Current Bedtime Routine: 9 weeks to present and my candid thoughts on a bedtime routine
6:00 pm: get ready for “tubby time” aka his favorite part of the day, the bath tub – we all let Molly out to use the bathroom, also gives Elliot one last breath of fresh air before a night indoors. Then we gather the troops and supplies we need (boppy, nasal aspirator, water for mom, bottle (once 4 months))
6:08-6:20 – in the tub! Soap, toys, music (usually Disney playlist), singing, splashing…you name it, we do it. He’s still in the lay-down tub but once he can sit upright sturdily I just know he’ll love the tub even more!
6:20-6:30 – dry off, lotions, jammies, songs, suck out the last of the boogies for today
6:30-6:45 bottle
6:45-6:55/7 –sleep sack, books and snuggles with lights low
6:55/7pm – go to nursery with darkness and white noise, sing bedtime song, and down in crib
7pm-6:00am/6:15 – wake up and start our day!
As I have said before, Johnny and I are probably two of the more routine-based people that exist on this Earth. We are very much people who do the same or similar thing every single day. We’ve always been this way. We are able to flex and change with the changes of our lives but we feel a little “off” once we are out of routine. It’s something we are working on and something that parenthood has really brought to our attentions.
If you look up anything about newborns and routines, you will read that although it’s unnecessary at that time because they don’t really know what’s going on, you can try to implement a routine. That in and of itself was enough for me to be like “ok let’s make a routine that works for us and do it every night and at some point I’m sure our son will get it”. Was that wishful thinking? Oh I’m sure. Does he get it now 5 months later, you bet your sweet bottom he does. I can’t be inside his brain but I can tell that he knows once we get the tub going he knows it’s the ramp up to bedtime. And I may be projecting, but I swear he get’s excited to sleep!
So anyways. This was my only thing for me that I felt like I could “control” was making some sort of routine so I wouldn’t go crazy. Because in those early days, the lack of routine was driving me bananas. Anywho. Did Elliot enjoy this routine initially. Heck no. Man that boy YELLED. Initially in the tub. Then he got used to that and the yelling was only for the lotions and before food. That one took a while for him to get used to. Not sure if it was the cold air or the lotion or what. But the SPEED at which we lotioned him up and got him dressed was lightning I tell you. Call me a super-sonic jet, that bullet-train, a cheetah. PHEW I FLEW.
Over time, that got better too. Now we are in this phase of dragging out bedtime a little to make sure he sleeps all the way to wake up. He does a fabulous job overnight, has been since 9 weeks old. That will be another post on the ever-polarizing sleep training. So watch for that one. We have been having some earlier wake ups, between 5:30 and 6. He doesn’t cry or anything he just lays in his crib babbling and kicking and just peacefully waiting for us to come which I can appreciate. But it really is throwing off my mornings because now I have to speed change. So another thing that we had figured out and now it’s changing!!!! YAY parenthood.
Another day, another plan.
Constantly trying to roll with the punches.
Appreciating the changes as they come.
Having a “blueprint” for the day and Elliot going rouge. Woo. Thanks universe for challenging me on the daily! It’s really fun to figure out. Brings me great joy. Does it get better? I can’t be sure. Let’s find out together.
