bedtime routine

[jollygreenmama]

Help! Last few nights bedtime has involved lots of crying which I can't bear, I think I'm staying calm...routine taking a bit longer as DD getting over tired or over stimulated not sure which?

DD 13 months. Tea around 5 til 5.30, quiet-ish play until bathtime at 6ish, bottle while I read book with pictures, asleep by 6.30 - 7.

Can you share your routines with me please?

DS is 2 years old. We have our dinner at around 6-6.30 pm, give DS a bath at 7-7.30. It involves lots of fun, reading bathbooks, bath toys, etc. Then we get dried, dressed, and out sleeping bag on. Then I hold him and we cuddle for some minutes, then I put him down and I read him a story. After that he is left on his own in his cot. We are going on about our jobs downstairs. The reaing lamp is on in the room, but the curtains are drawn.
When he was younger (and shorter) we also used to put his cot mobile on.
He usually goes to sleep between 8 and 9pm, and wakes up about 8 in the morning. He quite likes his quiet time with his books and teddy. You can hear him singing, reading or recounting the day's events to his teddy.
We have quite a lot of problems when we are away from home, and he cannot wind down on his own.
Hope this helps.

Before last week -
tea at 5.30 bath at 6 tv from 6.30 bed at 7

tea at 5.30 tv at 6 bath at 6.30 bed and story at 6.45

Have just introduced a bed time story - dc is 2.6

Normally tea around 5.30. Then playing/ a rousing episode of the wiggles then up for bath at 6.30, though I only bath every other day so on days with no bath we just go upstairs and run about a bit and I tidy her room etc-. Then into PJ's, bottle, teeth and face, big cuddle and into bag and bed by 7.30 with the door left open a bit. As I leave the room there is often a whimper so I just say " mummy's just outside" and she always settles. If no nap in the day she goes to sleep very quickly. If she has slept then she spends up to and hour and a half singing, talking to teddies, throwing cow about etc- in her cot but almost always asleep by 9ish and sleeps until 7 - 7.30 at the moment.

DD is 20 months.
Dinner at 5.30, then bath, teeth, pjs. We go downstairs to watch in the night garden and have a dance, read books, play around a bit. Then we go back upstairs, with dummies and bottle, which she has as we zip her up in her sleeping bag. Then we put on her little star light/music, and leave the room (door ajar). She sleeps from 7 PM to 8 AM (with a two hour nap in the afternoon)!

DS 5 now and can't remember routine I had but know he slept 7-7 and still does!!

Do remember tho that when the eves and mornings became lighter he did struggle to settle to sleep less easily for a bit but soon got back into routine.

Could well be a phase.
Our little huy - now 22 months - went through an almost 2 week phase where he would get very upset about being out to bed and took ages to go to sleep and threw all his teddies out of the cot then got upset they werent in the cot with him!!

We jsut carried on doing teh same bed time routine and stayed calm and acted like everything was 'normal' and he soon got over it and we are back to how it always was now.

These little things are always throwing new things at us to test us and keep us on our toes!!
Just keep doing what you are doing and remind yourself 'it will end'!!

Hope that helps