How ridiculous is your kids' bedtime routine?

Everything is pretty normal with pajamas and tooth care and stories... right up until the goodnight kisses...

They get 3 kisses counted out 1-2-3 and then "one of those" which is me kissing my finger and them kissing the same finger. Then, I must recite with each of them the following: "night-night pickle, night-night mew-mew, night-night fishstick, night-night dip-dip, night-night BYE-BYE!" (the last part must be louder than the rest and they practically shout it and I must hold their hand while we say it) Then, they let me get to the door before announcing that they have to go potty. They squeeze out a few drips and then I tell them that they must now go to sleep and I say goodnight to each of them by name from the doorway. That's usually the end of it but occasionally I get called for water or yet another potty run. <_<

How did this happen? I don't recall each silly step developing and this is an honor reserved for me and me alone. When DH puts them to bed, it takes just as long but there aren't any rituals. Last week, Trevor wanted to add "night-night night light" and I told him we'd have to swap it for one of the others because I couldn't remember that many. He opted to keep the current list.

So, fess up now... how many of you are plagued by rituals?

 

We have a ritual...

After the stories, they each get a kiss and a hug and the exchange is "I love you Mommy" "I Love you Brandon" "Forever and ever Mommy" "Forever and ever Brandon", then the same with H. And yes, when I reach the door, there is always a request for water, or a toy which would be too lonely all night if it wasn't in his or her bed. Then there is also the new 'Let's see what we can ask for and get away with' stuff which is funny. I'll switch the light off and hear "Mommyyyyy.... may I take my black car to school tomorrow pleasssssssssse?"

None of this happens with daddy btw... because he's so cool and whatever he does is perfect. :lol:

 

:lol:

I feel your pain! DH puts Ben to bed most nights, and I put Hannah to bed (their own rooms). The reason is because her ritual is so ridiculous that DH refuses to do it!!!

Sorry though, I just had to laugh at your description...

 

oh yes - they get stories and then we rock and sing rock a bye baby, ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle, then they hug and kiss me, then switch to hug and kiss daddy - then they climb into their cribs where they get "last ones" (2 more kisses and hugs) and then when we leave we have to tell them "good night princess, good night handsome man, good night rascal, good night buster"...

 

yeah, we have books, and then of course the "One more book!", then a big hug and kiss to each and turn off the light, then I sing to them, and then of course there is the "One more song" until i finally say, "No more songs", then it's "one last kiss", then i get say" good night girlies, i love you, have a good sleep", and go to the door and as i'm about to walk through it, one will say, "I need a big hug mommy" and then the other "Me too, i need a big hug too" so i go back and give hugs, then again go to leave and it's "I need a big kiss mommy" "I need a big kiss too" so i go give one more kiss. from the time they get into the cribs to the time i leave the room is about 35 minutes..

 

Due to sleep deprivation from two sick girls, we have a bedtime routine that drives me crazy. When DH does it, they do not continually ask for water, a hug, a back rub, another story..etc.

 

Ours aren't too bad because I cut them short but I love what we do. All three get baths (one right after the other usually unless we're REALLY short on time), teeth, books and songs together. Usually it's one book (whoever gets pjs on first gets to pick) and each gets to pick a song. Our last song is "dewey" because the last line is "OOOOHHHHH, do we love each other very much" with big wrestle hugs on the floor. Then Kayci runs to her room while get the boys in bed. Must turn on the fan, cover Aaron, hug his animals, hug, kiss, can't forget "extra" (one more hug then kiss) then it's Erick's turn...cover him, put elephant on his head, make sure he has the tag of the green blanket (not the sun one even though everything but the color/pattern is the same but he must have the sun one on the bed) then lights off and say "night night boys" and shut the door. Then Kayci must turn off her own light while I turn on the fan, into bed cover up, hug lambie and jazzy, hug Kayci, kiss, rub noses, butterfly kiss both eyes (her left first or it's wrong!) and then "night night sweetie" and shut the door. From after baths to Kayci's light out is 30 min at most. I love my kiddos :wub:

 

Count me in. It used to be shorter but somehow, my husband has allowed it to grow. So...bath, teeth, stickers, books. Let's start with books, my daughter will pick a book. My son, "I need 5 more minutes", followed by "I don't want to pick a book". Me... "upstairs now". My son, "Wait Mommy, I need to pick a book". To my daughter, "go get Dodie (Laugh and Learn Puppy with no batteries)". We go upstairs. Tantrum from my daughter if she does not win (make it up the stairs first). If she does, she says "I'm the winner". We finally get upstairs into their room and I read books. As I read, my son is doing flips and headstands off of his bed. My husband and I have nights to put the kids to bed. Give everyone kisses, one parent leaves the room. We say prayers and cover everyone up. It is now 30 minutes (generally 8:30) and the fun begins! As I leave the room, "Mommy, I want Daddy". Followed by, "Mommy, I want water". I get water and send Daddy.

Through the monitor I hear, "Daddy, you lay down for 5 minutes". Daddy lays down, there's tumbling, arguing, and then, "get back on your beds." Daddy leaves the one. This is then followed by "MOMMY!!!!. I visit one last time, give water, and leave. They now spend the next 30 minutes, singing and chatting. I have come to realize that they are still adjusting to Daylight Savings Time because they generally fall asleep by 9:30. However, I will be glad when the adjustment period enters.

So... I am right there with you!

 

LOVE this thread. :laughing: Here's our ridiculous ritual:

They both 'flop' into Nick's crib and bounce around while I turn on night lights, put down shades, etc.

J:
*With parent holding him under the armpits and jumping parent says, "One, two, three", then 'flies' J to his crib while he says, "To infinity, and BEYOND!".
*parent & child must lift the crib rail together.
*standard delay: drink of water (one inch while standing in crib so that entire routine is not back at square one), must be in green alligator cup
*kisses
*Pillow (must be yellow, flannel, star pillowcase) must be in upper, left hand corner of crib.
*His Soft Love (a super soft blanket) must be laid on him first, must be touching his chin.
*His quilt gets laid on top of that.

N:
*Complains that he doesn't want J in his crib (and complains MORE when J isn't in his crib)
*Demands to be lifted up to touch the ceiling.
*Parent & child must lift crib rail together.
*standard delay: drink of water, N must be last, J has to go first. Despite getting only 1 inch of water while remaining in crib so we don't start all over again, N drags....this....step...out...FOREVER.
*kisses
*Lays down and pretends to lay side ways so I can tell him, "You're too big to lay that way, you'll be squished.", which is what I used to say to J b/c he always preferred to sleep short-ways in his crib.
*Lays the right way. Reminds me that he doesn't want two blankets (but still requires that the second blanket be in the crib with him).
*Gets tucked in with his soft love.

Parent(s) say, "Good night, little kings". This was recently upgraded from our previous version, "Good night little princes" when they learned that kings were more important than princes.

As soon as I leave the room they both pop up from being tucked in and do their wall trick (like T&T against the kitchen cabinets) and push ups suspended over their crib. I usually give it 5-10m...this is how they wind down & since they stay in the crib, I'm fine with it. If they are loud, I go in and turn off night lights as a consequence. When their 5-10m is up I go back in, retuck them (see pillow and blanket requirements above).

 

We do OK with pull-ups, PJs, and stories. Then, after brushing teeth, Sarah has to have a tiny bit of Daddy's toothpaste on her brush. Sarah closes the door to the living room so the cat doesn't come in. Then I fill the humidifier and Sarah has to put the lid on and Amy has to push the start button. Then they get on their beds and each choose two songs. We sing all 4 songs. (Dawdling at each step, of course.)

ETA: I forgot the part about how Amy has to be "first" -- first one onto her bed, which means she gets to pick the first song. We do let Sarah win once in awhile, but for the most part she doesn't care whether she wins, whereas Amy has a major fit if she isn't first. So DH and I sort of rig it to make sure Amy wins.

Then DH has to hold up 7 fingers and name all their cousins as the girls touch his fingers one by one. Then I have to hold up my fingers and recite the names of all their friends at school, but subdivided into groups, like "Say the names of just my friends who were at Nicky's birthday party" or "Just the friends who were at school today." Or sometimes they don't want me to say the names at all, but I have to hold up the right number of fingers and then say something like "Amy, Ducky, Amy, Ducky," etc. for however many fingers there are. One of the subsets has 11 kids in it, so someone has to be my nose (because I don't have enough fingers). And heaven forbid I start saying the names before they are ready to touch my fingers one by one (and then the nose).

And each of these rituals have to be done separately for each child. So if I'm on my own, I have to do all the cousins twice, then all the friends twice.

Then I have to ask whether they want to wear their sleep sacks, and whether they want them zipped in the front or the back. Then I have to ask if Amy wants me to help her get under the covers. Not permitted to do anything of these things without asking for and receiving permission.

Finally, "night-night! I love you!" and then a brief argument over whether to leave the hall light on or off, and another one over how much to close the door. Then we repeat the rules: "We'll come back one time for fix your covers. After that, we only come in if someone [chant this part together] poops, bleeds, or throws up."

Then DH and I walk away and we begin the half-hour routine of getting called back for various things, deciding whether those things are valid, etc.

 

Ours has been the same for nearly 6 years now:

Teeth brushing
Dada reads them stories in our bed for about 30 minutes (while I watch Jon Stewart in the living room).
They drag themselves out of our bed and down the hall, stick their heads around the door frame and say, "Mama, you know what time it is!"
They get in bed, I tuck them in, and sing each one a song while rubbing their backs. BUT, the songs can only be one of 4 songs:
Hush Little Baby (the Hummingbird version)
Big Rock Candy Mountain
Go to Sleep My Weary Hobos
or You Are My Sunshine
Then kisses, hugs and a final, "I love you more than the whole outer space!"

:wub:

I love it, but I wish I could sing some other songs...

 

Wow ladies you guys are cracking me up over here :laughing:.

Our bedtime is not elaborate at all, but maybe it will become more so in the next year. I can't imagine being able to keep track of everything you guys do. By the time bedtime rolls around my brain is pretty mushy.

Here is what we do- I'm usually on my own at bedtime. After bath, we clean up our toys, then read books on the couch. First they read them to themselves, and then I read two stories (or sometimes more). Then I say "What time is it girls?" Then say "Milk and boppy time!" They help me put the books on the book shelf, get their boppies from under the coffee table, pull them out and lay down on them while I get their milk sippies (special Elmo sippies just for milk). While they are drinking milk, I get toothbrushes ready and then go sit down by them and rub their legs and feet. Ana usually finishes milk first so she sits on my lap and says "Lets wait for Meara to finish." Then when Meara finishes, I put the sippies in the kitchen while they put the boppies back under the coffee table. Then we sit in our little chairs and brush our teeth. They brush first (pretty well too!), and then I finish up brushing for them. Then we hold hands and walk to the bedroom. I close the door and I tuck them in, along with all the dolls and stuffies that are in their cribs. We do kisses once more before I leave. I always say "Good night sweet girls I'll see you in the morning." And they both reply now "Good night!" too which just melts my heart. The only difference when DH is home for bedtime they fight over who will "Go with daddy!" after brushing their teeth. Um, typing it all out it seems more elaborate than it really is. Hmmmm....

 

We haven't gotten to the ridiculous routine yet for our twins (its just jammies, sippy of milk, teeth, books, sing a song and rock each individually for 5ish minutes, and bed) but here is our routine for our 4.5 year old:

Pajamas on
Animal Cracker and a glass of milk
Daddy and Lennon play "Balloony Balloon" - they hit the balloon back and forth for about 10-15 minutes
Upstairs to brush teeth and pee
If he has preschool the next day, we pick out his clothes
Pick out 3-4 books
Climb in his bed and we get under the covers
Read books
Sing "Goodnight Lennon" (my made-up song) while scratching his back
Say prayer
Question Time (he gets to ask any 3 questions he wants - they are usually "Where did my bed/book/dresser/closet come from?"
He then blows 3 kisses to random places in the room and I have to grab them before I leave the room (they usually end up in his closet, in his vent, and on his fan).
Turn on his music (he chooses the CD)
Then we say "Goodnight, I love you" over and over again as I walk out of the room.

It's pretty darn sweet - and so important to him. I look forward to seeing what little silly things the baby boys will like to do.

Oh, I almost forgot. He has to line up all of his stuffed animals just perfectly, with his "Dig Dog" on his pillow. He then lays his head on his Dig Dog like its a pillow!

 

I'm glad we aren't the only ones with crazy long rituals! :laughing: I was just thinking this the other day...I'm not sure how we went from just stickin' them in their cribs to all this!

We brush teeth, go upstairs to Tony's room, put jammies on, move on over to Angie's room, pray, we play dinosaur where I am the dinosaur and they "fly" onto me. Then we have to run laps around the dollhouse as I count them as they go by and they go through the tunnel (hubby) after that I have to do crazy horse which is me using my muscular legs to give them a ride. Then we do THREE family hugs, and it must be three. Then my husband leaves. All three of us sit together on the rocker and they each get to pick two songs that we sing (it's almost always the same four songs) Then I kiss my dd's face... her eyes, nose, chin, etc. and she does the same back to me. After that we put Angie to sleep. Tony and I go to his room where I have to spin him around :huh: and put his sleep sack on, we sit in the rocking chair, belt out a few more tunes and then he has to check outside to make sure it's dark, and I put him in bed. :wub: As I'm leaving they both start yelling out that they love me. :cry: I do love our routine.

 

Ah, you're all making me feel so normal! I love it!

Bedtime used to be so very simple back when they were in their crib tents... a kiss and hug each, a sip of water, zippers closed, and off with the light. We put them in beds, though, and it all spun completely out of control. Our rituals are actually pared down from what they were a couple of months ago. For one, I've banished the "meme game" which involved 2 boys running naked laps around the room and me having to catch them. I couldn't just catch them, though. No, they had to narrowly escape capture a couple of times before each catch and we could only put on one item of clothing each time. With underwear, pajamas, sleepers, and socks, that's 6 catches per child. They'd argue over who had to run first, they'd complain if they thought I caught them too soon or out of turn... it was all just too much!

 

QUOTE(debid @ Mar 18 2009, 03:05 PM) [snapback]1234214[/snapback]
For one, I've banished the "meme game" which involved 2 boys running naked laps around the room and me having to catch them. I couldn't just catch them, though. No, they had to narrowly escape capture a couple of times before each catch and we could only put on one item of clothing each time. With underwear, pajamas, sleepers, and socks, that's 6 catches per child. They'd argue over who had to run first, they'd complain if they thought I caught them too soon or out of turn... it was all just too much!


Shhhh Debi, don't say this too loud, it totally sounds like a game my two would LOVE. :unsure: That would add a good hour to our routine, I'd have to start at noon to get them down by 8! :laughing:

 

Yes, we have a silly routine that I have no idea how it started. Bea turns on their "ocean sounds", Ainsley does the nightlight. Then DH and I both have to do this with each of them - hug, kiss, nose, eyes, head, and tummies. Then I have to put their blankets on, and Ainsley's blankets must be in a certain order. Oh, I forgot, they each get to pick out two "friends" to sleep with. They used to sleep with a multitude of friends, but I had to cut it back to two each. Then, after they are in bed for 5-15 minutes, Bea has to go poop in the potty, Ainsley poops in her pull-up (I wish she would poop in the potty!!). Then I have to put them back in bed. I usually have to threaten to take away a friend in order to get them back in their beds and quiet, or turn off the hall light. After they settle back in bed, then I get called back in to redo blankets. I wish we could skip all the stuff that comes after putting their blankets on the first time, but it does seem like they just can't sleep unless we have a bunch of nonsense. At least it hasn't been carrying on for too long lately, they usually fall asleep about 30 min after going to bed.

 

This is nice to put in writing so I can really see how crazy it really is!

Dh sits in rocking chair and I sit on floor with N on my left leg and S on my right. Dh asks who wants to sit with daddy and they both say "no mommy"

Then we say our prayers. Often half way through one will say they need to start at the beginning so we all start over. If dh and I keep going, they have a fit.

Then they stand up and one takes their icon off the shelf to kiss it and then puts it back. The other then has to get it himself and take it and kiss it and put it back. Then N says kiss and I kiss him and then he says 'nosey, nosey' and we do that and then he says 'hug' and we do that. He then goes to dh and does the same while I do it with S. Then S goes to dh. Then we do family hug.

Then they climb on the bars of their crib and wait for me to put them in (dh cant put them in!)

DH takes N's puppy and S's ducky and pretends to go in the family room and says, "Ducky Puppy, no more puzzles. Time for bed." The boys jump wildly in their crib ad wait for their puppy/ducky to peek into the room while dh does a special voice and talks to each one of them.

Dh leaves and cracks a beer in the family room while I finish the ridiculous routine! (liz, I just read this thread after posting and see your dh leaves too!)

I go to N and have to count his blankets. "One, two, three and here are your friends" as I lay his 2 stuffed animals on him.

Then I go to S and do the same. By now, N has popped up and I have to do him again. They used to have a 4th blanket but I washed it last week and refuse to give it back. That is just one less blanket I have to count!

Then I push their noise machine on and their cd.

Then right before closing their door, I have to say "love you bunches N" and he says it back and then with S.

10 minutes later, I hear "words, words". I have to go back in and push play again because there are only words to the first 6 songs and then the rest is instrumental.

Often during this time, I need to put someones blankets on again which means counting again. God forbid I put a blanket on and dont count.

Yep, thats the routine! I love bedtime!

 

wow, I feel ok with our "routine" now :lol: I am in the same boat as you guys, when did the routine get so long?! Dh always try to shorten it when he's home and it always ends badly, if you follow it to a T you get happy sleepers.

We do brush teeth, jammies, sleep sacks. Then all sit on couch and read from Highlights if its new or a couple of books other wise. Then dd always goes to bed first. As I carry her up ds walks to the stairs and waits at the top for me. I take dd into her room we sing two songs (she gets to pick) and then I put her in her crib, I then have to place her bunny, froggy, dolphin, etc around her in the exact right way, then she goes to sleep. I then pick up ds and go to his room. He likes to rock himself in the rocking chair while I sing two songs, put him in his crib and say goodnight, then always as I am leaving he needs something else (kiss, stuffed animal, etc). Then he's off to sleep.

 

Brush teeth

find places for glasses

Change into jammies

perhaps a snuggle for dd, not for ds, but only if dd wants one.

dad takes them into their beds. Eventually I hear "I love you mommy, good night" coming from both of them... over and over again.

DH tells them to go to sleep.

I am sitting on the couch getting ready to put Evan down.

Within 5 minutes it is both of them coming out to go poop/potty.
DD in big girl pants & DS in diaper.

 

I love this thread. I love all of your kids. :wub:

 

This thread is too funny!

Our routine is pretty simple. We go upstairs, bath (on bath nights)change into jammies, brush teeth. They get one story each and we take turns choosing where to read it. Then they each go potty. One short song at tuck-in, kisses and a hug and lights out. The whole thing takes about 30 min, sometimes less if there is no bath.

 

I HATE NAP TIME & BED TIME, I was to the point that I was going to take napping away but I need my break, my girls refuse to go to bed, we do our routine every night, they understand the concept of going to sleep, but once I turn off the lights, they scream holler and cry bloody murder, and I can't figure out why. We leave a night light on and leave the door open but they still they refuses and cry about going to bed I've even put a t.v. in their room just so they can watch barney or the wiggles half an hour before bed time but still it's not good enough. I think it's just the age, I hope!

 

For us it's not bedtime, but when I leave after lunch to go back to work. So many kisses, they tell me not to fight with my friends (sometimes they slip up and say sister, and I have to remind them that I don't have a sister). They tell me to take good care of the car and not to let anything happen to it. kisses, hugs, more kisses, more hugs, blowing kisses, calling out goodbye, etc. etc.

 

Funny!

My big one is mostly done with bedtime rituals...at about 8pm, I give her "orange stuff and gummies" (Coromega packet and vitamins) and send her upstairs to get ready for bed. She goes to the bathroom, strips down naked, walks into the hallway that way to put her clothes in the hamper, and then puts on her pajamas and calls for me. I brush her teeth and tuck her into bed, read a chapter from whatever book we're reading (currently Laura Ingalls), put "ow cream" (lanolin) on her thumb-sucking callouses, turn on her lullaby CD, wind up her music box that plays Brahms lullaby, and then kiss her, turn out the light, and close her bedroom door.

I then put white noise on the iPod just outside her door, because she refuses to have it inside her room, but the little ones tend to wake her up when they carry on before bed an hour later. Also, we've been doing baths at other times of the day, so it's no longer part of the bedtime routine.

For Kevan and Karina, we put them in high chairs promptly at 9pm. They each eat a yogurt, wash it down with some water, and then they each get "orange stuff and gummies" also. We read a couple of books (different every night) while still in high chairs, and then I always read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and then finish by singing Snuggle Puppy. I then brush each of their teeth while they're still in their chairs.

When both are done, I get them out and tell them to "go find Daddy!" They take off and run for the front stairs, and go up as fast as they can, where Daddy is hiding in one of their bedrooms (usually putting away laundry). Meantime, Daddy has laid out pajamas and overnight diapers for both, and a clean towel in the bathroom (which is between their rooms). I adjust the water temperature while DH undresses the baby-to-be-bathed (we alternate their baths), and then sends the naked baby running in to the bathroom. He changes and puts the other one to bed while I'm doing the bathing.

He brings said child in to say goodnight first, and then I finish the bath, do lotion, pajamas, clean the ears, etc. I then put the kiddo in the crib, turn on the space heater, dim the lights, turn on the white noise, and then quickly say goodnight and leave the room.

And then, collapse onto the couch with my laptop and a snack...

 

My girls must have the same thing said to each of them and they say it back to me.

night, night
sleep tight
love you
sweet dreams
see you in the morning

"kiss me on the head, mommy"
"kiss me on the lips, mommy"

Then we have the same routine all over again everytime I go into their room for whatever reason.

 

My kids aren't the only ones!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!

I don't remember any of this when I was a kid but all 3 of my girls would have a 2 hour bedtime ritual if it was their choice. I thought we must be so weird to go along with even some of this.

I won't go through our whole ritual but I'm amazed how many tears can be shed because they didn't get to say "goodnight" to the Frosty the Snow man night light in the hallway!