When did you introduce a bedtime story?

[ABigGirlDoneItAndRanAway]

My 13 month old DD loves books through the daytime and I was wondering when the best time to start doing a story at bedtime would be. At the moment she gets a bath then into pyjamas, bottle and bed. She cries if she doesn't get her bottle right away after getting PJs on and after the bottle she is usually quite dopey and I'm not sure if she would concentrate on a story but should I start introducing one anyway so that when we stop doing a bedtime bottle the story will have a settling effect as a replacement?

Mine had a bedtime story from birth, during that last feed so i'd say during that bottle. Lovely snuggly time.

Books have been a part of DD's bedtime routine for as long as I can remember. At first we looked at them while she had naked time before her bath, then when she was able to stay awake for longer after her bath we started reading them afterwards.

While I was still BFing we read before her last feed. She's now 20mo and has her bedtime milk with a story. I would recommend just having books available and if she shows an interest go with it. I'd say that for both me and DD it's always been a favourite time of day to curl up together with a book at bedtime and it's ideal that she has her milk at the same time.

Read one. Just pick one with a few pages when she's got into bed and build on from that.

We have read bedtime stories to ours from 6 months onwards. My DS1 is nearly 7 and bedtime stories are a big part of his routine. We have read some brill books together.

I started at 4 months in the vain hope that it would help dd to drop off. It didn't! 13 months is fine - she will like feeling the book and looking at pics. Do it before the bottle or at the same time if you think she is too dopey afterwards.

Thanks for all the advice I never thought of doing it at the same time as the bottle that may be worth a try.

Not until one year old

18wo ds has been present at dd's bedtime story since birth. He curls up on the bed and twiddles his bib round as if hypnotised. He loves it. They like the rhythms and tones from a tiny age.

DD had lots of stories from being tiny but not bedtime. To have bedtime implies your child sleeps. DD did not.

Started doing bedtime stories for DD from about 10 months. I would put her on my knee and read the story after bathtime and before her bedtime breastfeed. I believe it really helped when we finally weaned DD about 8 months later because DH took over the last part of bedtime and would read her a couple of stories before putting her in her cot. She was highly co-operative and weaning was incredibly painless, so I think you've got the right idea about stories eventually replacing milk!

I also started doing a story before naptime when DD went down to one nap at about 15 months. For a while, she would drop off as I read slower...and slower...
Now, she usually stays awake until I've finished, but it's a good incentive to get her settled down and relaxed before her snooze.

Now I'm starting to think about potty training and it's already clear that she will stay sitting on her potty if we've got some books to read.

Yay to reading books to tinies!!!

We started at 4 months and he loves books. You need to make sure for a bedtime book that you read stories they already know so that a new story doesn't over stimulate them. If you have books that you want to use as bedtime books read them during the day to get your child used to them - think if you start a new book at night you think about what is happening next while you try to sleep. If you get bored of the story discuss the illustrations, shapes, colours etc

Started doing a bedtime story as soon as he started having a 'bedtime' at 8-10 weeks. He's only now really getting interested in the pictures on the pages though at 14 months.