how many books before bed? - Page 2

[Gray's Mommy]

Our son is 6 & we normally read one or two chapters in a book a night. If the book isn't a chapter book, then we read 2 smaller ones. We still rub his back & hang out until he is asleep.

[smalltownmom3]

Bedtime in my house takes forever! Each child demands 2 books each and will have absolute tantrums if I don't sit with each one separately and read their 2 books. I've tried condensing it down, read to all 3 at once, but then they get angry and want me to read 2 books each on top of that. :

[mamaduck]

At this stage, with both boys, I went to extreme efforts to *prevent* naps from occuring after 3pm. Often this meant no nap at all. There was a 3 week transition period where they seemed *so* tired and miserable all the time, and then they suddenly adjusted. It was worth the 3 weeks of temporary misery.

The "Jim somebody" who does story tapes is "Jim Weiss." He's wonderful. "Goodnight Stories" is particularly great. Relaxing, calm 10 minute stories interspersed with 5 minutes of soothing music, for an hour.

I also find that staying in the room becomes a distraction at some point. With our son (who is 6!) I am finally learning that its important though, to give him time to talk out all his thoughts before I expect him to sleep. So I sit with him and nod, and smile, and listen while he talks and talks and talks -- and eventually he gets it all out and finds it much easier to relax. I *really* wish I had figured this out about him years ago. For so long I've been telling him to STOP talking, and hold still, and be quiet -- thinking to myself that he can't fall asleep until he does those things! But really he needs a "buffer zone" between awake-time and asleep-time, when he can get all this out of his system.

[veganf]

I find that 1 book per year of age is about right. Max of 3.

[hipumpkins]

Here's the boring story I tell before bed:
Once upon a time there was farmer who had some very tired sheep.

*Close your eyes see the sheep*

All the sheep were so sleepy, their eyes drooped, there tails drooped and they yawned big yawns.
Now the farmer wanted to put them to bed so he had to count all the sheep.

*you count slowly as high as yu want.

then farmer has to count beds, as many as there are sheep...than pillows than blankets than kisses.

Make sure your counting is slow and monotone.


This story comes after the regular bedtime story or stories have beeen read.

[nichole]

update

we have been doing quiet time but no nap for a week except for one in the car. bedtime is much better now. he falls asleep instantly and usually by himself in his own bed. he ASKS to go to bed! then he comes to our bed in the middle of the night or gets up at 6am. this is a huge improvement! i would really like him to fall asleep 1-2x a week during quiet time or sleep in past six so he can see his dad more on week nights but oh well. i'm a lot less stressed about it now. i was really going CRAZY!

thanks sooo much. the books on cd idea is wonderful. you guys are very supportive.

[Cinder]

Depends on when DD gets ready.

DS goes to bed at 8pm (he HATES to be read to), while we put him to bed DD needs to go potty, put on her jammies and pick out her books. We read to her untill 9, then it is her bedtime...so if she refuses to get ready for bed or takes a long time we might only get to read 1 book (we ALWAYS read one book, no matter what) but if she gets ready right away it's not unusual to read 10 books.

But, she then goes to bed at 9 and she is up in her bed (laying in bed being good, but still wide awake) untill around midnight...she has always been a night person.

[OakBerry]

Originally Posted by nichole

we have been doing quiet time but no nap for a week except for one in the car. bedtime is much better now. he falls asleep instantly and usually by himself in his own bed. he ASKS to go to bed! then he comes to our bed in the middle of the night or gets up at 6am. this is a huge improvement! i would really like him to fall asleep 1-2x a week during quiet time or sleep in past six so he can see his dad more on week nights but oh well. i'm a lot less stressed about it now. i was really going CRAZY!

thanks sooo much. the books on cd idea is wonderful. you guys are very supportive.

Glad to hear things are getting better for you!
That is one advantage of them not napping, they fall asleep so fast. And if my ds has had alot of exercise that day, poof, he's out in minutes. It's great! But you have to put up with the afternoon crankiness. Oh well, I guess it's always something right? I'd rather deal with afternoon crankiness and have an early, smoother and faster bedtime.

[nichole]

i want to get some of these cd's by jim weiss. amazon is out of the Sweet Dreams one. what others do you like? or should i hold out for it. do they come with a book too? jason likes turning the pages on his nemo one but that is kinda stimulating. also the nemo one is only 20 minutes.

[brewgirl]

I haven't had a chance to read all of the replies yet, but wanted to throw out what we do with my very sleep resistant 3.5 year old. We read 3 stories, tuck in to bed and turn out the lights, and then talk for a few minutes. Then the parent (dh and I alternate nights) sit in a chair in her room and either read a book (we use a headlamp) or surf on the laptop. After months of this, we're finally at the point where she will usually talk or sing to herself for a little bit and then fall asleep. The whole routine usually ends up taking about an hour.

Anyway, getting out of the bed and into a chair where I can do something relaxing for myself has really helped it turn into a more positive experience. We started with the chair next to the bed (otherwise she'd jump out or get upset) and have slowly inched it away so that now it is next to the door, out of her direct line of sight. Perhaps someday soon it will be out in the hall. And then gone! I dream of the day when we can tuck her in and leave the room. And then be done for the night. But I just keep telling myself baby steps and thinking of the progress we've made so far.

Good luck!

[NamastePlatypus]

After is bath, we give C. thirty min. of QUIET playtime, then we go lay down in the toddler bed in our room and read three books, then nurse, then train video and I walk out 10 minutes in to the video. It is the only time he gets TV so it keeps him in bed, sometimes. same routine for naps, minus the bath. He wakes up anywhere from 90 mintues to three hours later and gets in bed with us and HAS to nurse at 330 and every hour after. We are working on getting him to 6 with no nursies


He is 21 monthes

[KAHMama]

We had the same troubles with our 3.5yo but now things are much better. We can actually leave the room after the bedtime routine (which does involve reading 1-3 books). What helped us:

1. making sure he's tired. When we've put him to bed before he's tired, it takes a loooong time for him to fall asleep.

2. help him wind down. My dh does the bedtime routine with him and he tickles ds' back or tummy until he's limp as a noodle LOL.

3. My dh used to surf the 'net on his laptop in ds' room after the bedtime routine until ds fell asleep. That way, he was in the room but kept busy at the same time.

4. We told ds we would leave the door to his bedroom open as long as he stayed in bed.

Within a few weeks, we went from having to cuddle him to sleep to being able to leave the room when he's sleepy. We still can't just put him in his room and leave him there...we need to help him get sleepy KWIM? That's perfectly ok with me!

Now if he would only stop waking at night :

[mamaduck]

Originally Posted by nichole

i want to get some of these cd's by jim weiss. amazon is out of the Sweet Dreams one. what others do you like? or should i hold out for it. do they come with a book too? jason likes turning the pages on his nemo one but that is kinda stimulating. also the nemo one is only 20 minutes.

Jim Weiss CDs do not come with books. I like this though, because it is more restful to lay in bed listening with your eyes shut.

Our favorite CD has been "Good Night Stories" which is different than "Sweet Dreams."

I think that this web site: http://www.greathall.com/home.html

might be more helpful than Amazon. Chinaberry is also a good source.

http://www.chinaberry.com/shop/search.cfm

[falcon]

We usually end up doing 3 or 4 (short) books with ds a night. Takes around 30 minutes. Some nights he seems ready to settle in after only 1-2 books, some nights I'll read a couple extra (or read a favorite again) if he is having trouble winding down.

[Ms Ladybug]

We read 3 books, 4 if we have time. Then once she's in bed, with just the nightlight on, I sit on the edge of her bed and tell her a "Princess Alison" story. Something silly I make up off the top of my head.