DD in the shower, read her a chapter or let her read for awhile, etc. -- she has lights out at 8pm sharp.

After she's down, K&K get a drinkable yogurt and vitamins, then we do teeth, baths, PJ's, etc.

We're kind of in transition right now with this new schedule -- I'm used to staying up much later myself, but can't do that anymore as I have to be up and dressed before Nadia wakes up at 6:30am for school. :unsure:

 

What if you took a walk in the neighborhood or played outside for an hour or 1/2 hr. at 5:30 or 6:00? The fresh evening air does WONDERS for calming them down and wearing them out!! :hug:

 

hah you don't live in Florida do you.

It's in the 90's until the sun goes down. Too hot, too muggy, too many mosquitos.

 

I smiled when I saw your post because this time of year is miserable here...but we still go out. The bugs are bad and it is hot and muggy. We use a lot of DEET.

It isn't a bad suggestion to go out at night tho. Our two love to go out. I might take a walk tonight after an early dinner. See if it helps!

 

Ours go to bed at 7:30-7:45pm. We eat dinner every night around 5:30. Then they play until bedtime. If it is bath night (every other night) they get a bath at 6:45 and then in PJ's and snack after. About 7:20, we go up and brush teeth, read a book, go potty, and then go to bed. I need them in bed then so I can get my oldest DD in bed at 8:30 pm. :good:

 

Hmmm.. My two are 2 yrs 6 months so right in front of yours, and we have a 13 month old.

Our routine is not very 'routine'! LOL But I guess it's the same every night.... We pick them up from daycare at 5, home by 5:30ish (depending if we're late or have an errand to run) When we get home we ALWAYS have to go through the routine of letting them get out of the car by themselves (an SUV that they must JUMP from) after they've roamed around the car for a good few minutes. Getting into the house can take about 10-15 minutes after we've parked.

Dinner's usually right after we get inside. I actually use their 'play' time to get dinner ready. Dinner's done most nights by about 6:15-6:30. Every other night they take a bath, so after dinner it's immediately to bath, brush their teeth, PJ's and then some play time with mommy and Daddy on the floor. About 7 the baby starts getting fussy so one of us will put him down while the other goes in and reads bedtime stories, then plays waiter getting everything from their forgotten baby doll to a sippy, you name it. Or if they have to go pee ONE MORE TIME... LOL

Then we push play on their nighttime CD, round of kisses (AGAIN) shut the door and they're off to dreamy land, usually around 7:30 these days. They used to be 7 sharp, but lately it's been 7:30, but not any later then 7:45 (the last month I'd say has been this way)

On days we don't give baths, we usually will let them watch a little bit of Dora or something while we're playing in the play room.

 

We are in transition right now too since we just took Ally's pacifier last Thursday and she's having a rough go of the self-soothing thing and settling down to sleep. but here's what we're doing

dinner 6 pm, followed by a trip to the park down the street (that's when the weather's a bit more bearable here). Come home at 7 pm straight into the shower, pj's, and milk while watching caillou. Brush teeth, potty, and stories in Bear's bed--each pick 1 board book, I pick one "real" book. 8 pm: Prayers, lights out. In the last week sit silently in a chair in their room while Ally begs for attention by saying she needs to pee, poop, she needs her blanket, she needs me to wipe her nose, pat her back, etc, till she finally settles about half an hour later...she was much less intense about it today, though no tears, just whining. hopefully in 2 days i'll be able to leave the room again...

 

Our routine is.....

Dinner around 6pm
Baths at 7pm
Watch a Little Einstein and Drink milk after bath...usually it's 7:30ish
When movie's over (it's only 30 minutes) we brush teeth, read bedtime story and lights out.

 

We get home around 5:30, they play inside or outside (during this time I'm getting baby ready for her nighttime routine).

Dinner for them around 6:30, and bath around 7:00.

On weekdays, we then do teeth, lotion,jammies, and sometimes they sit for a story, so they are in bed usually around 7:30-7:40.

On weekends we are little more lax (as in I'm not running around like a maniac making sure bedtime is exact), we let them do teeth, lotion, jammies, and 15 minutes of Spongebob...so bedtime is closer to 7:45-8:00.

 

Our bedtime went from 5:30 dinner, 6:15 bath, 6:45 play, 7:15 picking them up, saying I love you and throwing them into bed where they would curl up and go to sleep without a fuss to.....

The same timing for dinner, bath, play and going into the bathroom.
Then they both climb into the same crib and give each other huggies,
Then I go out and get them a glass of water while they jump up and down in their cribs laughing hysterically
I continue the water getting until I say "last time" or until they don't want any more.
Then I pick one up and go into another room to get him a kleenex (don't ask!)
Come back into the room and sing him the Teddy Bear's Picnic and Somewhere over the rainbow.
Then he goes over to the books and pick 2 books to sleep with in his crib
Then I give hugs and 3 squeezie hugs.
Then I lie him down and put a blanket over him.

Then I repeat for the second one.
By then the first one has kicked off his blanket and I put it back on him.
Repeat for the second one.
Then I do it again for the first one and say "this is the last time I'm doing this"
Then I repeat for the second one.
Then I walk out saying good night, I love you etc. to their cries of "BLANKET!!!"

At which point I wonder, how the heck did this happen? It takes about 20 minutes all told but the elaborateness and preciseness is ridiculous!

 

:rofl: I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you since our bedtime routine has grown over the last few months too. Toddlers are so silly!!!