Even just a few months ago I never would have believed I'd be writing this post. Although Fallon has been an A+ nighttime sleeper basically since birth, getting her to sleep at night was not always so easy. In fact, many nights it took so long I was ready for bed myself by the end of it all. But consistency was key and FINALLY all our efforts to maintain a routine paid off. I can honestly say that at least 95% of the time we take the same steps before bed time within the same general timeframe and Fallon goes right to sleep without so much as a fuss. She wakes us up at the crack of dawn but I can still count on one hand the number of times Chris or I have had to go to her room after she's gone to bed in the last year. We may be failing in all other parenting aspects but at least we've got this going for us! So many people have asked for our nightly routine specifics and honestly I haven't shared because it's nothing fancy and maybe even a little boring. But there must be some kind of magic to it for us so we go.....
6PM - Bath Time
As soon as Fallon was old enough to get sink baths we started doing them every single night around the same time. I can't say for sure that it helped to serve as a base for understanding a nighttime routine but it certainly didn't hurt. We now just do baths every other night unless it's necessary and sometimes baths happen in the morning for a variety of reasons. But mostly we stick to bath time after dinner.
6:30PM - Calm Down
Lotion, jammies and oils immediately follow bath time or we start the routine now if it's not a bath night. We've been using essential oils consistently for over 6 months with Fallon and I think they've made huge improvements. She has a rollerball of Lavender + Cedarwood for the bottoms of her feet and one with Peace & Calming to go behind her ears for all the winding down for bed time vibes.
7:00PM - Relax
By this time Fallon has to either sit with me or Chris to read books or watch a movie/TV show. No more playing, just quiet chill time. Sometimes she does protest or even scream if she was doing something she thought was really fun. But generally we do not waiver and she will comply fairly easily.
7:30PM - Bed Time
A drop of Lavender or Gentle Baby on her lovey or stuffed buddy of choice and upstairs we go. We make it a point to tell her it's time to go Night Night and I'm still shocked when she shakes her head yes as she rubs her tired little eyes. Occasionally she will even get up and walk to the steps. In her room we turn on her diffuser, which has already been filled with water and a sleepy time blend. My go to for her is Lavender + Gentle Baby but we will add Frankinsence if it's been a really rough day or switch to RC + Lemon if she has the sniffles or some congestion. We rock for a minute or 2 in the rocker even though it's completely unnecessary at this point, just a nice way to end the night with her. Then in her crib she goes, we cover her up + give her a kiss and quietly leave the room. I cannot tell you how many times I've come downstairs, looked at the monitor and she's already asleep!
These are steps we've fallen into with trial and error and learning how our child responds. Essential oils obviously now play a large part in our nightly routine and I am happy to share more if there is interest. But if that's not your thing they can certainly be left out! We are still novice parents over here but when you discover something that seems to work well continuously, it's nice to share.
Sweet Dreams!
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