There are nights where our bedtime routine gets "complicated" by sports, but we tend to stick to the same routine every night. Most nights it goes a little something like this:
5:00 - I try my hardest to start making dinner by 5. If I can have it ready by 5:30 at the latest, then the kids are done by 6:00 and can start taking baths!
6:00 - Bath time for Hudson, then Reese, and then Wyatt takes a shower. While Hudson takes his bath, I usually make the big kids clean the playroom! The TV stays off through that process because it's distracting. They listen to the Imagination Movers or Foo Fighters on my phone while they clean (and yes, that link on Pinterest about sticking your phone in a glass bowl to make the sound better? Totally works!). I take Hudson out and diaper him. He usually runs around "nakey" for a little while. At this point, I make three cups of milk and set them on the counter for the kids to grab as they're done bathing!
Reese is the second to bathe, and I usually wash her while the water runs to avoid all the shampoo getting back in her hair after I wash it! She cleans herself and plays for a few minutes. And I mean, a few minutes. She's like me - she gets cold quickly and really has no tolerance for baths, but unlike me she hates water in her eyes, so she won't shower! While she plays I get out the jammies for the big kids. Once she's out we brush her hair and get her dressed.
Wyatt is by far my easiest at this point. He prefers to shower, so I start it and just check on him. He can wash his own hair, etc., and he just lets me know when he's done!
6:30 - Hudson and I look at books while the other kids play and watch TV. Everyone has their milk at this point, so they're usually cuddled up!
7:00 - Bedtime for H. The big kids choose their "last show" together. They have to come to a consensus (and yes, that it what they call it). Hudson and I go upstairs and I put him in his overnight diaper and get his clothes on. Because we've just read about a gazillion stories downstairs, I just plop him in his crib. While I turn on his music (Rockabye Baby's Smashing Pumpkins album) he grabs his sleeps sack and then holds his arms out so he can wiggle in! He usually lays down on his own, and then we do our good nights. He LOVES for me to stroke his hair while we say our goodnights. Then we do kisses and high 5's and I leave. Then he just falls asleep!
When I come down I try to straighten up the kitchen a bit, or fold laundry. It's usually the quietest time of day!
7:30 - Bedtime for the big kids. Some days they take different paths. If someone (anyone) takes a nap, they are allowed to stay up until 8. Some days this means that Reese gets to stay up and Wyatt goes to bed. But for the sake of this, let's just say no one napped. At 7:30 we all head to the bathroom. While one goes potty, the other brushes their teeth. Then we switch. Wyatt heads to his room to make sure all the appropriate animals are in his bed while I tuck Reese in. She goes to her room, picks out a book, and takes it to bed with her to look through the pictures. We do our goodnights. Once she's settled in, I head to Wyatt's room, where we sit down and do his reading for the day. We read about 10 pages, and then he gets tucked in. I go to the kitchen to get both of them water (only if they've gone to the bathroom), and then take them to their rooms.
In most cases, this means that the kids are in bed for the night. Or in Wyatt's case, until 2 or 3 when he sneaks into my bed!
We established their routines when they were itty bitty (basically their baby routines matched Hudson's), so once we do goodnights they're out.
On the nights that Brian is home, he usually does tuck ins after I've done bathroom and teeth brushing. They really prefer for him to do it (they really like when he tells them stories about Noelle), and then they just like for me to come give them hugs and kisses! But especially now that spring is here and we have baseball and soccer three nights a week, the nights that we don't usually involve him working late!
On nights that we have a sport, I usually feed them before their game or practice because we don't get home until around 7. I've also started bathing Hudson before we leave so he can go straight to bed! That means the big kids usually head straight to the shower and watch bits and pieces of the Yankees game (or hockey playoffs) once they're clean!
I feel like we're finally getting into a good routine with the kids with all three - and I know that will all change in the fall when our baby girl comes!
that is awesome how early your kids go to bed! what time do they wake up in the a.m.?? its a struggle to get dane to sleep at 8:30-9. i would love that extra time to myself or with my hubby!
ReplyDeleteIt's different with each kid. Wyatt is up by 6-6:30 (some days 5:30!) every day. Even if he's up until 10 for a hockey game. We're able to leave the TV on Disney Junior and leave out milk and cheerios for him to snack on until 7. Both of the other kids are up at 7. But we need early birds to leave for school by 8:30!
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