I attended a @shespeaksup #PampersDryBaby Twitter Party on April 10 and it got me thinking about our bedtime routines. There were a lot of great tips but the ones that stuck out in my mind were: be consistent with a bedtime routine; be flexible; give bedtime your full attention and keep activity low before bedtime.
We started a consistent bedtime routine with our son at 4 weeks and by 8 weeks he was sleeping through the night. I want to say it is because he is an incredible baby but it really thanks to some amazing products we’ve come across as first time parents. Here’s a little taste of what bedtime is like at our house and what works for us…
Our bedtime routine starts around 6:45 pm and starts with a warm bath in the Summer Infant Right Height Tub. We love this little tub because it fits perfectly in our bathtub and the seat allows us to hold him with one hand and have the other free to wash him. He loves splishing and splashing to “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”, “Hakuna Matata” and “Under the Sea”. Our bath time essentials are the Nuby Tear Free Rinse Pail which makes washing and rinsing his hair so much easier than a washcloth alone and our Burts Bees Baby Bee shampoo and wash. We use the pail to rinse him while counting to 10 then its changing table time!
We dry him off then put a diaper on, brush his gums and lotion him up. He loves having his gums brushed with the Summer Infant finger toothbrush. Now that he’s a little older he helps mommy and daddy by holding it well, more like shoving it in his mouth. By the way, our favorite diaper products are Baby Vaseline and Burts Bees Baby Bee Diaper Cream for chaffing. We use Baby Vaseline on his bottom and the front at night and he hasn’t had diaper rash since he was born!
I nurse him during the day but we found out that giving him a bottle of pumped milk at night really helped him to eat until his little belly was full. We tried a few bottles but he really likes the Philips AVENT bottles – I didn’t realize babies were so picky! Our favorite bottle warmer is the Muchkin High Speed Bottle Warmer. It warms the milk in 90 seconds and sterilizes the pacifier too! Apparently, you can warm up baby food too but I haven’t tried that yet.
After milk and a full belly, then it’s story time! Mommy and daddy snuggle with the little guy in our big Cal King bed and read a bedtime story. His favorites include Pooh’s Leaf Pile, Mister Sea Horse, and Finding Nemo. We asked everyone to bring their favorite story book to our baby shower instead of a card so we have an amazing collection of books for Baby C. We read one story on weeknights and two on weekends. We especially love reading the special messages our friends and family wrote inside each of the books!
After story time is bedtime…we just pop the Philips AVENT Soothie in his mouth, put a little blanket over him and then he falls asleep. We tried a few other brands but he didn’t seem to like it as much. We started giving him the Soothie at 8 weeks and it has been amazing! With the Soothie, there is no need to rock him to sleep. He absolutely loves it and we just discovered the new Vanilla scented Soothie! It smells incredible and I think it helps him nap a little longer in the day too! The Soothie has a hole in the middle and it is great because you can put your finger in the middle and baby will suck on it helping him fall asleep faster. We take it everywhere and we bought a bunch for our diaper bag, in the car, upstairs, downstairs and everywhere in between! You never know when we will need it! Now that I found the Vanilla scented Soothie, I’m hoping they come out with another scent…maybe peppermint or chamomile!
I would love to hear from all you amazing mommies and daddies out there on your sleep/nap tips and tricks!