Night Time Routines involving reading

Hi All

Well, I had -- emphasis past tense -- what seemed to be a pretty effective night time routine -- until two nights ago. So for the past 6 months, I have been reading to the children for 30 minutes before each of their two naps and before bedtime. I put them side by side on the floor in their bouncy seats and read to them. As they have gotten older (and more mobile!) I've had to put on the harness to keep them from wriggling away.

The last two nights as I start this routine, my little girl just starts to cry and she doesn't quit the entire time. When my DH was home I took her aside and nursed her and then we returned and she was okay. Tonight on my own, I treated it as a tantrum and just ignored it and she cried the entire time. I got very frustrated with her. My DS ended up crying too and the entire experience was unpleasant, at least for me.

I am wondering if you have any suggestions for alternative approaches. One thought I have would be to reconfigure the room with the cribs in an L shape and read to them both while they are in their cribs. That would be a huge change from where we are at the moment but perhaps it is what is needed. I suppose I could have just had two or three baaad nights in a row. Maybe tomorrow will have a different result! I can only hope.

Other approaches to night time routines? Other suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Sotto

 

As our girls got older their bed time routine has changed greatly. We used to read a couple of stories before bed. Then they started being more mobile and so the stories stopped for a while and they played with some toys that were only for when they were in their room. They then wanted to read stories by themselves. So they would sit and flip through the books. Now (2 1/2 years old) they want to read 2 stories. Sometimes they let us read them and other times they "read" them (point to pictures and tell me what it is or the say the same thing over and over for each page. ex: "Elmo" they turn the page "Elmo" turn the page, etc. After we read two stories then we sing songs. The wheels on the bus, Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, etc. They always get to pick the songs. Then they do this really weird thing. They have to touch the night light (each for 10 seconds). So Lucy typically touches it first and we all count to ten and then Zoey touches it and we count to ten in spanish. We give hugs and go to bed. It takes a total of 15 minutes...after baths, brushing teeth, etc.

 

Oh, I remember those days...I can't remember exactly when it all changed, but one day I realized that instead of a calm, relaxing bedtime routine, the boys were playing with toys and acting like it was the middle of the day. We follow their lead and let them play or read books if they want, but we try not to do anything that will get them geared up like tickling or chasing them (okay, occasionally we forget, but we quickly stop when we see how hyper they're becoming). Once it's time for bed, we tell them it's time to go get their bunnies (their bedtime snugglies), and we pick them up. Sometimes they fuss, but only until we get to their room. They know it's bed time after that. I think as long as you adapt with them and keep some type of routine , they'll respond to it.

 

I also remember having some frustrating moments like that, starting when the girls could crawl at around 9 mos. They would no longer lay in their boppy pillows and drink their bottle while I read to them. They would keep crawling away, it was really frustrating. I didn't give up though, I would just make the stories shorter and try to be more creative when reading them to keep their interest.

Since I kept the routine of reading to them they soon once again started to settle down when I read to them, but it took several months at least. They were free to wander around their bedroom and I sat on the floor with them reading a book, I had the bedroom door closed so that they at least couldn't leave the room. After a while they spent more time sitting with me and less time wandering around the room. Now and probably for the last year almost they will sit with me when I read and we are able to read longer and more books than we could before.

 

We have always read before bed, but with the girls in their cribs. We actually have the cribs in a n L shape now and i sit in the middle corner and read to them. I always read goodnite moon last and the girls know as soon as i start it that it's time for sleep. Sometimes Mia will start to cry as soon as i start to read it, but i ignore her and she usually stops a couple pages in.. I say stick with your routine, but having them in the cribs is not a bad idea..

 

We've always read to the munchkins since they were very, very tiny. They did go through a period between 12 and 18 months where they were not a very good audience, but we let them roam around their bedroom while we read. It didn't bother me. I just read like I usually did and they would come and look and then walk around and explore. The very last thing we've always read is Goodnight Moon so they would come closer and give kisses and hugs when they heard us reading it, then it was off to bed. Now, at 22 months they bring us books, sit down and listen to us reading. I always wanted our time reading together to be a pleasant experience so I just let them do their own thing, knowing they would come back eventually...

 

Completely normal, I used to say the same thing I would see the commercials that show the mom reading a book to their child before bed and I would think how nice I am going to incorporate that into our routine...yeah right LOL! It always turned into a cryfest either they didn't want me to read them the book or they fought over who could hold it. My boys cribs are in an "L" shape so I figured I would read to them while in their cribs so they had to listen, I tried giving them each their own book so I could read one to them, I'd even skip pages just to get to the point and feel like I was doing what I was supposed to....it became a very unpleasant expericence so I stopped for awhile. Just recently I have actually been able to get through a short book where they pay attention and seem interested and even now in the middle of a story they decide they want to "read" it or they are done listenting and I just let it go.