a bedtime routine

let me first begin with saying we try our best to keep a bedtime routine with our kiddos. *ahem* we try our best. some nights they go to sleep with ease and other nights it seems like we are wiping tears and passing rufus back an forth for well over an hour. 

anyway, our bedtime routine with our kiddos hasn't really changed much since eleanor was a baby and i like that. i honestly like routine ... i like it even more when it works. 

typically around six pm, after we wrap up dinner, we go on a family walk. during the colder months, we replace our walk with board games. this is my favorite time of day for many reasons ... it means we are all together just hanging out. it means arick and i aren't on our phones as much. it means that bedtime is approaching, which means arick and i can snuggle on the sofa ... there is so much peace in this hour. i love it so much. 

at around seven pm, we toss the kids in the tub. sometimes we give them a good scrubbin' from head to toe and other nights we just give them a rinse. this honestly just depends on everyone's mood. my husband and i have a pretty good assembly line where one washes and the other dries them off, lotions and puts pjs on ... lately we have been using Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Nighttime Balm on rufus and are so pleased with the results. it is clinically proven to prevent recurrence of itchy patches and flare ups caused by eczema so babies can sleep through the night. he has very sensitive skin that becomes irritated so easily and this stuff has worked like a charm. 

at around eight pm, it's books and bed. eleanor is generally the one who reads the bed time story these days because she enjoys it and it's good practice. :) 

and lastly, it's off to bed. for wolfgang, we put a gate in front of his door, lay him down and say goodnight. he is by far our most cooperative sleeper. sometimes he will try to break through the gate or destroy his room or yell for a few minutes, but typically, he just lays down and falls to sleep ... as for rufus, well, he's a mamas boy and that's okay. more than okay, really. i toyed with the idea of sleep training him, but quickly let go of it. we will lay in my bed and nurse and he will stroke my hair and fall asleep. once he is asleep, i transfer him to the crib so i can head downstairs and be with arick ... he always wakes up when we come to bed around midnight and then sleeps with us till morning. 

fun fact: we call bedtime "shutting it down" and if it has been a rough day, arick or i will yell, "i'm about ready to shut. it. down.!" haha. sometimes we say it at like three pm. 

p.s. i get a lot of questions about putting our babes to bed while it's still daylight ... we have never really had a habit of closing curtains or blinds, so i think the reason they do okay is because they have never known any other way. 

this post has been sponsored by aveeno.