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Do you have a toddler bedtime routine?
I am a weird mom. I didn’t think a bedtime routine was important for the longest time.
Well, up until the last couple months where my twins sleep has gone from excellent to anything but.
Oh the things I’d tell my past self. But anyways. Lately we’ve been working hard at finding a simple toddler bedtime routine that works for us, and that meant working with a sleep consultant.
Which, let me just say, was kind of nerve racking at first.
I think we can all agree that as mothers, we want to be good at everything.
We don’t want help. Don’t want to admit defeat and call in the big guns. But after weeks of crap sleep, I was ready to try anything.
I began working with @the_sleepcoach on Instagram after a few months of chatting back and fourth. Turns out she has twins also, so it was a natural fit!
We talked back and fourth about what I was currently doing with the twins, and it became apparent that I didn’t have any sort of bedtime routine in place.
a simple toddler bedtime routine was something she suggested to get put in place right away.
I guess I never thought much of it because they were such good sleepers for so long that I figured everything was going smoothly how it was. I sleep trained my twins at 6 months old, and since then they had been sleeping a solid 12 hours each night. But come about 18-20 months old, that went out the window. They started waking every couple hours like they were newborns all over again and it was flat out exhausting.
In comes the simple toddler bedtime routine!
That actually has helped I might add. And it is ever evolving. But after a few questions about our twins sleep over on instagram, I thought I would write it out for you guys!
Keep in mind though, all kiddos are different. What works for me, might not work for you. This is just what works for us! But if you’re looking for better sleep habits from your littles, I do really suggest getting a bedtime routine in place.
simple Toddler Bedtime Routine
I like to start by encouraging wind down time. This usually starts after dinner, where I turn the lights down and tv off.
I noticed that the TV was something keeping my twins wired come bed time, which is why we turn it off during wind down time.
This wind down time includes putting PJs on, playing with toys together, and enjoying time as a family. This is usually 15-30 minutes of time before bed.
Then I give them sippys with some milk and let them each pick out a book. My husband and I switch off who reads for the night and while they drink their milk, we read the stories they picked out.
Once books are done, we wait for them to finish their milk and then it is off to bed.
Pretty simple. But the 30 minute wind down time before bed is what has really helped. It gives their bodies time to adjust to bedtime instead of hoping right to it.
And you might have noticed I don’t include baths. For us, baths wind the twins up. If you’re giving baths at night time and experiencing your littles having trouble with sleep, it might be time to adjust the bath time routine!
We have been enforcing this simple toddler bedtime routine for almost two months now, and sleep has gotten much better for everyone in the house.
Kendall now sleeps through the night (most nights) again, and Caeden is getting there. He is usually up once each night. Which is much MUCH better than what was happening before!
What does your nighttime routine look like? Think something like mine might work for you?
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