Routines Matter
I’m “type-A” and thrive on routines. When I know what to expect, it makes me feel calm and secure. Turns out, babies and toddlers do too! Having a solid nap time and bedtime routine is imperative for having a healthy sleep foundation. I recommend starting routines from day 1. However, if you’re new to this and your child is older, you can definitely develop one at any time!
Let’s discuss nap time routines first. A naptime routine does not have to be long and drawn out. In my opinion, the shorter the better (especially if you have other children). If you’re like me, you need every minute you can get during the day. A typical nap time routine can look like this for a baby or toddler:
Change diaper
Put on sleep sack
Turn on white noise
Pull down Blackout curtain
Lay baby down fully awake
Say bedtime phrase
Confidently leave and close the door
Notice, there isn’t a feed during the nap time routine. We do not want to associate feeds with sleep so feeds should not be a part of your nap time routine.
If you’re out and about, you’re going to have to be more flexible but you can still do parts of your routine including changing their diaper, turning on a portable white noise machine and saying their bedtime phrase. If you’re at someone’s home, ask for a quiet, dark room and lay them in a pack n play. If you’re in the car, you won’t be able to have a dark, quiet room, but the sound machine will help. If you’re on your toddler’s field trip or out shopping, I promote baby wearing so your baby gets in their sleep. Pay attention to wake windows here too so you can time when they “should” fall asleep.
For bedtime routines, those might take a little longer, depending on if you bathe your children every night and what age they are. For babies, I like the following bedtime routine:
Feed (To me, it doesn’t matter where this happens. Some families prefer doing this in the baby’s nursery. Some prefer in the living room surrounded by the chaos of the family. Do what works for you.)
Bath (We have always bathed our kids every night before bed. To us, it signals, “Ah, it’s time to wind down. Also, my boys are so gross by the evening and I love the thought of them being “fresh” before bed. You do you. Whatever works for your family.)
Black out shades down, white noise on
Lotion, diaper, jammies, sleep sack
Brush teeth
Read books
Lay down awake
Say bedtime phrase and confidently leave the room
For toddlers a bedtime routine could look like this:
Bath
Jammies
2-3 fun “lovie” routines to help fill up their love tank before bed (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out my blog titled, “Where’s the magic wand for my toddler?”
Brush teeth
Books
Hugs & kisses
Say bedtime phrase and confidently leave the room
The order of your bedtime routine matters. We want to do the same thing, night after night, to nail down the message, “It’s time for you to put yourself to sleep.” We always want to lay our kids down fully awake so they put themselves to sleep. However a baby falls asleep will be what they seek in order to fall back asleep when they wake up. Waking up in the middle of the night is completely OK and expected and normal. No one sleeps 12 hours straight with no wake-ups. Your baby and toddler will be able to put themselves back to sleep if they fell asleep independently to begin with.
So, establish those naptime and bedtime routines. They’ll help your child feel safe and secure before bedtime. Do the same order every night and always lay them down fully awake so they’re putting themselves to sleep all by themselves. You can do it. So can your child, regardless of their age!
