what is your "before sleep" ritual?

[Ekatherina]

i think that setting up a ritual before ds falls asleep will help him fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer....we have tried like reading a book before nursing or dh would take him for a walk....but i think that is not enough ,...what is your ritual? thanx a lot...

[MelW]

During the day (for naps), it varies...a walk in the sling, nursing in bed, and various other things.

At night we usually have a bath together, then dry off and have some naked time in front of the fire and sometimes a massage for her. Then I dress her in her pajamas and we go to bed. If she doesn't seem very tired, we read a book; if she seems tired or fussy we just nurse side-lying in bed until she falls asleep.

[proud mama of 2]

We don't have a naptime ritual, but for bedtime I give the kids a bath then we get into bed, put on lotion & jammies and they each pick out a story. DD nurses while I read the stories... then DS goes potty, turns the fan on (white noise) and the light off and I nurse DD until she falls asleep and DS is usually asleep by then too... if I haven't fallen asleep by now I get up and study or get on the computer.

[CariS]

We didn't have a huge ritual, then implemented this and saw a HUGE difference. DD seems to settle herself much more now. She used to dance in bed and crawl all around. Now she seems to know its time to wind down. I highly recommend it. Made me realize it's healthy for me too!

- Bath (every other night)
- pajamas (dd not always happy with this so I calmly sing a song to her which helps)
- we say goodnight to all of her mobiles and her bedroom and the cat and the house
- we read books. I'm more concious now re how many books. Was reading a bunch and now think it's too many images before sleep so read several a few times.
- turn off the light and nurse

Good luck!

[KathleenSLP]

For bedtime we shower together in her pool pouch, get her dressed for bed, I then read her Goodnight Moon, and then rock her to sleep while listening to soft music. She goes down pretty easy most nights.

[boricuaqueen327]

dd gets her pjs on, gets a warm drink (milk or a little chamomile tea), and we sing and rock her.

[pinklucy]

At nap time we have a story and then his nap time song and then I nurse him to sleep lying down. he usually sleeps for at least 2 hours at naps with no problems.

Bedtime we do a bath (he just loves his bath so he does have one every day) then pyjamas, then a story, his bedtime lullaby, he nurses on one side while I hold him in bed with the room dark, then we lie down and he nurses on the other side til he falls asleep - usually I fall asleep for a bit too!

Despite his bedtime rituals he still wakes at almost every sleep cycle every 45 minutes or so until i go to bed. :shrug

[zansmama]

Well, we used to have this really sweet ritual with reading a book and singing a special song, but first it was, "I don't want singing!" and then it was, "i don't want a story!". So now it's pretty much pajamas, toothbrushing, and nana.
Sometimes ds does somersaults on the bed while I put on my pajamas... and every once in a while, if he's in the mood, we read a few stories. We always rub noses and say "I love you" before he starts on the second side.

[wombatclay]

DD is 11 months now and our basic ritual is a short bath (she looooves the water so we have a bath every night, but only use soap every couple of days), a quick massage with a beeswax/olive oil lotion I make, into pajamas, then nursing until she falls asleep. DH usually reads to me while dd is nursing so for now that "counts" as dd's bedtime story. I'm sure that in a few more months she'll want a story of her own though, so we'll probably add that between the pajamas and the nursing.

It usually takes 30-45 minutes to go from "let's take our bath" to "asleep" when we start the process around 9:30pm. We've tried starting earlier but she simply will not fall asleep before 10pm, no matter what!

[Attached Mama]

right now DD is out for a walk with dada and the doggie. some nights she plays/climbs all over us in bed for a while til she winds down. so guess it always depends and tha we don't have one. ;) We just play it by ear.

[LoveChild421]

ds in 12 months old- our nighttime ritual from about 1 month on has been: a bath, a massage with lavendar oil, nurse to sleep. I have learned that if I time it just right he falls asleep quickly and gets into a good deep sleep. I wait to bathe him until he is starting to get tired of playing and getting a little restless. If I do the routine when he's not that tired it doesn't seem to work as well.

[Ekatherina]

thank you so much everyone for the advice....i loved the ritual with the good/night to the toys and now we are doing it for two nights....no progress yet but i guess its going to take time....i loved also the one with dh reading to me while im nursing...:) maybe well try that one today....i guess it was not wokring these days maybe because ds is not that sleepy when we get to bed 9:30....so maybe we will change that.....but the major problem also he wakes up every hour and i nurse him...i try to just carry him, but he just wants nursing...so im feeling so tired these days because not sleeping actually...but have to stick to the ritiual which is by now: bath, dinner, cleaning up and saying good night to the toys, story (same every night) nursing (almost one hour! until he falls asleep ) thanx a lot everyone :hug

[Bartock]

My 5.5 months old routine is at 7:00 he goes in the jolly jumper for an hour, he loves it he jumps sooooo high in it the chain is always going clunk clunk clunk LOL. Then bath, 5-10 mins tummy time, get dressed about half hour of boobies LOL. Bed around 8:30-9:00 see him again around 8 or 9.

[niki_73]

we usually have a bath or go for a walk and then have quiet time for about an hour (no loud noises or playing just snuggling with Dh and I) then DH brushes DS gums and tooth and we all climb into bed and I start nursing him, about half way through (as he starts closing his eyes more) DH turns off the light and DS nurses to sleep.

[Ekatherina]

:wave just wanted to post an update...ds has been sleeping great for 3 nights now...(touch wood) and is falling asleep MUCH easier than before.,....what has changed?
the most important thing is that im nursing him to sleeping while im sitting up and not lying down....dh is reading to me while im nursing...and also im reading him the good night story and not dh....(i think he was really missing me...:( since i work during the day.....thanx a lot everyone!!!

[ktmama]

You've gotten some great ideas here, mama and I'm glad things are working better for you. Can I add my .02? It seems to make a huge difference if we do the nighttime routine with dim lighting and then I play a Mozart for Newborns CD. The music is the cue that makes dd know it's bedtime.

[faeriewisp]

A FANTASTIC book about rituals for all aspects of the day is "Seven Times the Sun" by Shea Darian. It has lots of songs and verses and great ideas.

For my 5 year old, she brushes teeth, goes potty and gets jammies on, gets in bed. I come in and spray lavender water in the air and on her pillow, give her a drink of water. I sing her a lullabye and say this verse which I got from the above book and slightly modified:

Mother NIght
Let me run in your fields of darkness,
Let me drink of the cup of your milky moon,
Rock me in your blanket of stars,
And when you leave, kiss me with your wisdom.

Then we say goodnight :)