Hello friends! I’ve been so happy with our established bedtime routine these days that I wanted to share it here. I remember back when she was 3-4 months (and still sleeping in our room), I wondered when we would have our nights back. Flash forward to after 6 months and I finally feel confident in our nights. They almost always go as planned (she rarely has a hard time going to bed) and she sleeps through the night. Luckily for us, Willow has actually been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old. I am not sure how we got so lucky, but this angel baby has only had a handful of what I would call “bad nights.” The up every two or three hour nights. She sort of started up again with occasional middle-of-the-night wake-ups, but that is because she has started teething. Can’t blame or fault her for that!
But teething aside, once she transitioned to her crib around 5 months, our routine improved immensely and really got set in stone. It feels so good to have our nights back – to hang with my husband, watch our favorite tv shows, catch up on work and blogging, etc.
If you are interested in seeing what our current bedtime routine looks like with a 7-month old, keep reading! I’ll also be sharing our bedtime gear and products that we love. They definitely aid in making the whole process run smoothly.
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I’ll receive a commission if you purchase from this link. This will not change or increase the cost of your purchase. This extra income provides for my family and keeps The Friendly Fig running strong.
OUR ROUTINE
6:00 PM – Husband gets home from work. We eat dinner as a family (Willow will either have a snack if I fed her dinner earlier, or sometimes has a late dinner with us).
6:30 PM – Husband takes Willow into her play area and spends time with her while I clean up the aftermath of dinner. This is also good because it gets out all her remaining energy. And great for me, because I finally get some time to myself! If I have time, I will usually shower and get myself ready for bed, as well.
6:45 PM – We give Willow her bath. She has a bath every other day, so if it isn’t a bath night, she usually just gets more quality time with Daddy. But she loves her baths!
7:00 PM – Lotion, PJs, and time for her last feeding. Daddy gives her a 6oz bottle before lights out.
7:10 PM – I’ll read Willow 2-3 stories before bed. We always rotate the first 1-2, and always end with Goodnight Moon. She loves touching and turning the pages as we go.
7:20 PM – Sleepsack and bedtime! I’ll say goodnight and give kisses before Daddy whisks her into her room and puts her to sleep. She goes out within 10 minutes.
Sometimes she will wake-up after about an hour and we’ll go in and re-settle her, but it only takes about 5 minutes, and then she is out for the night. Then weeeeee, time for relaxation and time with my husband!
GEAR WE LOVE FOR BEDTIME
Bath tub. Whales are my favorite, so this was necessary. No complaints at all – she loves it. We’ve been using it since her first bath and it has grown with her perfectly.
Shampoo/Wash. I can’t get enough of this Shea Moisture baby shampoo/wash. The smell is incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to switch it up because it reminds me of when she was a newborn.
Bath toys. Willow loves these squirt toys – Finding Nemo and Little Mermaid, of course.
Towels. We have three hooded terry cloth towels – unicorn, panda, and lion.
Lotion. Burt’s Bees Baby moisturizer has a nice light scent and is affordable/cruelty-free.
Sleepsack. Can’t go to bed without her sleepsack! Halo and Burt’s Bees Baby are our favorites.
Zip-up sleepers. Another win for Burt’s Bees Baby (we have so many of these) and we also love Carters – these patterns are my favorite!
Books. Like I mentioned, we read 2-3 books everynight. I’ll share some of our favorites soon, but the top three seem to be: Goodnight Moon, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
White noise. We have this white noise elephant and it puts her into a deep sleep. We set a timer for an hour and sometimes need to press it again after her first wake up, but other than that, she is okay once it shuts off.
Crib. Just in case you are interested, we have and love this crib.
Crib sheets. Burt’s Bees Baby crib sheets are so beautiful and soft. We also have these organic sheets, which are thicker. We used them in the winter.
Monitor. I don’t know how we’d survive without this video monitor.
So that is about it when it comes to Willow’s bedtime. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Or please share your own experiences and products that you love with me! xx bianca
